This is a continuation or (phased) project. This phase seeks to build on the currently awarded 6,582 acres of lop and scatter PJ that has been awarded for fiscal 2024. A current contract in in place. There are an additional/remaining 557 acres remaining of mastication of PJ to finish the project. Cost continue to rise for lop and scatter projects. In 2019 we awarded similar terrain for $230 -300/acre. Four contracts later we are now paying $480/acre. We are excited to be nearing the end of the Mud springs lop & scatter work. In 2018 WRI helped fund the NEPA analysis on the Powell Ranger District of the Dixie National Forest that authorized actions to improve wildlife habitat, restore grazing capacity, and watershed conditions on 29,921 acres (WRI #4035). Several WRI projects have been funded and completed since then including mastication of Pinyon and Juniper (PJ) , and Lop & Scatter of PJ acres during the summers of 2019 & 2021. This phase of the project proposes to treat (PJ) the remaining 557 acres through mastication. The project has been implemented in phases to facilitate funding and contracts that are manageable. The proposed mastication acres have a mixed Ponderosa Pine and heavier Mountain brush critical to retain, that would be left standing. Because of this the cost per acre will be lower. The project is within a key focus area on the Powell Ranger District which provides critical habitat to high interest large and small game species as well as threatened non-game such as the Utah prairie dog and sensitive Greater sage grouse. Occupied leks and UPD colonies are found throughout this Phase of the project area. USFS upland vegetation trend studies within and adjacent to the project area indicate that Forest Plan desired conditions are not being met throughout portion of the Phase I, Phase II PJ succession and most of the Phase II-III PJ succession areas. Some of these areas are showing low ground cover and/or a downward trend in vegetation cover and composition. Although there is limited trend data for the Phase II-III PJ tree cover that this project focuses on observations of trees encroaching and crowding sagebrush are obvious. The watershed benefits from this project will tie directly to the past projects completed in the Upper Sevier Watershed such as Johns valley and the Prospect projects. The project is part of a larger initiative to expand and enhance habitat for Utah Prairie Dog and Greater Sage Grouse within key habitat. The areas treated have connectivity to translocation sites for Utah Prairie dog as well as have existing occupied habitat for Sage Grouse and Utah Prairie dog. Mule deer, elk and pronghorn are all hunted throughout the proposed treatment areas. The area is rich with wildlife species however PJ encroachment has occurred across the range of habitat and removal will improve habitat effectiveness for all of these species. A key need for the project is to provide edges for key species as well as connectivity for greater sage grouse. If we leave the last 557 acres we have left the project incomplete in meeting the connectivity goals. In addition it is part of a larger landscape project now in cooperation with livestock permitees to manage for water distribution, better livestock distribution, as well as Rx fire and dispersed recreation management. Once the ponderosa pine components and meadow areas are maintained better habitat and livestock grazing will follow. Species Benefits: This projects benefits a tremendous amount of wildlife species but is unique in that it benefits multiple species of great conservation concern. It has benefits to Greater sage grouse (N3) by removing PJ from occupied habitat, Flammulated owl (N4) by removing PJ from ponderosa pine where we have occupied nesting areas. It also provides for RX under burning within these same ponderosa stands. It benefits burrowing owl (N4) by removing PJ from occupied Utah Prairie dog (N1) colonies which are occupied by both owls and UPD.

This is part of a phased project. We currently have 6,852 acres of lop and scatter funded from 2024 under contract. There are a remaining 557 acres remaining of mastication to treat PJ in the project area. The primary objective it to tie the previous treatments together creating edge and providing connecting corridors. It is important to (Finish the Job). Finishing means tying unfinished units and edges together. The first objective is to remove the PJ that threatens the stands and habitat. 1) The proposed Ponderosa phase of the watershed enhancement project will improve wildlife habitat effectiveness for key species such as Utah Prairie dog, Greater sage grouse, mule deer, elk, and pronghorn. 2) PJ encroachment into the Ponderosa pine and Mountain brush understory is a problem because even attempts at RX burning have not successfully removed the PJ. Mastication is needed as a pre-treatment tool, where limited RX burning would occur. If left unchecked the PJ component becomes so invasive that catastrophic loss from fire is the result. 3. Improve watershed health by increasing total ground cover both by mulching and mastication prior to having a need to also seed the area. Due to the ponderosa pine overstory in much of the proposed area, seeding will not be necessary. This not only reduces cost but reduces the ecological risk of seed having noxious weeds in the mix or other undesirable species. 4) To improve water quality and water yield as well as increase total forage capacity for ungulates. 5) To reduce fuel loading and risk from wildfire and improve water retention by mulching PJ and removing PJ that is competing for ground water within this habitat type. 6) To support all three legs of the WRI initiative including improving watershed health, water quality and yield, as well as provide for sustainability of future resources. 7) Where PJ thinning occurs as an understory treatment within Mountain brush and Ponderosa pine stands it will allow for fuels reduction and increases value of a potential timber resource in the long-term. 8) The project has been designed to leave edge and wildlife corridors to provide for escape habitat, thermal cover, and migration. 9. In late fall of 2024 fuels crews initiated an rx underburn to treat over 900 acres of ponderosa pine and sage-steppe meadows that serve as critical habitat for wildlife including occupied UPD habitat. This helps close the final chapter on WHY we are managing through this proposed vegetation treatment. RX fire is an addition tool that is now used to clean up lop and scatter, create edges, and improve UPD occupied habitat by removing encroaching sagebrush. 10)Capture a window of opportunity to work with livestock permittees on the Showalter GIP project. This project adds to the existing and prior treatments by drilling a well and establishes a pipeline thru various phases. Due to the enhancement from past projects, livestock permittees are more willing to apply for GIP funds to improve the rangeland and wildlife habitat.

