The Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest receives 9 million visitors a year, making it one of the most heavily visited forests in the nation. Not only does the UWC experience a high volume of recreationists, but the forest also has many recreational residences on the landscape, making it critical that land managers ensure public safety, as well as protect travel corridors like HWY150 that provide access to nearly all the recreation destinations in the Uinta Mountains, and access to firefighters who may be called to action. HWY 150 has been identified as a national Potential Operational Delineation (POD) boundary for wildfire operations and is a part of the Wildfire Crisis Strategy (WCS) for mitigating large-scale wildfires on the landscape. POD's are spatial units or containers defined by potential control features, such as roads and ridge tops, within which relevant information on forest conditions, ecology, and fire potential are considered (Thompson et al. 2022, U.S. Department of Agriculture 2022). The project's purpose is to reduce wildfire hazard by creating a shaded fuel break along 22 miles of HWY150 and approximately 1 mile of forest system road 041. By establishing a shaded fuel break the project aims to improve the safety of access routes for the public and firefighters in the event of a wildfire and aims to reduce surface and ladder fuels to reduce the likelihood of crown fires and interrupt fire spread. Two fish screens were installed in irrigation canals with WRI funding on the East Fork of the Bear River during 2013 (Hovarka Canal) and 2020 (East Fork Hilliard Canal). The operation and maintenance of these screens has become challenging during the past few years because of an apparent increase in didymo algae. Frequent cleaning of the screens is required to insure fish protection effectiveness.

1. Highway 150 corridor- "Public safety will be the priority when managing forest stands." By establishing a fuel break along HWY 150, the intent is to reduce hazardous fuels and increase sightlines that could impact public safety, as well as provide safer access and defensible features for fire managers to utilize in their efforts to protect values at risk while reducing risk to firefighters on the ground. Operate and maintain fish screens on the East Fork Bear River to protect fish in the presence of increased algal loads

Without resource management intervention, the ecological thresholds would be altered for years to come. If a stand replacing fire were to occur within the project boundary, the highway would lose its scenic quality and habitat would decline for species in the area. Fire suppression costs are exceedingly high due to the nature of the event and the emergency it creates. By creating safer conditions for the public and fire environment for fire management, we are not only maintaining but restoring the ecological threshold to a more desirable and acceptable state. Compared to emergency wildfire operations, prevention activities are lower cost, safer, and more efficient. The prevention activities needed to mitigate these threats are: 1) Hazard Tree Removal - HWY 150 is a heavily used recreation corridor, and public safety is increasingly at risk from falling trees. Public safety is also potentially at risk should a wildfire occur in the area (as identified in a 2005 Fireshed Assessment). Reducing hazardous fuels along the corridor will help mitigate this public safety issue and create fuel breaks for future fire management. 2) Conifer Removal and Aspen Enhancement- Removing standing dead and thinning stands of overgrown live conifer trees will provide openings for aspen to spread. By reducing these heavy fuels, the risk of unnatural wildfires will be lowered considerably. Thinning might increase the risk of wind throw and damage due to the reduced stand density. 3) WUI Hazardous Fuels Reduction- Reducing fuels via hand thinning around Monviso cabin community may also increase risk to wind throw and damage but will mitigate fire danger to a critical area of the watershed. The Hovarka and East Fork Hilliard fish screens were built in 2013 and 2020. Since construction didymo algae occurrence and densities has increased requiring consistent cleaning of the screens. Cleaning during high flows occurs biweekly and as flows drop cleaning moves to a once a week schedule. Without these activities the fish screens become clogged forcing water users to pull the screens up thereby making the fish screens useless and allowing for fish entrainment into the canal systems.

