The project area is identified as important habitat for sage-grouse and critical winter/spring habitat for big game. This critical area supports migratory deer from UT, ID and WY through the winter and early spring months. The goals of this project are to maintain native understory vegetation, primarily the shrub species and improve water availability and quality. Thinning treatments in these stands are needed to prevent further juniper encroachment. Encroachment severity ranges from Phase 1 to 3, though is still primarily Phase 1. Removal of junipers should help through reduced soil moisture competition for water, improved snowmelt infiltration and reduce hazardous fuel loads which lessens the potential for a catastrophic fire event and resulting habitat loss. Multiple phases will be required to treat this large area. This is phase III of the project. The North Cisco Beach Road culvert crossing of North Eden Creek consists of a 90-foot long culvert at a 3% gradient with about a three-foot drop at its outlet. This Rich County culvert on a paved road prevents the movement and migration of fishes to about 10 miles of stream habitat upstream. This passage problem limits the available spawning and early rearing of fish from Bear Lake such as Bonneville Cutthroat Trout. The current surface irrigation diversion dewaters about 1.5 miles of North Eden Creek to the confluence with Bear Lake. Water flows are very low during the irrigation season, limiting fish habitat. Most of the stream habitat in North Eden Creek is in poor condition due to past grazing, removal of vegetation, and old reservoirs. Survey and assessment work by Utah State University found high silt composition, lack of instream wood, few riparian shrubs and trees, and limited floodplain extent in 2024. Concurrently, upstream of the county road culvert, fish were only found in the headwaters, where there were diverse macroinvertebrate species and cold water temperatures.

The objective of this project is to maintain the existing native plant communities that are important for sage grouse, mule deer, moose, pronghorn, and elk by removing encroaching PJ trees. In addition, stream habitat will be reconnected and restored on North Eden Creek and restored on South Eden Creek. Specific Objectives: -Remove ~1500 acres of phase I juniper through a Lop and Scatter treatment before the encroachment reaches a threshold that would require more invasive and expensive treatments. -i.e. bullhog and seeding of phase II and III juniper. -Restore ~ 150 acres of phase2/3 juniper stands to shrub dominated vegetation cover -Maintain sage-grouse, mule deer and elk winter and breeding habitats. -Reduce hazardous fuels to diminish the potential for a larger catastrophic fire event. -Take some pressure off of South Eden Creek by installing a new water development system which will pull water out of the bottoms and distribute it up on the benches. This water system will help distribute livestock and wildlife across the range. -Increase riparian area and species by installing in Zeedyk stream structures to slow the flow of water and help collect sediment. - Replace the North Cisco Beach Road culvert crossing of North Eden Creek with a bottomless arch culvert which will be fully fish passable. - Replace the North Eden Creek surface irrigation diversion with a new agricultural well to restore stream flows to 1.5 miles of the creek. - Restore stream and riparian habitat to 2 miles of North Eden Creek by adding wood using process-based stream restoration techniques and riparian plantings. Improve fish passage to about 0.75 miles of stream with headwater culvert replacements. - Monitor North Eden Creek fish, stream habitat, and riparian vegetation to assess expected changes over time with restoration actions.

