The Upper East Canyon Creek Watershed Restoration Project - FY26 goal is to improve the overall health of the Upper East Canyon Creek Watershed, including riparian areas, streams, wetlands, and upland sites. Building upon work that has been completed over the last seven years under the WRI Parleys Canyon Project, this multiyear phased project will continue to restore the watershed and contribute to the Wasatch Mountains water security for downstream beneficiaries, ultimately providing clean drinking water for downstream residents and supporting efforts to protect the critical water needed by the Great Salt Lake. To accomplish our landscape-scale goals, we have built a collaborative partnership for true watershed-scale planning between many stakeholders, including landowners, government entities, and non-profit organizations. Historically, the Upper East Canyon Watershed has been overgrazed, clear-cut logged, and most recently, heavily developed. These combined actions have created lasting negative impacts on the greater ecosystem and the services it provides. As a result, East Canyon Creek is incised and degraded leaving the habitat conditions stressed and diminished for many fish and wildlife species. In addition, decades of wildfire suppression have led to excess fuel biomass and unhealthy forests. This project is proposed as phased restoration to bring significant progress toward rectifying these impacts. This FY26 project will build on efforts along East Canyon Creek by treating invasive weeds, monitoring for new weed invasions, investigating beaver coexistence, planting native vegetation, and reducing wildfire danger with continued fuel reduction efforts. In addition to improving watershed health, the project area serves as an essential destination for recreation in the region (e.g., skiing, hiking, fishing, camping, and hunting). A large part of the Wasatch Back economy is driven by recreation, and protecting this watershed will help preserve those sustainable uses. The severe wildfire threat in the Upper reaches of East Canyon Creek Watershed concerns multiple stakeholders. Residents living in Pinebrook, Summit Park, Jeremy Ranch, and Park City face extreme risks to property damage and the habitat that supports a healthy ecosystem and most notably the lives of residents, visitors, and firefighters. The long-term effects of a catastrophic wildfire can have devastating downstream consequences for water users. The associated infrastructure costs to reduce erosion, maintain potable water, and make the area safe again for recreators after wildfire can be prohibitive. Efforts are needed to reduce fuel loads, create defensible space, reduce the risk, and mitigate the post-fire impacts of such a disaster. This project will work to address and minimize these threats by reducing fuels and improving riparian health (nature's firebreak). This project will improve the health of the watershed by focusing on ecological communities by thinning conifer stands and improving the riparian corridor with beavers, thereby improving wildlife habitat. This area is a highly critical watershed for both humans and wildlife alike. This project is an extension of the Parley's project that has been nationally recognized for its success in making progress by moving a watershed-scale restoration effort in a positive direction. The many partners on this project ask for funding for phase two of this multi-year project in FY26 to continue to build on previous efforts and restore the health of this watershed to its best possible state. The goals of this project are to: 1. Improve wildlife habitat with a particular focus on existing conifer health, benefitting numerous species that benefit from healthy forests (e,g,. elk, mule deer, moose, beaver, goshawk). 2. Manage the risk of hazardous fuel accumulations to minimize the potential for large, high-intensity/high-severity wildfires adjacent to the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI). 3. Manage for future forestry practices and current forest health concerns by creating resiliency through means of managing stand composition and structure to create multiple age classes and species diversity. 4. Reduce sediment loading, improve water quality and quantity, and reduce fire risk to rangeland streams. 5. Plant wetland and riparian vegetation to improve habitat and ecological vigor. Revegetate up to 4 miles of riparian habitat to support wildlife habitat 6. Mitigate noxious weeds to foster native ecosystem recovery, inventory current status and continue to monitor noxious weeds.

Basin Rec: Increase water quality, Promote the safety of residents and firefighters, and reduce risks for property damage, Increase fish and wildlife habitat, most notably for the boreal toad and Bonneville cutthroat trout, Increase and protect recreational activities like hiking and backcountry skiing, and Improve forest health and build ecosystem-wide resiliency. TU: Trout Unlimited along with partners at Summit County will map, plan, and install native vegetation along stretches of East Canyon Creek and its tributaries throughout the 910 Ranch property to reduce erosion/sediment, add habitat complexity, and provide temperature reducing shade to the stream. Plants will be selected under the guidance of local experts to ensure successful transplantation. Vegetation will be installed by TU and Summit County staff, as well as volunteer ambassadors and local Trout Unlimited chapters during events throughout the year. Pinebrook: Increase water quality of the Two Mile Creek drainage, protect the residents, firefighters, and surrounding property, improve wildlife habitat, increase and protect common open space and its recreational trails, and improve forest health. This will be accomplished through the thinning of fuels, and through either the removal, chipping, or piling and burning of the debris. Too, areas of aspen decline will be treated with removal of dead and down, thinning of encroaching species, thinning of select trees to encourage regeneration, and study of ungulate grazing (moose, elk and mule deer population within the neighborhood) to inform need for exclosure construction. Work to partner with adjoining landowners in an "all hands-all lands" approach to broaden treatments onto those lands are included within this proposal as wildfire knows no boundaries. Thus, focus of some work is moving to neighboring lands on high hazard areas adjacent to the community and adjacent to previously completed treatments, many which were supported with past WRI Funding. PCMC: Enhance water quality in the Upper East Canyon Watershed Headwaters, Reduce the risk of intensive post-fire sediment delivery, Protect and improve the riparian area and its connection to the watershed and the Sullivan Spring, Increase wildfire defensibility to safeguard nearby residents and resort infrastructure, Promote forest health, focusing on conifer and aspen regeneration for ecosystem resilience, Control and reduce noxious weeds, specifically targeting garlic mustard in the treatment area, Protect high value natural resources, recreational assets, and infrastructure, Improve emergency ingress and egress two track corridor for both first responders and recreationists. Summit (FFSL is assisting with this project only) Increase water quality in East Canyon Creek for wildlife and downstream users, Improve forest health to mitigate wildfire hazard and post-fire impacts, Mitigate noxious weeds to foster native ecosystem recovery. Sageland Collaborative: Respond to beaver nuisance conflicts in McLeod/East Canyon area to reduce lethal trapping/removal of beaver near restoration sites, Identify sites for, and implement living with beaver practices (i.e. pond levelers, culvert protections) at two locations as needed by the community.