This project utilizes the standards, objectives and guidelines outlined below from the Wasatch- Cache Forest plan to Influence project development and placement on the landscape. It also utilizes species specific management plans from the state of Utah DNR to guide vegetation management projects to provide long term habitat benefit for multiple species. -2.5 Scenic Byways - (G2.5-1) Timber harvest, vegetation/fuel treatments, prescribed fire and wildland fire use are allowed when these activities are necessary to maintain or enhance the scenic setting for the long term. - 3.1a Aquatic habitat emphasis - (G3.1A-1) Timber harvest, vegetation/fuel treatments, prescribed fire, and wildland fire use are allowed only for the purposes of maintaining, improving or restoring riparian and aquatic habitat to desired conditions or to protect property in the wildland urban interface. - 4.1 Emphasis on backcountry non-motorized recreation settings - (G4.1-1) Vegetation/fuel treatment, prescribed fire, and wildland fire use are allowed to mimic historic conditions and to restore ecosystem functioning. -4.4 Emphasis on dispersed motorized recreation settings - (G4.4-1) Timber harvest, vegetation/fuel treatment, road construction, prescribed fire and wildland fire use are allowed to mimic historic conditions, to restore ecosystem functioning, and to protect property in the wildland urban interface, and are designed to be compatible with motorized recreation, but must not detract from the recreation setting over the long-term. - 5.1 Emphasis on maintaining or restoring forested ecosystem integrity while meeting multiple resource objectives - (G5.1-1) Timber harvest, vegetation/fuel treatment, prescribed fire and wildland fire use are allowed to maintain or restore proper functioning conditions, for hazardous fuel reduction, to protect property in the wildland urban interface, and to provide for commodity and non-commodity outputs and services. - (Subgoal 3d) Restore or maintain fire-adapted ecosystems (consistent with land uses, historic fire regimes, and other Forest Plan direction) through wildland fire use, prescribed fire, timber harvest or mechanical treatments. -(G24) Management activities that negatively affect pollinators (e.g. insecticide, herbicide application and prescribed burns) should not be conducted during the flowering period of any known Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive plant populations in the application area. An exception to this guideline is the application of Bacillus thuringiensis. - (G37) Use prescribed fire in wilderness only to meet wilderness management objectives. The objective of prescribed fire management in wilderness (FSM 2324.21) is to reduce, to an acceptable level, the risks and consequences of wildfire within wilderness or escaping from wilderness. - (G3.1W-1) Vegetation/fuel treatment, prescribed fire, and wildland fire use are allowed for the purposes of maintaining, improving or restoring watersheds to desired conditions, and to protect property in the wildland urban interface. - (G3.2U-1) Vegetation/fuel treatment, prescribed fire and wildland fire use are allowed for the purposes of maintaining, improving or restoring terrestrial habitat, for hazardous fuel reduction, and to protect property in the wildland urban interface. - (G4.2-1) Vegetation/fuels treatment, prescribed fire, and wildland fire use are allowed to mimic historic conditions and to restore ecosystem functioning. - (G4.3-1) Timber harvest, vegetation/fuels treatment, road construction, prescribed fire and wildland fire use are allowed to mimic historic conditions and to restore ecosystem functioning as compatible with the backcountry recreation opportunity and natural setting desired. - (G4.5-1) Timber harvest, road construction, vegetation/fuel treatment, prescribed fire, new recreation development, and new trail construction are allowed for the purposes of providing public enjoyment, safety, and protection of site investments. - (G5.2-) Prior to use of prescribed fire and wildland fire use, investments made for timber production, such as road systems and silvicultural improvements, and the value of the timber for wood production receive consideration. - (G6.2 -1) Timber harvest, vegetation/fuels treatments, prescribed fire, and wildland fire use are allowed to maintain or improve forage production or for hazardous fuel reduction. -(Objective 3.b.) Stimulate aspen regeneration and reduce other encroaching woody species in aspen by treating (fire use and/or timber harvest) approximately 3,200 acres average annually for a 10- year total of 32,000 acres. - Vegetation cover types will form a mosaic of plant communities representing a diverse mix of ages, sizes, and species. Fire use will play a role in reducing fuels, maintaining the historic dynamic of aspen regeneration and ratio of conifer to aspen and mountain brush vegetation patterns and age classes. Mechanical treatment of fuels along with limited use of prescribed fire will emphasize the safety of people and protection of property in the heavily populated and increasingly developed urban wildland interface adjacent to National Forest. 2. 2001 Roadless Rule: -Prohibits cutting, sale, and removal of timber in inventoried roadless areas, except: -For the cutting, sale, or removal of generally small diameter trees which maintains or improves roadless characteristics and to: -improve habitat for threatened, endangered, proposed, or sensitive species, or -maintain or restore ecosystem composition and structure, such as reducing the risk of uncharacteristic wildfire effects. Statewide Elk Management Plan B. Habitat Management Goal: Conserve and improve elk habitat throughout the state. Habitat Objective 1: Maintain sufficient habitat to support elk herds at population objectives and reduce competition for forage between elk and livestock. Strategies: A. Elk Habitat Classification and Assessment a. Identify and characterize elk habitat throughout the state. b. Provide information to educate counties, municipalities, and developers to promote zoning that recognizes elk habitats and movement corridors. B. Habitat Management a. Coordinate with land management agencies and private landowners to properly manage and improve elk habitat, especially calving and wintering areas. b. Work with state and federal land management agencies and private landowners to use livestock as a management tool to enhance crucial elk ranges. c. It is recommended that activities related to project disturbances occurring in crucial elk habitats should occur outside of Dec. 1 to April 15 for crucial winter ranges and May 15 to July 15 for parturition. d. Where crucial elk habitat will be lost, if avoidance is not practical, mitigation should be encouraged. A voluntary mitigation ratio of 4:1, improving or conserving 4 acres for every 1 acre disturbed is recommended. C. Habitat Improvement a. Utilize Habitat Council, Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative, Wildlife Conservation Permit funds, and other funding mechanisms to restore or improve crucial elk habitats. b. Increase forage production by annually treating a minimum of 40,000 acres of elk habitat. c. Coordinate with land management agencies, conservation organizations, private landowners, and local leaders through the regional Watershed Restoration Initiative working groups to identify and prioritize elk habitats that are in need of enhancement or restoration. i. Identify habitat projects on summer ranges (aspen communities) to improve calving habitat and summer forage. ii. Encourage land managers to manage portions of forests in early succession stages through the use of controlled burning, logging or other methods. Controlled burning in areas with invasive weed and/or safety concerns should be supported only when adequate planning and mitigation measures have been identified. iii. Promote Fire Use (let-burn) policies in appropriate areas that will benefit elk, and conduct reseeding efforts post wildlife. Statewide Management Plan for Mule Deer GMU 6 Chalk Creek and GMU 8 North Slope, as above. Acres treated on public land summer range will considerably increase overall acres implemented on the Chalk Creek unit, though the primary threat to deer herds on that unit as a whole remains direct loss and/or decline of winter range. Thinning projects and proactive fire regime management should benefit hunting opportunities both in improved herd productivity and huntable area. Habitat Objective 1. Strategies: B. Habitat Management and Conservation a. 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 Habitat Objective 2: Improve the quality and quantity of vegetation for mule deer on a minimum of 500,000 acres of crucial range by 2024. Strategies: A. Watershed Restoration Initiative a. Continue to support and provide leadership for the Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative, which emphasizes improving sagebrush-steppe, aspen, and riparian habitats throughout Utah b. Work with land management agencies, conservation organizations, private landowners, and local leaders through the regional Watershed Restoration Initiative working groups to identify and prioritize mule deer habitats that are in need of enhancement or restoration. Emphasis should be placed on crucial habitats including sagebrush winter ranges and aspen summer ranges Improve the quality and quantity of vegetation for mule deer on a minimum of 500,000 acres of crucial range by 2024. d. Initiate broad scale vegetative treatment projects to improve mule deer habitat with emphasis on drought or fire damaged sagebrush winter ranges, ranges that have been taken over by invasive annual grass species, and ranges being diminished by encroachment of conifers into sagebrush or aspen habitats, ensuring that seed mixes contain sufficient forbs and browse species e. Encourage land managers to manage portions of pinyon-juniper woodlands and aspen-conifer forests in early successional stages using various methods including timber harvest and managed fire UDWR Wildlife Action Plan: - While the Aspen-Conifer physical (abiotic) habitat remains largely intact in Utah, coverage of aspen itself within that setting has declined greatly for two main reasons: (1) departure from natural fire regime (reduction in disturbance), resulting in widespread forest succession to conifer dominance; and (2) heavy ungulate browsing on young aspen stems, following disturbance. - The growing problem of catastrophic mega-fires can be solved by a systematic campaign of active restoration via mechanical fuel-reduction treatments and prescribed fire to safely return wildfire as a viable, natural, cost effective means of maintaining necessary patterns of ecological succession across the landscape. - Increasing disturbance from either prescribed or natural fire. Recent studies have shown that larger scale burns (e.g., 5,000 acres) that burn more intensely have been the most successful in terms of aspen regeneration. Higher-intensity burns stimulate higher numbers of young aspen per unit area, than lower intensity burns. A larger treatment area distributes ungulate browse pressure, allowing most young aspen stems to reach a safe height. - Applying mechanical disturbance agents such as timber harvest. This can also be used to stimulate aspen regeneration and avoid or reduce resource losses to conifer beetles. As with fire, larger mechanical treatment areas serve to distribute browsing pressure and reduce damage to individual stems, increasing regeneration success. UDWR Strategic Plan: this project will help the UDWR meet its Resource Goal, which is to "expand wildlife populations and conserve sensitive species by protecting and improving wildlife habitat. This project will specifically address objectives 2 and 3 of the UDWR Resource Goal, which are to (1) "increase fish and game populations to meet management plan objectives and expand quality fishing and hunting opportunities," and to (2) "conserve sensitive species to prevent them from becoming listed as threatened or endangered." UDWR Upper Bear River Management Plan (hydrologic unit 16010101): The plan cites migration barriers and habitat fragmentation as a physical issue and a solution to "provide connectivity as appropriate by modifying diversion structures, improving passage at culverts, etc." [page 9]. Bonneville Cutthroat Trout Conservation Agreement and Strategy (signed by all states within historic range): The goal of the BCT CAS is to (1) "ensure the long-term existence of BCT within its historic range [page 2]. This project will also help to address objective three which is to work with irrigation companies to reduce entrainment by screening high risk irrigation structures.