This project has been implemented in phases. Why here? Why now? It is important now to just finish. Over the course of the project we have been able to capture Greater sage grouse and utilize radio telemetry to show us where important areas are for Grouse. Although this data is not available thru the Utah Wildlife Tracker or Migration Initiative it is publicly available through our Brigham Young University partners. The remaining areas left to treat have portions utilized by key species such as Sage grouse and Utah Prairie dog, as well as mule deer, elk, and pronghorn. Timing is key to finishing the mastication portions of this project. The finish line is in sight. By delaying it postpones planning and future RX burning treatments. Cost become more prohibitive and the need to (finish) does not go away. Mechanical thinning in these areas will provide the buffers for RX burning in adjacent areas. It will also allow for the retention of the Mountain brush component in these areas. The area proposed for treatment is primarily within existing ponderosa pine and pine meadows where PJ has encroached as phase I and phase II in limited areas. The most immediate risk in allowing PJ succession to continue further is that the project area currently maintains and understory of shrubs and grasses that are beginning to be lost; however, based on past treatments and monitoring, seeding is not currently necessary if the projects are conducted now. Ponderosa pine stands are managed with prescribed fire and are frequently burned on a 10-25 year frequency on the Powell Ranger District. Monitoring indicates that PJ encroachment within these stands has continued to occur during the last 40-50 years within these stands and RX fires has not been able to remove the PJ because it is resistant to fire. If the mastication treatment is not conducted as a pre-treatment activity the risk of catastrophic loss of all vegetation increases. Current cost to masticate are as high as $480/acre. When we started treating the area in 2020 we paid $200-300/acre. Cost continue to rise. Finishing the final 557 acres now is important as contractors are familiar with the area and we are more likely to get a better rate based on there familiarity with the area. A follow-up application of RX fire (understory burning) would be limited in these areas because we are trying to retain the browse and shrubs for wildlife. Where needed it will be used to stimulate the critical browse component of bitterbrush, cliffrose, and mahogany that provide critical forage for game species within the proposed treatment area. Over 900 acres were burned during the fall of 2024. Mule deer have been in decline on this unit for some time and PJ expansion is a threat to mule deer habitat. There is considerable cost savings by treating these areas now before PJ progresses to the Phase III. The most immediate risk is that if allowed to continue further future treatments will become more cost prohibitive, and a wildfire would burn all the browse setting habitat effectiveness back over 100 years. There is a need to cross the finish line and retain the brush component within these areas. This is significant as current monitoring shows we have been successful by utilizing these techniques in the past. Delaying the project by just 5 years or more increases the risk of type conversion to Phase III PJ with little to no understory thus increasing the mastication costs, as well as the potential added cost of seeding. UDWR range trend crew established additional monitoring plots to monitor treated and untreated areas during the summer of 2019, on the Powell Ranger district. Additional threats and risk come from the loss of habitat for species including important habitat within Critical Sage Grouse areas, Utah Prairie dog occupied habitat, the loss of forage for wildlife and livestock, and degraded watershed conditions as ground cover is lost and soils are impacted. Based upon the results from similar treatments within the Blue Fly area on the same plateau, seeding and mastication are not necessary at this time. Other masticated areas have recovered with ground cover including native forbs and grasses. This greatly reduces the cost of the overall treatment. If the area is not treated within the next 5-10 years and understory species continue to become displaced then mastication and possible seeding will be necessary. In addition (due to PJ encroachment) there is a risk of losing populations and habitat of Threatened and Sensitive species specifically the Utah Prairie dog and Greater sage grouse, as well as additional mule deer habitat. As PJ encroaches across the proposed area, the edges and meadows connected become less valuable for these species, and forage is lost for wildlife and livestock. The project is part of a larger plan to tie several land treatments together throughout the range of both Greater Sage Grouse and Utah Prairie dog on the Sevier and Paunsaugunt plateau. This project helps complete part of the puzzle and provides better connectivity for both of these species. The project has been coordinated with UDWR game biologist as well as habitat biologist to provide for edge habitat and thermal cover for mule deer and elk. This project has great value because it not only provides for key connectivity but there are Utah Prairie Dog translocation sites throughout the project area as well as Sage Grouse that are utilizing the area as key habitat. Removing PJ from this area is key to improving the habitat. This removal will open up sight lines, provide more edges, remove perch trees for raptors which prey on sage grouse and UPD along meadows and edges, reduce hazardous fuel loading, improve sage-steppe and understory species which all of the species mentioned need for habitat in this area. PJ density varies across the project area. Most of the PJ is in phase II and early Phase III. In terms of an ecological threshold we are treating a large portion of the Phase II/III first as it is the urgent/critical habitat that will benefit Greater Sage Grouse and Utah prairie dog the most. 3) There is limited risk from cheatgrass but there is a threat. The larger risk comes from encroachment of PJ. Musk thistle is also a concern across the project area however crews seem to be keeping up with it for now. Another risk within the project area is the threat of losing water sources. Currently there are several key springs/seeps that wildlife and livestock rely on for drinking as well as key wetland and riparian habitat where Sage Grouse brood-rearing occurs. PJ encroachment is an eminent threat to these water sources. This project would eliminate PJ from these areas thus increasing water quantity and quality for wildlife and livestock