Overlaying the project area for sagebrush conservation goals on the USGS identified core and growth opportunities areas shows that our project will directly conserve and expand the core sagebrush habitat in and around South Eden Canyon (see documents for map). A majority of the treatment area is considered phase I juniper stands. Treating now while junipers are small will allow for cheaper treatment methods. Waiting on treating the project area will results in loss of sagebrush habitat and require more expensive and disrupting treatment methods. The winter of 23' was hard on big game species throughout all of N. Utah but especially the Bear Lake Valley. This location was a feeding site for Mule Deer. Deer migrate in the winter months to this three corner area of Utah, Wyoming, and Idaho. It is critical Mule Deer winter range. Removing PJ will keep the native brush species intact to help these deer survive harsh winters and keep them from moving down into agriculture and residential areas. Reconnecting fish passage on Bear Lake tributaries has greatly increased wild cutthroat trout numbers in the lake. North Eden Creek is the next opportunity to continue this restoration process to support Bear Lake's Blue-Ribbon fishery. Planning and design of the North Eden Creek culvert replacement and irrigation system upgrades has been underway for about 6 years. This work was supported by WRI grants #5284 and #5520 and has resulted in the Rich County Commissioners approving the culvert replacement project. A 100% engineering design has been completed and a construction contract awarded. Eighty-three percent of the construction funding has been secured and this proposal includes the "last money in" to complete the project in 2026 before the deadlines of the other funding sources. Improving fish passage into the creek will be most productive if water flows are restored to the lower 1.5 miles of the creek. A detailed alternatives assessment was completed for the irrigation system that resulted in the preferred option to replace the surface diversion with a new agricultural well. Water rights holders are ready to move forward with this option. Lastly, improvements in fish passage will also be most effective if the stream habitat can fully support the spawning and rearing of fishes. Fish habitat is currently in poor condition, but miles of stream can be made much more productive with low-cost methods such as process-based stream restoration and riparian plantings. Also, stream and riparian vegetation improvements will support a variety of wildlife species, including Sage Grouse and mule deer. The winter of 23' was hard on big game species throughout all of N. Utah but especially the Bear Lake Valley. This location was a feeding site for Mule Deer. Deer migrate in the winter months to this three corner area of Utah, Wyoming, and Idaho. It is critical Mule Deer winter range. Removing PJ will keep the native brush species intact to help these deer survive harsh winters and keep them from moving down into agriculture and residential areas. Reconnecting fish passage on Bear Lake tributaries has greatly increased wild cutthroat trout numbers in the lake. North Eden Creek is the next opportunity to continue this restoration process to support Bear Lake's Blue-Ribbon fishery. Planning and design of the North Eden Creek culvert replacement and irrigation system upgrades has been underway for about 6 years. This work was supported by WRI grants #5284 and #5520 and has resulted in the Rich County Commissioners approving the culvert replacement project. A 100% engineering design has been completed and a construction contract awarded. Eighty-three percent of the construction funding has been secured and this proposal includes the "last money in" to complete the project in 2026 before the deadlines of the other funding sources. Improving fish passage into the creek will be most productive if water flows are restored to the lower 1.5 miles of the creek. A detailed alternatives assessment was completed for the irrigation system that resulted in the preferred option to replace the surface diversion with a new agricultural well. Water rights holders are ready to move forward with this option. Lastly, improvements in fish passage will also be most effective if the stream habitat can fully support the spawning and rearing of fishes. Fish habitat is currently in poor condition, but miles of stream can be made much more productive with low-cost methods such as process-based stream restoration and riparian plantings. Also, stream and riparian vegetation improvements will support a variety of wildlife species, including Sage Grouse and mule deer.

Utah's Sage-grouse strategic Management plan: Goal: Protect, maintain, enhance, and restore greater sage-grouse populations, habitats, and the ecosystems that sustain them. Reestablish, augment, and facilitate sustainable populations of greater sage-grouse in suitable habitats to improve statewide population continuity and distribution. Objective B-2: Enhance and restore current and potential sage-grouse habitats and the ecosystems that sustain them. Objective C-2: Identify and secure funding for habitat enhancement, research, monitoring, and maintenance. A. Vegetation management. 1. Manage seasonal sage-grouse habitats in a manner appropriate to the site conditions, and based on habitat assessment or local expert knowledge and observed ecological condition. and 4. Manage for late summer brood-rearing habitat that includes a variety of succulent vegetation adjacent to sagebrush escape and loafing cover. Create or enhance riparian/wet meadow habitat in areas where late brood-rearing habitat is lacking. Strive to manage sagebrush habitats with 10-25% canopy cover. State of Utah - Resource Management Plan pg 236 Expand Wildlife Populations Protect existing habitat and improve 500,000 acres of habitat Produce and maintain the desired vegetation for wildlife and livestock. Deer Unit Management Plan 2 Cache -Address loss of critical winter range to wildfires and other land management practices Statewide Deer Management Plan -Loss of critical winter range habitat Elk Herd Unit Management Plan #2 Cache Habitat - Maintain and/or enhance forage production through direct range improvements throughout the unit on winter range to achieve population management objectives. Pay special attention to WMA's and areas were holding elk could alleviate pressure on private landowners experiencing damage by wintering elk. Utah Statewide Elk Management Plan -Increase forage production by annually treating a minimum of 40,000 acres of elk habitat. Rich CRMP Support efforts that restore degraded habitats and connectivity between fragmented habitats. USFWS Partners for Fish and Wildlife Strategic Plan Project addresses habitat threats for priority species within a PFW priority area (Big Water Focus Area) for restoration work. Utah Wildlife Action Plan Threats to lowland sagebrush iii) Promoting and funding restoration that reduces the Uncharacteristic class, including cutting/mulching/chaining of invading pinyon and juniper trees, herbicide or mechanical treatment of non-native invasive species such as cheatgrass and secondary perennial weed species, and rehabilitation of burned areas following wildfire. iv) Promoting management that includes seeding a diversity of grasses, forbs and shrubs that will lead to increased resiliency and resistance in the plant community North Eden Creek and Bear Lake relationships to management plans: 1. Bonneville Cutthroat Trout Range-wide Conservation Agreement and Strategy (2019): --This project meets the following recommended conservation actions to: 1) Expand BCT populations and distribution...2) Enhance and maintain habitat. -- Meets goals to manage for adfluvial (migratory populations connected to lakes) in the Bear River geographic management unit (GMU) and maintain all populations within the GMU 2. Utah Wildlife Action Plan (2015) -- Bonneville cutthroat trout are a N4 priority species. -- Key Habitats for Species of Greatest Conservation Need include Riverine and Aquatic Scrub-shrub. 3. 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." 4. UDWR Bear Lake Management Plan (hydrologic unit 16010201): Habitat enhancement and maintenance is specified for cutthroat trout in the plan. 5. Bear Lake Fisheries Management Plan (Utah and Idaho; 2010): The central management objectives of this plan are to: 1) conserve natives species, and 2) enhance sport fishing opportunities in Bear Lake. Both of these objectives will be addressed by this project. Specific management goals for Bonneville Cutthroat Trout include: maintain a viable adfluvial population and a sport fishery. This project will reestablish an adfluvial run of cutthroat trout in North Eden Creek, which will increase native trout recruitment to Bear Lake and the sport fishery.