In 2018, two large fires occurred in the Upper Provo/Hwy 150 area, the Murdock Fire and the Slate Fire. The primary difference between these fires was the standing dead component. The Murdock Fire had a large standing dead component while the Slate Fire had a more functioning/diverse ecosystem. This greatly affected the fire behavior on these fires. The Murdock Fire burned close to 6,000 acres and with high severity. The Slate Fire burned at a more moderate fire severity with more of a patchwork across the landscape. In 2020, the Upper Provo Fire burned over 480 acres of mixed conifer and lodgepole pine adjacent to the Murdock Fire burn area but did not burn with such high severity. In 2024, the Yellow Lake Fire burned over 33,000 acres with mixed severity in aspen mixed conifier stands, the fire behavior changed when it ran into the fuels treatment on Iron Mine Mountain. These burned areas will act as a fuel break, which should prevent future fires from spreading easily across the basin. By treating the fuels and hazardous conditions throughout the Hwy 150 Corridor, any natural start or prescribed fire will have a better holding feature than what currently exists. The HWY 150 Project is located near the communities of Monviso, Christmas Meadows, Pine Valley, and Soapstone all of which have been identified by the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands as Communities at Risk. The project is located along Highway 150, a heavily used recreation corridor and designated scenic byway. Numerous campgrounds and recreation access points dot the highway. The current fuel conditions pose a risk to public safety due to ingress/egress issues, as identified in a 2005 Fireshed Assessment. The 2013 Northern Utah Regional Wildfire Protection Plan identifies this area as a moderate - high risk area for wildfire. Previous mastication along the highway corridor has directly impacted fire conditions by altering fire behavior, allowing resources to respond faster and utilize suppression tactics more effectively. In addition, the change to fire condition class will reduce the risk of unwanted fire effects and increase public and firefighter safety. This project is in a shared stewardship to mitigate risks to value resources. It includes portions of the headwaters of the Upper Provo River, a highly ranked priority watershed. The priority ranking map developed cooperatively between the State of Utah and the Forest Service looks at drinking water, hazardous fuels and strategic protection. The Upper Provo watershed supplies two primary Central Utah Water Conservancy reservoirs (Deer Creek & Jordanelle), and into Utah Lake. The Bear River watershed drains into Bear Lake and eventually the Great Salt Lake.