1)Utah's Wildlife Action Plan (WAP): The WAP identifies the following key habitats that would be addressed by this project: Riverine, Mountain sagebrush, and Mountain Shrub. The WAP lists Inappropriate Fire Frequency and Intensity a high-level threat for Bonneville Cutthroat Trout and mule deer. Actions supported by the project include: 2.3.14 Conduct upland vegetation treatments to restore characteristic upland vegetation, and reduce uncharacteristic fuel types and loadings, 2.3.15 and 2.3.17 Apply or allow more fire in habitats/locations where fire was historically more frequent or intense. The WAP lists Problematic Plant Species - Native Upland as a Very High-level threat to Mountain sagebrush communities. The proposed project reduces risk from invasive species by addressing the PJ invasion and catastrophic fire issues. In addition, the project has been designed to specifically avoid key mountain shrub areas. These key shrub areas are where mastication is employed, and RX fire would be an inappropriate tool. The Dixie National Forest desires to promote these key browse areas to promote wildlife habitat effectiveness. Actions conducted through this project that would stimulate younger age classes include mastication and lop and scatter. 2)Conservation Plan for Greater Sage-Grouse in Utah - Feb 14, 2013. pp. 4 Objective 2.0.3 Habitat: Enhance an average of 25,000 acres of sage-grouse habitat in Sage-grouse Management Areas annually. 3) Color Country Greater Sage-Grouse local conservation plan. Feb 9, 2008. pp. 53 Action 9.1: Remove juniper and pinyon trees from brood-rearing habitat. Also: Coordinated with working group. 4) U.S. Forest Service Greater-Sage grouse Record of Decision, Alternative C. GRSG-GRSGH-0-026- Objective-Every 10 years for the next 50 years, improve greater sage-grouse habitat by removing invading conifers and other undesirable species. And, GRSG-GRSGH-ST-028-Standard-On the Dixie and Fishlake National Forests, where greater sage-grouse priority habitat management areas overlap with identified Utah prairie dog habitat, the most current version of conservation measures developed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be used during implementation of recovery actions. 5) Dixie National Forest - Land and Resource Management plan - pp. IV-84, Standard: A. Maintain habitat capability at a level at least 80 % of potential capability for all emphasized species. And. pp. IV-112, 6A management direction, (1) Maintain and manage forested inclusions to provide a high level of forage production, wildlife habitat, and diversity. 6) Conservation Plan for Greater Sage Grouse in Garfield County, Adopted January 27, 2014. pp. 6: 2.0.2 Objective 2 - Habitat: Enhance 500 acres of sage-grouse priority habitat on federal lands annually through conservation efforts evaluated by the NRCS Sage Grouse Habitat Evaluation criteria, with emphasis on areas of priority habitat. 2.0.3 Objective 3 - Habitat: Enhance an average of 1,000 acres of sage-grouse habitat on federal lands in Sage-grouse Management Areas annually. 2.0.4 Objective 4 - Habitat: Increase the total amount of sage-grouse habitat acreage within Sage-grouse Management Areas by an average of 500 acres per year, through management actions targeting opportunity areas. 7) Garfield County current desired future conditions and Draft resource management plan. pp. 5 Wildlife Goal: Prior to December 31, 2025, land managers will seek to have habitats supporting important fish and wildlife species meet the following seral stage ranges: Early Stage 30% to 50% Mid Stage 30% to 40% Late Stage Less than 25% And Policy...Based on a 10 year rolling average and consistent with desired ecological site descriptions, restore at least 25% of the Class II and Class III pinyon / juniper woodlands having a median age of less than 200 years to sagebrush / semi-desert grassland vegetation communities. 8) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Utah Prairie Dog Recovery Plan. pp.79, (2.3.1) Plan and implement vegetation treatments in strategic locations (including translocation sites) that benefit Utah Prairie Dogs and their habitat. 9) Utah Statewide Elk Management Plan pp. 16, Strategies: C. Watershed Restoration Initiative, a) Increase forage production by annually treating a minimum of 40,000 acres of elk habitat. and b) Coordinate with land management agencies, conservation organizations, private landowners, and local leaders through the regional WRI working groups to identify and prioritize elk habitats in need of enhancement or restoration. 10) Greater Plateau Elk Complex, Elk management plan, (24 Mt. Dutton): pp.4 Range Improvements: Maintain and/or enhance forage production on elk summer and winter range throughout the units. Coordinate with the USFS, SITLA, BLM and private land owners to complete projects designed to improve forage production for both elk and livestock and to improve elk distribution across the unit. Identify higher elevation habitat projects that would encourage elk to winter higher and potentially away from traditional deer wintering areas. 10) Utah Mule Deer Statewide management plan, Dec 01 2014. pp.18 - Habitat Goal: Conserve, improve, and restore mule deer habitat throughout the state with emphasis on crucial ranges. Habitat Objective 1: Maintain mule deer habitat throughout the state by protecting and enhancing existing crucial habitats and mitigating for losses due to natural and human impacts. Strategies: C. Work with local, state and federal land management agencies via land management plans and with private landowners to identify and properly manage crucial mule deer habitats, especially fawning, wintering and migration areas. D. Minimize impacts and recommend mitigation for losses of crucial habitat due to human impacts. Habitat Objective 2: Improve the quality and quantity of vegetation for mule deer on a minimum of 500,000acres of crucial range by 2019. E. Continue to support and provide leadership for the Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative, which emphasizes improving sagebrush-steppe, aspen, and riparian habitats throughout Utah. G. Encourage land managers to manage portions of pinion-juniper woodlands and aspen/conifer forests in early successional stages using various methods including timber harvest and managed fire. 11)DEER HERD UNIT MANAGEMENT PLAN, Deer Herd Unit # 24, (Mt. Dutton), February 2015: Maintain or enhance forage production through direct range improvements on winter and summer deer range throughout the unit to achieve population management objectives. 12) UTAH'S FINAL 2016 INTEGRATED REPORT - The area draining this project is in Assessment Unit East Fork Sevier-2 which the reports lists as a Category 5 water "Category 5: The concentration of a pollutant--or several pollutants--exceeds numeric water quality criteria, or quantitative biological assessments indicate that the biological designated uses are not supported (narrative water quality standards are violated)." Reducing sediment generation in this watershed may contribute to improving the O/E Assessment score for macroinvertebrates causing this exceedance. 13) The proposed activities support the mission of the Utah Migration Initiative as we have utilized the most current data available to design the project to better facilitate wildlife habitat effectiveness for Greater Sage Grouse as well as other species. The district biologist on the Powell ranger district has been trapping and tracking sage grouse since 2018 within the project area. With the help of Brigham Young University, we have been able to utilize gps tracking to monitor sage grouse utilization and habitat shifts during the last 4 years. This data indicates that sage grouse have begun utilizing treated areas where PJ has been removed. In addition we have designed projects to avoid key habitat areas such as nesting and brood-rearing habitat.