Basin Rec: The Toll Canyon and Summit Park open spaces have been undergoing watershed health projects for several years and more work is necessary to help ensure the success of these efforts. These open spaces are areas of high ecological importance for wildlife and are also popular spots for recreation. Toll Canyon is an area of key interest for its recreational value, riparian habitats, and for Toll Creek's natural function as a fuel break. The proximity of Toll Canyon to residential areas makes it a high priority for continued fuel reduction projects, so that the risk of catastrophic wildfire in the WUI area is reduced. It is also imperative that this work take place as soon as possible, so that a regular maintenance schedule may be implemented to re-treat the existing shaded fuel breaks and other treatment areas in Summit Park and Toll Canyon in subsequent years. TU: East Canyon Creek was placed on the list of impaired waters under the Clean Water Act Section 303(d) in 1992. In response to this listing, the state of Utah created a TMDL which was accepted by the EPA in 2000. The creek's impaired designated beneficial use is listed as Class 3a: Protected for cold water species of game fish and other cold water aquatic life, including the necessary aquatic organisms in their food chain. The creek is impaired for dissolved oxygen (low levels), total phosphorus (high levels), and temperature. Further, East Canyon Reservoir is impaired for dissolved oxygen, total phosphorus, harmful algal blooms, pH, temperature, and E.coli, with a TMDL in place for total phosphorus. While the water quality impairments are numerous, many of them relate back to erosion, poor riparian habitat, and lack of shading on the creek. An inventory of the habitat and water quality throughout the watershed was collected using the Stream Visual Assessment Protocol (SVAP) which found that all reaches of the creek except for one had less than 20% canopy cover. Canopy cover is essential for buffering water temperatures and limiting macrophyte growth, issues that are both related to the low dissolved oxygen levels often measured on the creek. The Bear Hollow reach of East Canyon Creek where the riparian vegetation planting is to take place scored a 1, the lowest possible score. Revegetating the riparian area in this reach of the creek will help address issues with erosion, high stream temperatures, low dissolved oxygen, high nutrient loads, and excessive macrophyte growth. This highly impacted section of East Canyon Creek was privately held for over 100 years but more recently has come under the stewardship of Summit County, opening the opportunity to positively impact the water quality through immediate action. Without action, the degradation will continue to impact fish, wildlife, drinking water, and outdoor recreation throughout the Weber watershed. Pinebrook: This project intends to continue and expand upon efforts undertaken in the past 6 years with the intent to ultimately treat all priority areas within the open space and the hazard fuels buildup. Given the continuity of fuels throughout the community, work must continue to create the greatest positive outcomes while maintaining existing treated areas. With climate change and invasive insect outbreaks, several vegetation types within Pinebrook are at risk of crossing an ecological threshold. With significant forest health concerns occurring, mixed conifer stands are experiencing high mortality rates within white, subalpine, and Douglas fir and aspen decline with limited recruitment and regeneration, the landscape is transitioning into a Condition Class of 3. PCMC: The 2023 Park City Municipal Corporation Community Wildfire Risk Assessment highlighted the Thaynes Canyon area in the highest category of treatment and protection for values at risk, intensified fire behavior, and high sediment delivery post fire. Steps need to be taken in Thaynes Canyon to reduce fuel loading and fire risk to the community, increase safety for firefighters and first responders, and nurture healthy forests now and into the future. In general, current conifer forests are dense, overstocked, and contain the wrong species mixture when compared to their historic conditions. Diameters are smaller than what was seen in the landscape over one hundred years ago. The mixed hardwood forests rely on fire to regenerate and maintain healthy aspen stands which have been suppressed for the last century. Neither vegetation type is regenerating successfully, meaning there are few young trees to provide the next generation of canopy cover. On the other hand, the Gambel oak is mostly maintaining its place in the landscape, though treatments are needed to reduce the fire risk to the continued human development in and around these forests.Gambel oak, too, has had its fire regime altered and forest structure has been changed because of it. A century of fire exclusion and lack of forest treatments has resulted in the accumulation of down woody debris. Excessive down woody debris complicates matters for fire suppression, while also providing breeding grounds for insects. Insect infestations are also out of sync with what was thought to have occurred in historic forests. Infestations are occurring across large swaths of the landscape, taking advantage of weakened trees due to competition for water and nutrients, all compounded by the effects of drought and climate change. Summit (FFSL is assisting with this project only): Summit County has matching funds must be spent by the end of 2026. If action is delayed and timely disturbance is not reintroduced then the forested resources on the 910 Ranch will continue to decline contributing to the over decline of the watershed, increasing the wildfire threat to the nearby WUI and severely damaging soils, water quality and wildlife habitat. Sageland Collaborative: Beavers are native to the East Canyon Creek watershed, and play an important role in building and maintaining wetlands throughout the watershed. Communities living along East Canyon have a mixed relationship with beavers- often frustrated by potential flooding of infrastructure while also enjoying the wildlife habitat and clean water that beavers actively maintain. Since 2019 multiple phases of low-tech, process-based restoration projects have been implemented in the watershed to encourage beaver activity and reconnection of desiccated floodplains. Recent conflicts between beaver and humans in the watershed has highlighted a need for outreach and capacity to implement beaver coexistence strategies. By investing in culvert protectors and pond levellers at high-conflict sites, we hope to protect the multi-year investment in the wetlands along East Canyon Creek. Additional Justification for Project Location/Timing Forestry: Decades of fire suppression have left much of the region's conifer forest in need of updated management strategies to reduce the risk of uncharacteristically large fires. Treatment areas were selected based on critical concern for residential WUI protection, extreme fire risk, region-wide needs for fuel management, improving rangeland health and big game habitat (wildlife collar data- elk), and creating safe ingress/egress for emergency personnel. All project areas are located near important mule deer area, but are currently 'low use', suggesting the need for habitat improvement. Project areas are also adjacent to the 1-80 wildlife overpass increasing the importance of habitat in these locations. Management plans (Utah's Wildlife Action Plan, Summit County Natural Resource Management Plan, Utah Wildfire Risk Assessment, Pinebrook HOA Management Plan, Toll Canyon, and Summit Park Forestry Management Plans) were also instrumental in site selection using vegetation analysis and professional guidance to select the highest priority sites for treatment. With climate change and invasive insect outbreaks, several vegetation types within the project area are at risk of crossing an ecological threshold. With significant forest health concerns occurring, mixed conifer stands are experiencing high mortality rates within white, subalpine, and Douglas fir and aspen decline with limited recruitment and regeneration, the landscape is transitioning into a Condition Class of 3 fire regime, a forests that have been substantially altered from their natural (historical) range. Riparian: Project locations for proposed riparian restoration work were identified with input from local land stewards, Utah DWR and DEQ representatives, and a number of management plans directed towards improving habitat and water quality. As part of several multi-phase projects throughout the entire Upper East Canyon watershed, these projects represent a piece of the holistic approach to restoring ecological resilience in an area which has been compromised by historically poor land management practices. Extensive riparian restoration work has occurred in the Upper East Canyon watershed, but continued investment to monitor and maintain this work will ensure continued progress toward resilience and restoration goals. Management plans referenced for site locations include DNR Conservation Plans, Basin Recreation Open Space Management Plan, and East Canyon Creek Management Plan.