One of the main objectives of this project is to increase water quantity and improve water quality. Streams in the area lack complexity and have relatively small riparian areas. The streams within the project area are a part of the Bear River watershed that supplies drinking water for much of northern Utah. The recent beetle mortality has provided an opportunity to improve stream and riparian conditions. There are currently a lot of large standing dead trees that can be placed/encouraged to fall into streams. This will increase the amount of large woody debris in streams. These trees will increase stream complexity by creating pools, diverting water into adjacent floodplains, slowing flows, and raising water levels. Removing encroaching conifer in riparian areas will also help increase the water quality and quantity in the system, while encouraging aspen and willow expansion. By slowing flows of water, erosion will be decreased during flood events. Slowing the water will also increase the quantity of water that can seep into the soil and benefit the system. By slowing the flows and recharging groundwater aquifers, ephemeral streams can flow year-long and extend the amount of connective stream habitat for fish and wildlife (particularly cutthroat trout and boreal toad). When water is slowed down, it also allows sediment to drop out of the stream flows and settle, which will improve water quality for downstream users. Large woody debris (LWD) will restore floodplains by depositing soil and providing water to create mesic meadows. This water will also recharge area aquifers. This water will then later re-enter creeks/streams downstream as cooler seeps, which is critically essential to cold-water fish, e.g., salmonids. This colder water and subsurface movement will also reduce the amount of water loss to evaporation.