In late fall of 2023 fire crews began implementing broadcast under-burning throughout 894 acres of previously treated (Lop and scatter) PJ within Ponderosa pine and sage-steppe meadows. This provided watershed benefits by cleaning up fuels, re-invigorating native grasses, and removed brush in key areas. The proposed project will help to continue to reduce hazardous fuels within the proposed project area. The proposed mastication units are composed of a higher density of PJ and Mountain brush. RX burning is not an option as we wish to retain the browse component within the area. Only limited RX burning would occur within the proposed units after treatment to better facilitate retaining the critical browse species. The proposed ponderosa treatment phase of this project puts more focus on treating within ponderosa pine understory which will facilitate better meeting objectives for RX burning within this vegetation type in the future. Much of the proposed Ponderosa pine has had RX burning conducted in the past. These prior burns were unable to effectively remove PJ from the stands. Fire crews have gone to great efforts to try to burn individual PJ trees but within Ponderosa stands these trees are highly resistant to fire. The majority of the time the trees survive the burning process and then pose a bigger risk as they age and become a threat as they increase the fuel load, compete with the understory shrubs and grasses, and provide no forage value. This proposal seeks to pre-treat these stands by lop and scatter of PJ followed by an underburn. A fire regime condition class (FRCC) is a classification of the amount of departure from the natural regime (Hann and Bunnell 2001). They include three condition classes for each fire regime. The classification is based on a relative measure describing the degree of departure from the historical natural fire regime. In areas where mastication is proposed, and PJ is denser FRCC shift will be extreme moving from a High to a Low or 3 to 1. This reduction in fuels ecologically helps the site as it will shift the FRCC back into a more natural state. This will further reduce the impact and effects of fire when it is naturally present on the landscape. There will be immediate benefits to watershed health from the reduction of PJ trees on the landscape. Increased soil moisture from chipping and mastication is also a benefit to grasses and shrubs as well as the additional moisture provided moves through the soil column. There is an immediate risk that if the areas proposed were to burn from wildfire that cheat grass and other invasive species would follow. This risk becomes averted when this proposed treatment occurs. By allowing the sage-steppe and grass/forb understory species to return without competition from PJ. If wildfire occurred within either the lop and scatter or mastication areas within it's current conditions it would be devastating to the watershed as well as to the livestock grazing as well as wildlife habitat. Other values would also be lost including range/wildlife improvements such as pipelines, and fences. Roundy, et al 2013 showed that tree reduction improved soil climate. These researchers also stated that treating stands while they were still open as opposed to closed would help by minimizing water available to weeds. Based upon this science it would be best to treat these areas now rather than in 5-10 years from now (Young, Roundy, Eggett, Forest Ecology and Management 12/2013). Follow-up treatment with RX fire is a key component of the project. During late fall of 2023 local crews began under-burning ponderosa pine and completed over 894 acres of pine and sage-steppe treatments.