This project complies with guidance and addresses objectives outlined in the following management plans: 1. Deer Herd Unit 17a Management Plan: Maintain mule deer habitat throughout the unit by protecting and enhancing existing crucial habitats and mitigating for losses due to natural and human impacts. Seek cooperative projects to improve the quality and quantity of deer habitat. Provide improved habitat security and escapement opportunities for deer. Future habitat work should be concentrated on the following areas; Quaking aspen forests unit wide. We will be working in the quaking aspen stands to reduce conifer competition. Anywhere along the front that would avert deer from entering cities. By improving the habitat condition up higher in the canyon we will hopefully keep deer from going down into the city. 2. Wildlife Action Plan: Under the threats, data gaps, and action section of the plan it identifies a list of Essential Conservation Actions. It states the need to restore and improve degraded wildlife habitats. species and others. The habitat type that this project is located in as identified in the WAP is the aquatic scrub/shrub type, forested aquatics, and riverine. We will be improving the habitat in this key habitat and addressing the threats to this habitat type. The plan identifies sediment transport imbalance as a medium threat to this habitat type and this project will help to reduce sediment transport by stabilizing the banks with vegetation and rocks. It identifies channel down-cutting as a high threat and this project will help to remove the channels in the stream and make a more subtle gradient. This project will raise the water levels to restore the floodplain and reduce this channel down-cutting. The plan mentions a management strategy that this project addresses to help improve this habitat type through restoring more natural water and sediment flow regimes. WAP Ch. 7-1; Mountain Riparian Habitat, criteria and score totals (ch. 7-8) 3rd highest priority statewide. 3. Statewide Moose Management Plan: Population Management Goal, Achieve optimum populations of moose in all suitable habitat within the state. Habitat Management Goal, Assure sufficient habitat is available to sustain healthy and productive moose populations. Recreation Goal, Provide high-quality opportunities for hunting and viewing of moose. Statewide Mule Deer Management Plan: 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. Habitat Objective 2, Improve the quality and quantity of vegetation for mule deer on a minimum of 500,000 acres of crucial range by 2019. 4. Statewide Elk Managment Plan: Increase forage production by annually treating a minimum of 40,000 acres of elk habitat. Maintain sufficient habitat to support elk herds at population objectives and reduce competition for forage between elk and livestock. 5. Snyderville Basin Special Recreation Open Space Management Guidelines 2019 6. Summit Park Forest Stewardship Plan 2018: Manage forest resources in the best interest of forest health, which should minimize losses associated with injurious insects and diseases. Detection and monitoring will be key components in minimizing forest pest impacts. Maintain or enhance wildlife use and habitat. Maintain favorable aesthetics by means of preventing large scale tree mortality. Adhere to the Forest Legacy Deed of Conservation Easement parameters. Actively manage to reduce the control/spread of noxious weeds, found throughout the property. 7. Snyderville Basin Special Recreation Trails Master Plan 2019: Provide and support a diversity of trail experiences: Objective 3C: Beyond the types of trail uses accommodated, consider a variety of user objectives in the planning, design, and construction of new trails. Objectives could include: Nature-viewing, Escape, Solitude, Challenge, Risk, Fun, Play, Exercise, Connectivity, Socializing. Develop a sustainable trail system in an environmentally responsible way: Objective 4A: Secure and budget sufficient, dependable annual maintenance funding for the community-wide trail system. Seek out partnerships with other organizations to share and leverage trail maintenance resources. 8. Summit County Code: 10-4-3: Critical Lands, 10-4-7 (A): Fire Protection Fuel Breaks/Vegetation Manipulation: Hazardous fuels in the form of native vegetation will be cleared around structures and around the perimeter of the development to assist in wildfire prevention measures. This fuel break is not intended as a complete vegetation clearing firebreak. 9. Summit County Snyderville Basin General Plan: Goals: (1) Preservation of open space, view corridors and scenic mountainsides, (2) preservation of Critical Lands (as defined in Section 10-4-3 of the Code) natural resources and the environment, including clean air and water. Community Vision: (1) Open Space, (2) Recreation, (4) Wildlife, (6) Critical Land Protection, (7) Water Conservation and (11) Natural Resource Preservation. Policy 5.22: Wildfire Management. Policy 5.23: Wildlife 10. Utah Administrative Code R68-9 (Utah's Noxious Weed Act): Utah Noxious Weed Act and the Summit County Code, Title 4, Chapter 4. The Act states that local governments are directed to take the necessary steps to manage the noxious weeds within their jurisdiction and provides specific authorization for local enforcement. 11. Utah Forest Action Plan 2016: Distribute materials to community members, individual landowners, public officials, interagency partners and media for further dissemination and outreach. Increase participation in state and national programs including Utah Living with Fire, Ready, Set, Go!, Firewise USA and Fire-Adaptive Communities. Use all available management tools, including forest industry, to restore and maintain healthy ecosystems. 12. Treatments lie within Central Region UPCD/UWRI focus areas. 13. UDWR Strategic Management Plan: Objective R2 Maintain existing wildlife habitat and increase the quality of critical habitats and watersheds throughout the state. Objective R4 Decrease risks to species and their habitats through integrated implementation of the WAP, Objective C6 Increase hunting and fishing opportunities. 14. Utah Shared Stewardship Agreement (May 2019):- Project is within Shared Stewardship priority areas. We have applied for Shared Stewardship as well and working with USFS and FFSL to do this. Meets objectives to reduce hazardous fuels. 