In July 2024, the Forest Supervisor signed a decision memo authorizing the creation of a shaded fuel break spanning approximately twenty-two miles along the Mirror Lake Highway (Highway 150). This action in particular falls under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (Public Law 117-58 Section 40806). The proposed action adheres to the 2003 Land and Resources Management Plan (Forest Plan) and complies with all relevant laws and regulations. The project will be executed in phases, ensuring that each treatment unit meets the required compliance standards before implementation.

Public safety is one of our highest priorities, so we will focus on hazard tree removal and cutting and piling closest to HWY150. Treatment methods for future phases of this project would vary by landscape designations. Forest Service Fire Management will remove, burn, or sell the slash piles generated as fuelwood as resources and burn conditions allow. Adding large woody debris into stream channels to prevent downcutting and erosion and provide additional habitat to native fish. Trout Unlimited will hire a seasonal intern to operate and maintain the fish screens on the East Fork Bear River from May through August. During high stream flows and algal loads during May and June, the intern will likely need to clean the screen on a near daily basis. As stream flow and algal loads subside in July and August, then less frequent operation and maintenance will be required.

In those areas where cultural resource surveys have been completed, implementation monitoring will be utilized to verify that the desired treatment results are being achieved and to change/alter management strategy if required to meet objectives. The Forest Service has vegetative study sites throughout the project area. Each site will be reviewed every 3-5 years to assess the vegetative cover and species abundance. Photo points will also be placed in the treatment areas to monitor changes over time. Monitoring the timber stand will also determine when future timber harvest occurs in the project area. Northern Goshawk territories occur adjacent to this project, and nesting activity will be monitored. Monitoring of stream conditions will continue on the forest-established rotation during fall electrofishing endeavors. requests for funding for monitoring for weeds will follow in subsequent treatments.

Mule Deer Foundation- The Forest Service has partnered with MDF through a Stewardship agreement, allowing them to help with planning, contract oversight, and administration. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources - Northern Region Aquatics has assisted in selecting meadow encroachment treatment areas and jointly (with USFS) monitoring amphibian populations. UDWR will be an integral part of this project through WRI, advice, and collaboration on areas to target for big game habitat improvements. District staff will work with permittees to ensure the safety of livestock. Forestry, Fire, and State Lands will be working with private landowners adjacent to Monviso for work in the proposal. Trout Unlimited is currently designing and implementing multiple stream-crossing improvements in the area, including removing old culverts that are potential fish barriers. Thus, improving habitat for various fish species, including Bonneville Cutthroat trout.They are also operating and maintaining fish screens that prevent the entrainment of fish down canal systems.

Treatment methods will be specifically defined in future phase proposal documents. They may include but are not limited to lop and scatter, mechanical thinning, hand cut and pile, and prescribed burning. If FS monitoring efforts show renewed encroachment, further treatments will be undertaken. Grazing will continue where it is currently allowed. If veg plot surveys indicate a need, the prescribed fire, lop scatter, and mastication will be retreated. All other permitted public uses will continue on project lands as before. This project ties into the future and ongoing projects within the West Bear EIS, Mill City Rx, Upper Provo Restoration, Anadarko EA, Gold Hill EA, and Xmas Meadows project. Potential Future treatments include but are not limited to river and stream channel restoration and creating shaded fuel breaks along FS 057/FS 113 road (Christmas Meadows Road(, FS 120 (Lily Lake Road), and ATV trails. Other system trails may also be treated, such as Christmas Meadows Trail, Boundary Creek Trail to Baker Lake, and Bear River Trail up to the wilderness boundary. Trout Unlimited and its partners are dedicated to the continued operation of the fish screens on the Hovarka and East Fork Hilliard canals. These fish screens provide critical protection to the various fish species in the East Fork Bear River and as such the fish screens will continue to be maintained and operational. Trout Unlimited is in constant communication with the water users on the two canals to ensure that fish screen operation and water needs are being met and when improvements or maintenance is necessary it is completed in a timely manner. The materials used in the construction of the fish screens allow for a lifespan of 30-50 years before needing major repairs or replacement.