Reducing the amount of pinyon/juniper will increase water availability for wildlife species, understory grasses, forbs, and shrubs. It will re-allocate water for other desirable species, and temporarily increase water in available springs and nearby ponds. Over-time this water begins to be utilized by more desirable species. Several publications including Kormas et al. found that drainage's dominated with juniper experience "snow water equivalent peaks higher, snow melts out earlier, and more water is lost to evapotranspiration in catchments when compared to sagebrush steppe vegetation. The proposed treatments will improve water quality and quantity by promoting the understory vegetation including many desirable browse species such as mahogany and bitterbrush. During the summer of 2021 large monsoonal rains occurred and in treated lop & Scatter areas the trees that had been fell into intermittent washes held back debris and built-up sediment behind them which is a desired outcome by building up floodplains instead of the opposite erosion that usually occurs. Scattered limbs and even chips in mastication areas have already proven to reduce overland flows which are the real hydrological benefits expected from these types of projects. Based upon monitoring and real-time observation of previous treatments in 2019 and 2021, the proposed 3,171 acres of lop and scatter and additional 557 acres of mastication treatments will have expected water Quality and quantity benefits. As phase II and Phase III PJ succession in this proposal are treated, runoff and sediment transport will be significantly reduced after treatment as ground cover and vegetation composition improves (Roundy & Vernon, 1999; Pierson, Bates,Svejcar, & Hardegree, 2007a; Peterson & Stringham, 2008; Pierson, et al., 2010; Cline, Pierson, Kormos, & Williams, 2010). The project area is in the heads of Pat Willis and John L.swale, and several other intermittent streams that drain into the East Fork Sevier River within the Department of Environmental Quality's Assessment Unit East Fork Sevier-2 (East Fork Sevier River and tributaries from Deer Creek confluence to Tropic Reservoir). The 2016 Beneficial Uses and Water Quality Assessment showed that the beneficial use of this area was impaired because of a low OE Bio assessment (i.e. poor macroinvertebrate community). Fine sediment loading is a known cause of impairment of benthic macroinvertebrate communities (Waters 1995, Turley et al. 2014). Improving vegetation composition and ground cover from the project should contribute to fine sediment loading reductions in this assessment unit. Roundy et al. (2014) demonstrated increased spring soil water availability following PJ removal; however, Phase I removal resulted in substantially less gain than Phase III removal. Phase III removal resulted in substantial soil-water availability gain (up to 19 days) for as long as 4 years following treatment. Removing the 251 acres of Phase II-III succession will result in a substantial gain in spring soil water availability. Baker, et. al (1984) found a 157% increase in stream flows over a 147 acre pinyon and juniper treatment. Recent research Roundy, et. al. (2014) has shown that mechanical treatments to remove pinyon and juniper increase time that soil water is available. Even four years after treatment, treated areas showed from 8.6 days to-18 days additional water availability at high elevation sites. Roth, et. All (2017) stated snow pack is deeper and last longer in the open site at the low and mid sites (4-26 and 11-33 days, respectively). Reducing pinyon and juniper trees, according the available research should increase snow pack, and time that snow pack is on the ground, increase spring flows, and increase soil moisture. We expect for similar results to happen in this area after the treatment takes place based upon past treatments and the studies cited above.

1)With SHPO concurrence, cultural surveys have been completed as a part of the NEPA analysis and included within the analysis. 2) Forest Service Biologist met on December 19, 2017 with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service representatives and UDWR habitat biologist to discuss wildlife habitat overlap areas and compliance. USFWS has encouraged this project and will actively engage in promoting vegetation treatments that will improve wildlife habitat effectiveness for species such as Utah Prairie dog and Greater Sage Grouse. Because over 80% of the occupied habitat found on public land within the Paunsaugunt Recovery unit is found within this proposed project area, it is highly supported by USFWS. A letter of support from USFWS was received as part of the scoping for this project. In addition, there are as many as 3 UPD translocation sites found within the proposed project area that need habitat improvement from this project. 3) The proposed methods of treatment are compliant with the newest Dixie National Forest Land and Resource Management plan Greater Sage Grouse amendment, Alternative C. 4) The project has been coordinated with and has been supported by the COCARM sage grouse working group. The project will improve habitat in the immediate vicinity of 3 occupied lek areas and throughout a significant portion of the occupied USFS habitat on the Sevier Plateau/Mt. Dutton area. 5) The proposed lop and scatter areas proposed surround a private land parcel. The proposed actions provide for fuel reduction adjacent to this private land thereby reducing the risk of wildfire to private land.