15. Pinebrook's Community Wildfire Preparedness Plan: *Ensure maintenance staff remove dead trees and brush from Pinebrook parks *Hire professional contractors to treat approximately 10 acres or more of forest and scrub brush on PMA and PHOA open space annually, removing dead and dying trees, and creating fuel breaks *Undertake 3-5 volunteer fuel mitigation projects annually with a focus on removing dead trees and brush along roadways *Formulate incentives for homeowners within Pinebrook Master Association to harden their properties including by removing dead trees and brush *Investigate grant opportunities available to Pinebrook for wildfire risk mitigation activities (maintain regular dialogue with Utah WUI Coordinator, Park City Fire Dept and Summit County Fire Warden for this purpose) *Consult with and advise Gorgoza Water Company on initiatives to reduce fire risk near their structures in and around Pinebrook *Remain active participants of the Summit Wildfire Group to learn/share best practices, gain insights into other local and state initiatives, etc. *Coordinate with Basin Recreation to ensure that Pinebrook maximizes benefits of fuel reduction efforts near where our properties are adjacent *Initiate and maintain dialogue with Woodward about their fire risk mitigation initiatives and educate them about Pinebrook's initiatives *Initiate and maintain dialogue with Tailisker about fire risk mitigation initiatives near where our properties are adjacent and educate them about Pinebrook's initiatives; assist them in project planning and oversight; potentially incorporate their needs into Pinebrook grant requests *Initiate and maintain dialogue with Utah Open Lands about fire risk mitigation initiatives near where properties they manage are adjacent and educate them about Pinebrook's initiatives; assist them in project planning and oversight; potentially incorporate their needs into Pinebrook grant requests *Re-treat forest and scrub areas within PMA and PHOA open space that were previously treated by professionals to maintain fuel breaks

The combination of an essential watershed, high recreation use, and a high-extreme wildfire risk rating according to Utah Wildland Risk Assessment Portal (UWRAP) designated Upper East Canyon Watershed project a priority area for WRI and the Shared Stewardship program. Decades of wildfire suppression has resulted in stand vigor dominated by disease and insect infestation. Massive amounts of dead/down and dying conifers fill the landscape predisposing it to uncharacteristic wildfire. These wildfire impacts continue to worsen as the American West, currently facing historic drought conditions and climate change impacts, is getting warmer and drier. At the same time spending is not keeping pace with the increasing costs of wildfire suppression. While fuel treatments will continue to be important for minimizing the undesirable ecological effects of fire, and for enhancing firefighter safety; treatments must be implemented strategically across large areas. Collaboration among agencies, private landowners, and other organizations is critical for ensuring resilience and sustainable forest management. Inaction will contribute to commerce, infrastructure, and private property damage. Pro-active planning and action will increase resilience in the Upper East Canyon Watershed and enhance and safeguard the water downstream beneficiaries and preserve our way of life. This project promotes wildfire adaptive communities, wildfire resilient ecosystems and will pave the way for future fire risk reduction efforts including controlled burns through the USFS. This is extremely concerning for people who live in communities in Summit Park, Jeremy Ranch, Park City, and Pinebrook. Billions of dollars in commerce, infrastructure, and private property damage could occur. In the instance of a wildfire, both public and firefighter lives would be at risk. This project will begin the process of thinning the forest and reducing the fuel loads in order to reduce the fire danger and make it safer for fire fighters, communities and commerce to occur or pass through the project area. The BDAs and stream restoration will also help increase riparian wet areas and green vegetation which will act as green strips or fire breaks to slow and stop catastrophic fire spread. BDAs have the ability to raise the water table which increases the amount of time water is present on the landscape. This creates natural fire breaks that can slow down or even stop wildfires (Fairfax & Whittle 2022). (note: FFSL is assisting with Summit County project work only)

Forest management (e.g., thinning conifers, lop and scatter, pile burning) will reduce wildfire risk. Wildfires would cause soil erosion and debris flows that would degrade water quality. Using low-tech, process-based restoration to improve stream health will capture sediment and begin the process of aggrading incised stream channels. Healthy streams store water in the watershed, recharge groundwater, and regulate the flow of water throughout the year. There is evidence that healthy riparian corridors can halt the spread of wildfires and create more vegetation regrowth and resilience post-fire. Healthy riparian corridors are more resilient to wildfires because riparian vegetation such as willows and cottonwoods thrive after disturbance. Vegetation root systems in riparian corridors stabilize streambanks and are more resilient to flooding (i.e., down-cutting and incision), if and when post-fire rains erode into waterways. Conversely, degraded riparian corridors are not resilient to wildfire; they will require extensive efforts to restore vegetation and hydrologic function (i.e., deep incision and down-cutting). Riparian habitats can be resilient to wildfire and generally do not require extensive restoration (Halofsky and Hibbs 2009). A dense stand of degraded vegetation along a streambank could result in high fire severity burning, severely impacting the ability for natural recovery. The Two-Mile Creek drainage provides water to Gorgoza Mutual Water Company, and so to the thousands of residents of Pinebrook. Improving the forest health and mitigating the likelihood of intense and catastrophic wildfire will protect this vital watershed. The western edge of Pinebrook also drains into One-Mile Creek. A high severity wildfire in either one of these watersheds could have detrimental effects resulting in significant post fire sediment delivery to the drainages and potential impacts to development within the community.

Cultural clearance has already been preformed on Pinebrook, Summit Park and Toll Canyon treatment areas. Licensed contractors will be used for herbicide application. A cultural and archeological survey will take place on an earthen dam across East Canyon Creek to determine viability of future fish passage work and state involvement.