This project will establish a shaded fuel break along the HWY 150. Vegetation and fuels treatments will involve thinning live and dead overstory and the removal of ladder fuels to help further establish this highway as a Potential Operational Delineation (POD) to aid in the Wildfire Crisis Strategy. This will reduce the risk of a crown fire crossing the highway, reduce the likelihood of a ground fire climbing into the crown along the highway, build resistance and resilience to insects and disease among remaining trees, and reduce competition among remaining trees. Treatments will be implemented in a way that does not remove the intrinsic visual characteristics of the byway and aids in the protection of sustainable resources on either side of the highway in the event of a wildfire. These uses include future sustainable timber sales, grazing, hunting, fishing opportunities, biomass utilization, carbon storage, hiking, and hydraulic functions of the watersheds surrounding the highway, such as the Bear, Weber and Provo Rivers. Implementing these treatments will create sustainable materials, such as saw timber and fuelwood, to be used in local communities. For these reasons, this project will work to aid in the protection of future sustainable use of the resources along this highway. This project also improves or protects (from uncharacteristic wildfire) habitat for the following species, creating sustainable opportunities for public hunting, fishing, birding, and wildlife watching. The primary benefit to wildlife long-term in the area is the ability to limit the spread of wildfire should a severe fire happen along HWY150. All species will benefit from increased water retention along the Bear River and its tributaries. This project will also increase the site distance along HWY 150, allowing motorists increased stopping time should wildlife be within the roadway. Moose -- One of the project's goals is to promote aspen regeneration in conifer encroached stands using prescribed fire and thinning. T Elk - One of the project's goals is to promote aspen regeneration in conifer encroached stands using prescribed fire and thinning. The regeneration of aspen would create summer calving and foraging habitats. American Beaver -- The project's main object is to create a shaded fuel break to reduce the risk of uncharacteristic wildfire. This will help promote aspen regeneration by opening the canopy. The aspen will not only be a food source but will also be a resource for them to construct dams and lodges. Mule Deer - One of the project's goals is to promote aspen regeneration in conifer encroached stands by using prescribed fire and thinning. The regeneration of aspen would create summer calving and foraging habitats. American Pika -- The thinning for the shaded fuel brake will promote the growth of early successional plants (weeds, grasses, flowering plants, etc.). Pika's primary food source is early successional plants. We can expect an increase in foraging habitat for Pika from this shaded fuel break. Fish Species Bonneville cutthroat trout (BCT)have suffered range-wide declines in distribution and abundance and currently occupy about 35% of their historical range (May and Albeke, 2005). BCTs are considered a species of special concern in all states where they're found. Northern leatherside chub (NLC) have also suffered range-wide declines in their distribution and abundance, although their full historic range in Utah, Wyoming, and Idaho is still unclear (UDWR 2009). NLCs are considered a species of particular concern in all states where they're found. In Utah, NLCs have only been found in the Upper Bear River drainage (Webber et al. 2009). One of the leading causes for their decline is habitat loss and degradation. This project will improve stream conditions through meadow restoration, large woody debris additions (channel complexity), and reduced risk from catastrophic wildfires. Active habitat restoration efforts, as proposed by this project, are the greatest protection against future ESA listing of BCT and NLC. An additional cause of decline is the loss of fish down irrigation canals. The installation and operation of fish screens on these canals drastically reduced the number of fish that are lost from the East fork of the Bear River. These fish screens, however, need regular maintenance mainly cleaning to ensure their continued operation ensuring fish will no longer be lost down the canal systems. While this project is not primarily a habitat improvement project for most species. It is a project meant to protect habitat in the event of uncharacteristic wildfire. The projects, such as the CALR work with trout unlimited and the Bourbon project, being completed in conjunction with this project are major habitat improvement projects for both aquatic and terrestrial species.