The mud springs story map has been developed to track projects within the area. ( https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/615df8c31c8245ab961e707a84129b7a ) Past projects have focused heavily on utilizing State of Utah contracting and this project is expected to be similar. A current Good Neighbor Authority agreement helps facilitate this process. Lop & Scatter would primarily target PJ removal in ponderosa pine and sage-steppe components; and a mastication contract would focus on the dense phase II/III areas. Areas have been broken into units to allow for ease of monitoring and contract awarding. All areas will directly improve wildlife habitat effectiveness for Mule Deer, elk, pronghorn, Utah Prairie Dog and Greater sage grouse as the entire project area is comprised of pieces of occupied habitat for these key species.

1) Monitoring will involve the assessment of vegetation status as well and ground cover and trend prior to treatment. In addition, biologist pre-determine areas where openings and connectivity are needed to facilitate movement of key species such as UPD or GRSG. 2) Islands and ridgelines would be left (and have been designed into the project up front to promote migration and allow for cover of Big-game species as well. 3) Wildlife monitoring, crews conduct spring counts at all leks on FS and adjacent leks on SITLA, etc. As a result of recent monitoring a new lek on FS lands was located during 2021 within this project area on top of the Mud Springs ridge. Currently FS is utilizing GPS tracking collars on sage grouse to improve knowledge of habitat use throughout the area. Crews conduct HAF (sage grouse) monitoring across range allotments and will continue sage grouse vegetation monitoring into the future. For UPD the Dixie NF counts annually as well as conducts plague abatement across all active UPD colonies. Translocations of UPD are still occurring which also keeps us in the field monitoring. Over time the long-term vegetation is monitored by establishing vegetation transects. This is conducted by Dixie National Forest botanist (Mark Madsen) that established long-term trend plots and reads them over time in most of our treatments. There are six USFS upland vegetation monitoring plots and one UDWR Big Game Range Trend plot already established in the larger project area and more to be implemented when the project is implemented. Nearby long-term vegetation transects have been established within the project area include the Showalter area, and Mud Springs ridge transect. The Mud Spring transect is accessible via Utah Big Game Range Trend Studies website: https://dwrapps.utah.gov/rangetrend/rtstart. These long term range trend studies established by the UDWR and USFS help provide the adaptive management feedback that will allow Range managers to better manage the East Pines Grazing allotment. In addition, local Rangeland Management Specialists have been monitoring grass height and utilization across the project area through HAF monitoring for the past two years. These plots also give added data for monitoring. The proposed PJ removal will improve overall watershed conditions by opening up areas to more sunlight and reducing completion which will allow further grass establishment. Population monitoring is occurring already at multiple levels throughout the project area. Sage grouse are being counted annually by USFS and UDWR biologist. In addition, radio telemetry is also being use to track Sage Grouse utilization patterns. Big-game such as elk, deer, and pronghorn are classified by UDWR and USFS annually on this herd unit. UPD counts are also conducted annually by USFS biologist and this data has been tracked for multiple years. Fire and fuels crews have recently began to finalize RX burning treatments as a follow-up in ponderosa pine. Monitoring plots have been established to monitor RX burning effects and success as this phase moves forward. The preliminary results from late fall 2023 are promising regarding the fire effects due to pre-treating with lop and scatter. Crews underburned 894 acres in the fall of 2023.