Basin Rec: Professional contractor will oversee the pile burning operations which include making spring and fall burn plans, checking in with the state air quality for permission to burn, informing state and local government resources of when burn days will be happening, and performing the actual burning. Basin Recreation will continue to reach out to the community about burn days via social media, reach out to nearby HOA's and community members, and assist on burn days when available. Forest thinning and fuels reduction treatment: Area will be flagged prior to work starting. All ladder fuels will be removed from standing trees. Conifers will be trimmed up 6-8ft. For shorter trees, pruning will not exceed 1/3 of tree height. Limbs should be trimmed as close as possible to the tree's trunk allowing for healthy scar recovery. Slash should be lopped and scattered if under 3-inch diameter or piled for burning if larger. Remove marked trees only. Rounds will be cut to manageable lengths (approximately 16 inches) and stacked along the road for the public to remove at a future established date. Use caution signs to close areas when felling trees along roads or trails. Pile building: The maximum pile size shall be no more than 8 feet in diameter and 6 feet in height. Piles shall not be within the drip line or 10 feet to reserved trees or 25 feet from riparian areas. Piles shall not be placed on logs or stumps, within 25 feet of private property, trails, or within drainage ditches. TU: Trout Unlimited will work with local plant experts to choose native shrubs and trees, as well as locations, to ensure successful plantings. Guidance for plant choices, planting locations in relation to stream elevation (toe of stream, bank, overbank, etc.) elevation choices (ASL), and planting methodologies (ie: hole depth/size, spacing, etc.) will come from several sources including the USDA "Guidelines to Riparian Forest Restoration in Utah", Utah State University's "Taking Care of Streams and Rivers in Cache Valley" and USDA/NRCS "Native Shrubs and Trees for Riparian Areas in the Intermountain West". Pinebrook: Contractors will adhere to the following prescriptions: Mixed Conifer Prescription: Thin all dead and decadent conifer trees within the unit. Because of terrain and lack of access, all thinned material shall be piled. All cut, and dead and down material, up to 10 inches in diameter shall be piled. Any lopped slash 3 inches in diameter or smaller shall be piled. Dead and down trees greater than 10 inches in diameter shall be lopped and bucked to 6 foot lengths and the logs left in place, but dispersed as to not create a significant concentration of logs piled on top of one another. The lopped slash shall be piled. No woody material should be left on existing trails and pulled back 10 feet from the edge of the trail where possible. Conifer trees shall be pruned up six to eight feet from the ground; for shorter trees, pruning shall not exceed 1/3 of the overall tree height. Thinning of doghair thickets of conifer regeneration consisting of groups of 3-10 coniferous trees shall have smallest and least vigorous trees removed, leaving 50% of the largest and most vigorous in the group as reserve. Within the area of juniper treatment, thinning out of the smaller encroachment will occur favoring the older and larger juniper trees. Some limited release of ladder fuels will occur in the reserved trees remaining in place. Thinning around the larger and older trees may also occur. While piling, all slash between 1 and 10 inches in diameter and greater than 2 feet in length shall be piled. Each pile shall include an area within the center of the pile consisting of small sized slash to provide kindling for ignition. Piles shall be covered with a minimum of 6x6 foot piece of appropriate waxed paper. Unless approved in writing, maximum pile size shall be no more than 8 feet in diameter and 6 feet in height. Piles shall not be within the drip line or 10 feet to reserved trees or 25 feet from riparian areas. Piles shall not be placed on logs or stumps, within 25 feet of private property, trails, or within drainage ditches. Gambel oak has basically three stand structures within the Pinebrook area: 1-5' tall growth with desire to break up some of the horizontal continuity and maintain some younger structure, 1-15' tall growth with similar desire to break up the horizontal and vertical continuity and removing any dead and decadent woody material, and 25-35' tall growth with desire to maintain as a shaded fuel break, but reducing some of the dead and decadent woody material and vertical structure. Desire is to reduce the basal area by 30% to break up the horizontal continuity and maintain a mosaic of younger composition. Any dead and decadent stems should be cut. All cut material shall be piled. While piling, all slash between 1 and 8 inches in diameter and greater than 2 feet in length shall be piled. Each pile shall include an area within the center of the pile consisting of small sized slash to provide kindling for ignition. Piles shall be covered with a minimum of 6x6 foot piece of appropriate waxed paper. Unless approved in writing, maximum pile size shall be no more than 8 feet in diameter and 6 feet in height. Piles shall not be within the drip line of conifer, aspen, or maple trees or 10 feet to reserved trees or 25 feet from riparian areas. Piles shall not be placed on logs or stumps, within 25 feet of private property, trails, or within drainage ditches. 1-10' tall Gambel oak - Desire is to reduce the living and dead basal area by 20% to break up the horizontal and vertical continuity in a mosaic to maintain a younger composition. Any dead and decadent stems should be cut. All cut material shall be piled. While piling, all slash between 1 and 8 inches in diameter and greater than 2 feet in length shall be piled. Each pile shall include an area within the center of the pile consisting of small sized slash to provide kindling for ignition. Piles shall be covered with a minimum of 6x6 foot piece of appropriate waxed paper. Unless approved in writing, maximum pile size shall be no more than 8 feet in diameter and 6 feet in height. Piles shall not be within the drip line of conifer, aspen, or maple trees or 10 feet to reserved trees or 25 feet from riparian areas. Piles shall not be placed on logs or stumps, within 25 feet of private property, trails, or within drainage ditches. 