The project area already has multiple partners involved with many habitat projects. 1) Livestock permitees have been informed and are applying for NRCS funding to help with future projects that would be similar and benefit their range. The Showalter well and pipeline are now funded through GIP. Due to the increase in forage from past PJ reduction projects within the Mud Springs project area, USFS partnered with NRCS and permittees to complete a NRCS project on the Pines allotment. This project developed a well, improved a pipeline, and water troughs to better allocate water across a larger area. Specifically it improved a 2500 gallon trough, and added 3 troughs across an addition 1.5 miles of allotment. Currently we are partnering through GIP and planning a well and pipeline project to help facilitate better water distribution across the proposed project area. This is an additional partnership project that would not have been pursued, however due to vegetation improvements by reducing PJ on the East Pines allotment the project is now becoming a reality. This proposed project will utilize NRCS to help further help with water development. 2) Dixie National Forest (DNF) has partnered with BLM and BYU to use GPS tracking collars on sage grouse within this project area to determine the projects effects on Greater Sage Grouse. USFS is currently funding the monitoring of GPS collars for this sage grouse study which covers an area from the Parker Mountains to the Paunsaugunt plateau. 3) U.S. Fish and Wildlife service has helped with conservation efforts throughout the project area supplying plague abatement equipment and specialized help for Utah Prairie Dog Conservation. 4) In 2018 over 25 ponds were cleaned and sealed within the project area with the help of UWRI and the Habitat Council. These water developments tie in with this proposed project by facilitating water in areas where additional forage and habitat will now become available. 5) DNF regularly utilizes the Dedicated hunter program to continue to work on projects throughout this area including spring and pond development, elk crossings, pond cleaning, fence removal and installing sage grouse deterrents on existing fence. 6) In 2020, the State of Utah Endangered Species Mitigation Fund (ESMF) has funded a new study to map the expansion of Utah Prairie dog (UPD) across the proposed project area where they are expanding into recently treated PJ removal areas. 7) The project was presented during 2019 to the COCARM sage grouse working group and was ranked as the number one project that would most benefit sage grouse within the area. The project was presented again to COCARM on 08 Jan 2020 and was again ranked as a high priority project for the working group. The proposed project is the only USFS project that is being proposed within the COCARM working group area. The project will improve habitat in the immediate vicinity of 3 occupied lek areas and throughout a significant portion of the occupied USFS habitat on the Sevier Plateau/Mt. Dutton area. 8) Garfield county has partnered with USFS DNF to support Utah Prairie dog translocation projects on public lands within the project area. In 2020 USFS and Garfield county signed an agreement to partner on Utah Prairie dog conservation. Garfield county has witnessed the commitment to improve vegetation resources and has recognized that projects such as PJ removal can benefit both UPD/Sage grouse and livestock grazing at the same time. Garfield county has contributed over $20K to conservation efforts involving trapping UPD, and other conservation efforts within the proposed Mud Springs Conservation area. USFS recently attended a Garfield County commission meeting in December of 2021 and they have committed to fund an additional $30K towards UPD conservation efforts. WRI funding of projects within Garfield county has helped them contribute and partner with USFS on the conservation efforts within this area. Lastly. In 2023 we proposed to treat over 500 acres within the area through a mastication equipment contract. Funding did not occur. USFS is currently working on this same area with two pieces of equipment.

Future management would include the continued implementation of the remainder of the NEPA Decision funded under WRI project 4036. This includes the proposed approximately 3,171 acres of additional vegetation treatments of proposed lop and scatter. The majority of this additional treatment would occur within sage-steppe and ponderosa pine. Once mechanically treated underburn's are planned as a proposed RX treatment. In addition, the proposed mechanical treatment, USFS is working on a cooperative project with Utah School Trust lands to conduct a RX burn on approximately 2000 acres of federal and state land. (Project # 6061) This project seeks similar objectives of improving wildlife habitat effectiveness, watershed health, and forage capacity. It is located directly adjacent to the current proposed project. The Dixie National Forest and Powell Ranger District have made a considerable investment in projects surrounding this one including upstream on the Paunsaugunt Plateau and downstream throughout John's Valley. These projects help demonstrate the Forest Service's long running commitment to improving habitat along the East Fork Sevier River. Seeding is not planned for this phase of the project as grasses and understory are sufficient to recover in the absence of the PJ removal. UDWR has also initiated monitoring transects on past treatments to help determine future seeding needs. Rest from livestock may be necessary post-treatment and would be accomplished utilizing the current grazing system and use of monitoring and adaptive management strategies that accommodate the treatments. Maintenance of the proposed treatments may be necessary depending upon climate and utilization practices and the length of time it takes PJ to success back into the proposed area. Maintenance is addressed in Allotment Management Plans and further treatment is allowed under current grazing strategies. Cooperation by all parties to maintain vegetation enhancement and monitor future needs is necessary. The proposed and established monitoring transects will provide and inform managers for adaptive management strategies, including continued maintenance. The existing recovery plans for Utah Prairie Dog and other species as well as existing Standards and Guidelines for Greater Sage grouse are the guarantee that further habitat management for these species will continue to be a priority in the project area. Other plans that help further cement the commitment to continued habitat maintenance and restoration are included in the Management plans section. To address species of Greatest Conservation Need: The entire Mud Springs project area was created and selected based upon the critical habitat needs of several key species. Although Mule deer, elk, pronghorn and others will benefit greatly from the proposed habitat work, it is Greater Sage Grouse and Utah Prairie dog that will benefit the most. UWRI has already made considerable investment in restoring watersheds and habitat for these species on the Sevier plateau area. Over 10,000 acres have recently been restored in the Johns valley project and that area ties directly to the Mud springs project area. Sage grouse satellite collars show that there are multiply pathways and corridors that grouse are using to connect these habitats. Monitoring and contract inspections from the most recent projects have shown that Sage grouse are beginning to utilize the most recently treated landscape. This proposed mastication and hand thinning project will help alleviate visual barriers on ridgelines and open sight lines for sage grouse as well as all other species. Utah Prairie dogs are another species that have had considerable population conservation investment in habitat as well as specific hands on management with trapping and translocation of UPD into this specific project area. There are documented accounts of UPD moving as far as 12-14 miles across landscapes within Southern Utah. The proposed project will continue to open up areas that are now major obstacles for this species by removing trees and providing edge and sage-steppe habitat for this species to more freely move across its natural range. USFS has partnered with UDWR and USFWS as well as many others in UPD conservation throughout this area. The project area comprises a very significant portion of the range within the Paunsaugunt portion of the recovery unit and the proposed project will improve critical habitat for this species as UPD occupy significant areas throughout the project area. The threats from PJ encroachment are eminent here and this project will provide an immediate positive impact for this species as well as many others. The project has been designed to provide specific openings where UPD movements occurs across the landscape. It ties into occupied colonies of UPD as well as helps connect sage-steppe between sage grouse lek areas.

Future management would include the continued implementation of the remainder of the NEPA Decision funded under WRI project 4036. This includes the proposed approximately 3,171 acres of additional vegetation treatments included within the current proposal and up to 557 acres of mastication will also be proposed. The majority of this additional treatment would occur within sage-steppe, mountain brush and ponderosa pine. Once mechanically treated underburn's are planned as a proposed RX treatment in limited areas. In addition, the proposed mechanical treatment, USFS is working on a cooperative project with Utah School Trust lands to conduct a RX burn on approximately 2000 acres of federal and state land. (Project # 6061) This project seeks similar objectives of improving wildlife habitat effectiveness, watershed health, and forage capacity. It is located directly adjacent to the current proposed project. The Dixie National Forest and Powell Ranger District have made a considerable investment in projects surrounding this one including upstream on the Paunsaugunt Plateau and downstream throughout John's Valley. These projects help demonstrate the Forest Service's long running commitment to improving habitat along the East Fork Sevier River. Seeding is not planned for this phase of the project as grasses and understory are sufficient to recover in the absence of the PJ removal. UDWR has also initiated monitoring transects on past treatments to help determine future seeding needs. Rest from livestock may be necessary post-treatment and would be accomplished utilizing the current grazing system and use of monitoring and adaptive management strategies that accommodate the treatments. Maintenance of the proposed treatments may be necessary depending upon climate and utilization practices and the length of time it takes PJ to success back into the proposed area. Maintenance is addressed in Allotment Management Plans and further treatment is allowed under current grazing strategies. The proposed treatments would occur on the East Pines grazing allotment which has 266 cow/calf permitted. Cooperation by all parties to maintain vegetation enhancement and monitor future needs is necessary. The proposed and established monitoring transects will provide and inform managers for adaptive management strategies, including continued maintenance. The existing recovery plans for Utah Prairie Dog and other species as well as existing Standards and Guidelines for Greater Sage grouse are the guarantee that further habitat management for these species will continue to be a priority in the project area. Other plans that help further cement the commitment to continued habitat maintenance and restoration are included in the Management plans section. To address species of Greatest Conservation Need: The entire Mud Springs project area was created and selected based upon the critical habitat needs of several key species. Although Mule deer, elk, pronghorn and others will benefit greatly from the proposed habitat work, it is Greater Sage Grouse and Utah Prairie dog that will benefit the most. UWRI has already made considerable investment in restoring watersheds and habitat for these species on the Sevier plateau area. Over 10,000 acres have recently been restored in the Johns valley project and that area ties directly to the Mud springs project area. Sage grouse satellite collars show that there are multiply pathways and corridors that grouse are using to connect these habitats. Monitoring and contract inspections from the most recent projects have shown that Sage grouse are beginning to utilize the most recently treated landscape. This proposed mastication and hand thinning project will help alleviate visual barriers on ridgelines and open sight lines for sage grouse as well as all other species. Utah Prairie dogs are another species that have had considerable population conservation investment in habitat as well as specific hands on management with trapping and translocation of UPD into this specific project area. There are documented accounts of UPD moving as far as 12-14 miles across landscapes within Southern Utah. The proposed project will continue to open up areas that are now major obstacles for this species by removing trees and providing edge and sage-steppe habitat for this species to more freely move across its natural range. USFS has partnered with UDWR and USFWS as well as many others in UPD conservation throughout this area. The project area comprises a very significant portion of the range within the Paunsaugunt portion of the recovery unit and the proposed project will improve critical habitat for this species as UPD occupy significant areas throughout the project area. The threats from PJ encroachment are eminent here and this project will provide an immediate positive impact for this species as well as many others. The project has been designed to provide specific openings where UPD movements occurs across the landscape. It ties into occupied colonies of UPD as well as helps connect sage-steppe between sage grouse lek areas. Key points: -This project improves grazing and grazing capacity on livestock allotments. -This project improves wildlife forage and wildlife habitat effectiveness for a multitude of species. -This project reduces fuels, allows for better management for future timber production, and provides fuelwood for locals. -This project has and will continue to improve hunting, and has improved recreation by facilitating more camping, improved access. It has renewed the interest of many to better utilize the resources in the area. -This project area is a showcase of multiple types of treatments, has generated the interest of livestock permitees to want to apply for and better develop resources in the area. -This project has generated support from local county government to support conservation for wildlife species and local projects.

07/01/2024

10/15/2024

2025

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