25-35' tall Gambel oak - Desire is to maintain as a shaded fuel break by reducing the dead and decadent woody material and vertical structure in the understory. Any dead and decadent stems should be cut. All cut material shall be piled. While piling, all slash between 1 and 8 inches in diameter and greater than 2 feet in length shall be piled. Each pile shall include an area within the center of the pile consisting of small sized slash to provide kindling for ignition. Piles shall be covered with a minimum of 6x6 foot piece of appropriate waxed paper. Unless approved in writing, maximum pile size shall be no more than 8 feet in diameter and 6 feet in height. Piles shall not be within the drip line of conifer, aspen, or maple trees or 10 feet to reserved trees or 25 feet from riparian areas. Piles shall not be placed on logs or stumps, within 25 feet of private property, trails, or within drainage ditches. Thin all dead and decadent aspen, hardwoods, and conifer trees within the unit. Because of terrain and lack of access, all thinned material shall be piled. All cut, and dead and down material, up to 10 inches in diameter shall be piled. Any lopped slash 3 inches in diameter or smaller shall be piled. Dead and down aspen showing significant signs of decay can be left on the ground. Dead and down trees greater than 10 inches in diameter shall be lopped and bucked to 6 foot lengths and the logs left in place, but dispersed as to not create a significant concentration of logs piled on top of one another. The lopped slash shall be piled. No woody material should be left on existing trails and pulled back 10 feet from the edge of the trail where possible. Select hardwoods and conifers encroaching into aspen clones may be cut and piled. These trees will be individual marked for removal and piling. While piling, all slash between 1 and 10 inches in diameter and greater than 2 feet in length shall be piled. Each pile shall include an area within the center of the pile consisting of small sized slash to provide kindling for ignition. Piles shall be covered with a minimum of 6x6 foot piece of appropriate waxed paper. Unless approved in writing, maximum pile size shall be no more than 8 feet in diameter and 6 feet in height. Piles shall not be within the drip line or 10 feet to reserved trees or 25 feet from riparian areas. Piles shall not be placed on logs or stumps, within 25 feet of private property, trails, or within drainage ditches. Wildlife cameras will be placed within several aspen stands to monitor for potential ungulate herbivory within the treated stands. If herbivory is impacting aspen regeneration, wildlife enclosures will be placed within strategic locations throughout Pinebrook. Any dead and decadent stems of hardwoods ,conifers, and other brush should be cut. All cut material shall be piled. While piling, all slash between 1 and 8 inches in diameter and greater than 2 feet in length shall be piled. Each pile shall include an area within the center of the pile consisting of small sized slash to provide kindling for ignition. Piles shall be covered with a minimum of 6x6 foot piece of appropriate waxed paper. Unless approved in writing, maximum pile size shall be no more than 8 feet in diameter and 6 feet in height. Piles shall not be within the drip line of conifer, aspen, or maple trees or 10 feet to reserved trees or 25 feet from riparian areas. Piles shall not be placed on logs or stumps, within 25 feet of private property, trails, or within drainage ditches. Common to all prescriptions - Careful consideration and precautions shall be given to protect stream bed and riparian zone (e.g. no fueling of equipment within 30 feet of a perennial or seasonal stream and no piles should be constructed where they could impede the flow of water).To reduce the introduction and spread of noxious weeds, ensure that all equipment is cleaned off prior to operating on Pinebrook Open Space lands. Remove all dirt, grease, and plant parts that carry noxious weed seeds or vegetative parts. This may be accomplished with a pressure washer. In addition, if equipment is found operating in a noxious weed area, the equipment must be cleaned before leaving the project or moving to another area in the location identified in the Request for Proposal. Warning Signage Contractor shall furnish warning signs along any trails leading to the project area. For prescribed burning, warning signs along adjacent roads shall also be provide by the contractor to advise public of smoke. Wildlife cameras will be placed in aspen groves of various treated units in Pinebrook open space with an intent to understand ungulate herbivory and its impact on aspen regeneration through the study of number and frequency of ungulate visitation to the groves. This understanding will then inform the installation of exclosures to prevent herbivory and encourage aspen growth. In FY25 several cameras were placed late in the growing season. Initial data appears to show limited herbivory but is inconclusive as to long-term concerns and management of aspen. Additional cameras as part of an undergraduate research project will be placed in new aspen treatments to monitor for the need of additional management action including placement of wildlife exclosures. Fire-adapted Landscapes And Safe Homes (FLASH) Program Work is intended to support defensible space concepts around homes and across the Pinebrook neighborhood and includes: Tree thinning Ground-based tree trimming (removal of ladder fuels) Brush removal PCMC: PCMC will advertise for contractors through the Utah Public Procurement Place (U3P) portal for both fuel reduction work and noxious weed mitigation contracts. Hazardous fuel reduction treatment methods will include but not limited to: Project boundaries, specific treatment areas, and potential release areas (PRA) exclusion areas to be marked and flagged prior to project implementation. Marking will be accomplished using handheld GPS devices. Manual treatment methods include but are not limited to; chainsaws for cutting woody vegetation (trees and shrubs), brush cutters, hand tools for weeding and release of regeneration, shrub removal, and hand-pulling of invasive weed species. Manual thinning cut and pile - Material is manually cut and formed into piles on site to burn later in Spring or Fall. Piles built by hand with a specification of no more than 8' in diameter and 6' in height. Pile location is situated away from trees and in open breaks in the canopy to minimize heat impacts to trees and will not be placed within the drip line or 10' to reserved marked trees or 25' from riparian areas. Special attention will be given to the location of noxious weeds (Garlic Mustard) building piles on top weeds where appropriate. Ladder fuels - All ladder fuels will be removed from standing trees. Conifers will be trimmed up 6-8ft. For shorter trees, pruning will not exceed 1/3 of tree height. Limbs should be trimmed as close as possible to the tree's trunk allowing for healthy scar recovery. Slash should be lopped and scattered if under 3-inch diameter or piled for burning if larger. Cut and broadcast chip- Material is manually cut and broadcast chipped on site along two tracked areas with tracked chipper. Chips will be spread and to a depth of no more than 4". Machinery will be washed before and after work on the project site to reduce the spread of noxious weeds. Thaynes Canyon Creek riparian area will see reduced thinning specifications to protect the stream corridor. Prescribed fire / pile burning - Pile burning involves creating burn plans for the spring and fall, checking with the state air quality for approval, acquiring appropriate permitting or planning, notifying state and local agencies about burn days, outreach and communication to the public, and executing the burn operational plan. Community outreach includes pile burning information on social media, contacting nearby HOAs - residents and stakeholders, and providing assistance on burn days when possible. Burn Objectives: 85% or more pile consumption, minimal crown effects, and minimal smoke impacts. Rehabilitation efforts will be made on any significant ground / soil disturbance from equipment with native seed mix. Close trails with appropriate signage in conjunction with PCMC staff. Noxious weed mitigation treatment methods: Noxious weed mitigation to include both mechanical and herbicide use. Appropriate adjustments will be made to herbicide and application rates in aquatic habitats to meet herbicide label requirements and protect sensitive, natural resources. Minimize non-target impacts and disturbance. Signage for the public will be posted while spraying. Different fuel types and fuel characteristics call for a different methodology and approach to what vegetation is desired to be removed or retained. The treatment specifications listed below are intended to be a starting point for project planning. A comprehensive site-specific work plan will be developed prior to treatment of the Thaynes Canyon parcel. Treatment Specifications based on vegetation type: Conifer: Adjacent to structures: Firewise Home Ignition Zone concepts should be used with few to no trees within 30 feet, and widely spaced trees (>10 feet) from 30-100 feet from the structure. Away from structures: Remove dead and down woody debris to minimize fuel loading. Prioritize the removal of down logs under 10 inches in diameter to reduce fine fuels. Some of these logs may be left for operational feasibility and other resource needs (e.g. soil cover). Larger logs left in place should be bucked to lay flat on the ground. Cut dead standing and other identified hazard trees, prioritizing areas near any trails, roads, or other infrastructure for public safety. Hazard tree cleanup would follow specifications for downed woody debris. Retain large (greater than 10 inches in diameter) dead standing trees away from roads, trails, buildings/houses, and other improvements to provide habitat for wildlife. Thin conifer regeneration to increase spacing between stems. Retain species by priority (most to least desirable): healthy aspen, Douglas fir, white fir. As a rule, leave the healthiest trees first as exact spacing is not the desired outcome. Remove conifer regeneration. Aspen: Adjacent to structures: Live aspens should be evaluated for root rot, heavy leans or growth structures that could make them hazardous and removed if found Prioritize retaining younger aspens near structures, as these tend to be less hazardous. Away from structures: Cut dead standing and other identified hazard trees within 2 times the tree height around trails, roads, or other infrastructure for public safety. Remove 80 percent of dead and downed material to increase the suckering potential of aspen. 20 percent of dead and down aspen can be retained for moisture retention and soil stability. Remove all conifer trees growing in the understory and mid-story layers of aspen stands under the drip lines. Remove 80 percent of the understory consisting of hardwood shrubs, preserving any aspen regeneration. Cutting occasional live aspens can be done, as this can serve to stimulate the stand. Adjacent to structures: Firewise® Home Ignition Zone concepts should be used with limited brush within 30 feet, and small pockets allowed from 30-100 feet from the structure. Away from structures: Brush should be thinned allowing for a few older-growth clumps of 5-10 trees to remain, serving as a shaded fuel break, Clumps should be isolated from other clumps to create canopy gaps. o Limb brush clumps to a height of 3-4 feet to raise canopy base height. Dead and downed material, understory vegetation and branches serving as ladder fuels should be removed. Maintenance treatments will need to be applied every 3 to 5 years at a minimum to address sprouting response. Mixed Vegetation: Retain healthy aspens and create room for them within the stand overstory and understory. Reduce encroachment in and around pockets of aspens, over individual aspen trees that are spread out. In all conifer areas: Retain Douglas-fir over every other conifer. Retain white fir or Engelmann spruce over subalpine fir. In general, retain larger and healthier conifers over smaller and suppressed. In areas of hardwoods and brush: Retain canyon maple, sagebrush and mountain mahogany over other species. In general, retain taller overstory vegetation that provides shade in clumps, and thinning by removing understory and ladder fuels. Summit: (note: FFSL is assisting with Summit County project work only) Summit County will advertise for contractors through a County procurement portal. Fuel reduction work will adhere to a FFLS created perception. A noxious weed contract will include mechanical (manual) removal and chemicals. Chemical use adjacent to bodies of water and stream corridors is strictly adhered to. Pile burning: Pile burning operations which include making spring and fall burn plans, checking in with the state air quality for permission to burn, informing state and local government resources of when burn days will be happening, and performing the actual burning. Community outreach about burn days via social media, reach out to nearby HOA's and community members, and assist on burn days when available. Shaded Fuel Break Retreatments: Hand crews will perform a shaded fuel break treatment on selected areas. The prescription for the treatment is an 80-100 ft treatment area on either side of the existing jeep road. Understory Area: Remove all brush under 8 ft tall, cutting brush minimum of 6in from ground, making sure to cut perpendicular to ground, leaving no spike or jab sticks. If taller than 8 ft, brush around the base and thin bush up 4-8 ft. Leave cut brush on ground when under 4in in diameter, otherwise pile for burning. When possible, large slash should be brought to the road and piled for chipping. When unable to pull the debris for chipping, slash piles can be made in open areas for future burning. Burn piles shall not be larger than 10 ft in diameter and piles less than 8 ft tall. Burn piles shall be teardrop shaped and tight with no air gaps for better consumption. Ladder fuels: All ladder fuels will be removed from standing trees. Conifers will be trimmed up 5-8ft. Limbs should be trimmed as close as possible to the tree's trunk allowing for healthy scar recovery. Slash should be lopped and scattered if under 4 in diameter or piled for burning if larger. Rounds will be cut to manageable lengths (approximately 16 inches) and stacked along the road for the public to remove at a future established date. Sageland Collaborative: We will proactively reach out to community members with an interest in mitigating beaver-based conflicts (i.e. culvert clogging, downed trees, pond flooding concerns) near restoration sites on McLeod and East Canyon Creeks. We will conduct site visits to identify the best practices to maximize watershed health while mitigating damage to infrastructure or safety risks. For instance, persistently clogged culverts may be addressed with beaver deceiver structures made of wire fencing that stop beavers from directly clogging the opening of a culvert. Beaver ponds that pose a flood risk may be managed with pond levellers, which keep an existing dam in place but halt further expansion. Where conflicts can't be mitigated in-pace, we will coordinate with UDWR and local professionals to live-trap and transport beavers elsewhere. We will consult with multiple established organizations and guidelines (i.e. US Fish and Wildlife Services' Beaver Restoration Guidebook, Beaver Institute, Beaver Coexistence Fund and USU's Beaver Ecology and Restoration Collaborative) when addressing human-beaver conflicts on a case by case basis. WRI funds will support personnel time and supplies to implement structures as needed.

Basin Rec: Since the beginning of the Summit Park Forest Health and Fuels Reduction project in 2020, we have contracted with Martin & Nicholson to monitor changes in treatment areas by conducting vegetation surveys. We plan to continue to use them for this purpose. Basin Recreation plans to continue its partnership with the CWMA to continue monitoring for noxious weed species on its Summit Park and Toll Canyon open spaces. This includes monitoring burn pile areas to help determine if they create soil conditions for noxious weed species (most notably garlic mustard) to flourish. Utah Open Lands holds the conservation easement for Toll Canyon and will continue their yearly assessments of forest health and ecosystem quality. TU: Photopoint monitoring will be utilized for tracking the success of riparian plantings along East Canyon Creek and its tributaries. Monitoring will closely follow protocol outlined in the "NRCS Quick Guide to Photopoint Monitoring". Before project implementation, photos will be collected as a baseline. Location information for each photograph as well as markers will be utilized to allow for repeatable documentation into the future. Data will be uploaded via a survey through the Esri product Survey 123, and will be shared with Summit County, the land stewards. Pinebrook: Pinebrook's project manager will regularly assess work progress and quality, reporting status to Pinebrook's Fire Safety Committee principals and HOA leaders. Specific to herbivory study, wildlife cameras will be placed within several aspen stands to monitor for potential ungulate activity within the treated stands. If herbivory is impacting aspen regeneration, wildlife enclosures to be placed within strategic locations throughout Pinebrook. PCMC: As the property owner, PCMC plays a critical role in the annual and ongoing management of the parcel. In partnership with Utah Open Lands, the perpetual conservation easement and regular monitoring ensure the long-term protection and sustained management of the property and its Conservation Values. PCMC will also track treatment activities to ensure objectives are met and adjust plans if needed. After contractors are selected through the RFP process, work plans will provide specific tasks such as documenting photos before, during, and after work, conducting vegetation surveys, and collecting GIS data. The PCMC Trails and Open Space Department's Forest Health and Fuels Program will monitor yearly changes in the project area, including fuel loads and the number and health of remaining trees and plants. Documentation for ground disturbance and assessing the need for soil erosion prevention will be recorded. Additionally, PCMC will continue collaborating with Alpine Forestry for consulting and monitoring, and with CWMA to track noxious weed populations, particularly Garlic Mustard. Summit: Monitoring is performed each year for 5 years and then every 5 years after. Retreatments are scheduled every 3-5 years.

Snyderville Basin Special Recreation District (Basin Rec), Division of Wildlife Resources, Trout Unlimited, Summit County, Park City Municipal Corporation (PCMC), Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, and Sageland Collaborative with beaver coexistence at stream restoration sites.

Basin Rec: Outside of continued yearly monitoring of the project area, Basin Recreation will continue to implement management plans to improve forest health. Shaded fuel break re-treatments will be needed every three to five years depending on vegetation regrowth. Basin Recreation prioritizes the functionality of the fire egress roads as wildfire evacuation routes. Continued monitoring and maintenance of the BDAs on Toll Creek will also be necessary to ensure the health of that riparian ecosystem. Monitoring of conifer understory growth will be conducted yearly to ensure the forest management projects are having the intended effect of encouraging regeneration. TU: This project supports goals laid out in the East Canyon Creek and East Canyon Creek Reservoir watershed plans. to reduce sediment and nutrient inputs into East Canyon Creek. Further, the East Canyon Creek Watershed Committee, a dedicated group of local citizens, local government, NGO's, and Utah state wildlife and water quality professionals, will be preparing a watershed plan for East Canyon Creek to address water quality concerns. These plans will support projects similar to this into the future, ensuring their long-term viability as stream and habitat restoration in the watershed continues. Pinebrook: Pinebrook has established a working budget which will fund ongoing maintenance of its open spaces, retreating areas every 3-5 years as needed. Outside of this request, Pinebrook's Community Wildfire Protection Plan is five years old and in need of updating. In large part because of UWRI funding, wildfire mitigation efforts prescribed in the latest CWPP have been accelerated. The CWPP provides overall guidance and prioritization of treatments proposed in UWRI requests. Summit: Retreatment every 2-3 years as needed to maintain fuel loads. PCMC: PCMC will conduct annual monitoring of the project area and continue implementing management plans to enhance forest health. Fuel reduction will need re-treatment every three to five years, depending on vegetation regrowth. Ensuring the functionality of the Thaynes Canyon emergency two-track corridor for evacuation remains a top priority and will require yearly assessments and follow-up work. Ongoing monitoring of the LTPBR implementation in the riparian ecosystem is critical, confirming improvement or adjustments need to be made to planned work. Annual monitoring of conifer and aspen understory growth will help confirm that forest management efforts are effectively promoting regeneration. Utah Open Lands, as the Conservation Easement holder, will oversee the property to ensure compliance with easement conditions and the permanent protection of its Conservation Values. Sageland Collaborative: Beaver coexistence is a key component of long-term management of restoration projects that have taken part in this region over the past 10 years. By investing in both outreach and implementation of coexistence structures near restoration sites, we are adding capacity that will benefit the watershed long-term.

This project will improve many sustainable uses of the area. As outlined in the description of what sustainable uses are it identifies recreation as a sustainable use. This project will greatly benefit recreational uses such as fishing by improving the opportunity for these activities. It will also benefit the experience that mountain bikers, hikers, snowshoers, cross country and downhill skiers will have by ensuring its resiliency to fire, infestation and disease. The overall experience will be improved beyond it simply remaining accessible. There will be an increase in forage availability by reducing the canopy cover and allowing more light to enter the forest floor. Post-treatment conditions fuels treatments will promote an increase in forage availability for both big game (elk, mule deer, moose) and domestic livestock, increase available surface water, and soil moisture, by reducing conifer canopy cover promoting light to enter the forest floor, resulting in a more productive aspen cover and grass understory. Additionally, BDAs will increase forage and disperse water. This project will also combat garlic mustard from spreading and reducing forage quality. This will largely be a grazing benefit for wildlife since most of the project area is on private land or conservation areas where livestock grazing is not allowed. There are, however, areas near Swaner Preserve, East Canyon Creek, and the 910 Cattle Ranch where livestock grazing activities occur. The project areas and the surrounding ski resorts are important recreation areas, from skiing, hiking, and fishing, given its proximity to Park City and Salt Lake City. Bonneville cutthroat trout are found in these waters and this project will help improve angler opportunities. A large part of Utah's economy is driven by this recreation, and protecting this watershed will help preserve those sustainable uses and continue to support the economy.