The risk for more severe and intense wildfire will increase with PJ expansion and invasive weed expansion. By reducing the fuel load we will be reducing the possibility for larger scale fire events that will destroy all of the native brush component. Fuel loads will continue to increase as we hit phase II and phase III. A large fire event could lead to a loss of crucial sagebrush habitat/understory vegetation and the potential for a noxious weed infestation. A new water system will better distribute grazing and allow for better utilization across the range which will reduce fine fuel loading. Wildfire in the Bear Lake area is a big concern for fire mangers. The timing of fire season overlaps the busy summer tourist season that Bear Lake attracts. Fire danger intensifies with the expanding development of cabins and destination housing. There are more opportunities for human caused fire and also more of a threat to public safety. There are multiple homes down slope from the project area. Reducing the fuel load on the top of the ridge should help prevent fire from traveling to the west. Reducing the fuel load on the top of the ridge should help prevent fire from traveling to the west. Per Rich County CRMP, at least 50 wildfires have been recorded in the area bounded by Laketown, Bear Lake and the ID and WY borders (S, W, N, E respectively) between 1980-2015 (pg 77, USFS data). These included 2,873 acres burned in the nearby Sixmile and Rabbit Creek areas. The North Eden fire in August of 2018 burned 13,763 acres just east of the project area. (DNR online data). Increasing wet riparian areas and the percentage of the valley bottom inundated with process-based methods will provide resistance to wildfire and the destruction of riparian vegetation. This will also increase the resilience of the watershed and streams when they are able to filter, trap, and distribute sediment runoff after fires that occur in the uplands.

Juniper trees can have a large impact on the quantity and quality of water. The quantity of water that reaches the soil and understory vegetation can be altered by juniper. Decreased soil moisture through uptake and evapotranspiration after snow intercept leaves understory vegetation at a disadvantage. The depletion of understory vegetation increases the risk of erosion which will affect water quality during runoff events. This project will also improve water availability on the landscape for wildlife and livestock. The water development system will improve distribution and allow for more intense grazing management which will reduce grazing pressure on the stream. This will result in improved water quality. Water quality will also be improved by installing in stream structures to slow the flow of water and capture sediment. These structures will hold more water in the system longer and expand riparian species. We will also plant riparian species like willows that can be supported by the increased wetted valley bottom and floodplain reconnection. The enhanced riparian area will filter, trap, and distribute sediment and other nutrients. Increased stream shading will decrease solar inputs and slow water temperature warming.

-Archeological clearance will be completed in the first year of the project where ever mastication work is planned -Permission of Private Land owner has been given -A Range Improvement application will be completed and submitted for work on SITLA. -A stream alt permit will be obtained for any stream work that would require it. -USFWS Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program will complete compliance on private lands prior to work being implemented. If additional compliance is required beyond what the USFWS can provide, it will be completed before work begins.

Lop and Scatter, Mastication and Arch surveys will be completed by contractors hired through the Utah state purchasing system Lop and Scatter: A crew with chainsaws will remove the trees in phase 1 juniper stands. Larger trees with old growth characteristics will be identified and excluded from the contract. Mastication: Heavy machinery will target phase 2 and 3 stands to mulch juniper trees Weed Treatment will be done on the ground with UTV/ATV's. Spot treatment for noxious weeds will be targeted along all the roads and the bottom of South Eden Canyon. The North Eden Creek culvert at the county road will be replaced with a bottomless arch culvert that essentially acts as a bridge. About 500 feet of the stream channel downstream of the culvert will be raised to level out the gradient across the entire length of stream. In addition, a check structure and new headgate will be installed at the downstream end for a small irrigation diversion. The construction contract has been awarded and construction will begin late summer of fall of 2025. The irrigation system on North Eden Creek will be upgraded during fall 2026. A new agricultural well will be drilled that will replace the old well and allow increased capacity so that the surface diversion from the creek is no longer needed. Trout Unlimited is working with a consultant on a review and preparation of all the existing water rights to propose transfers to the new well. We will use a process-based restoration approach to improve stream and riparian habitat in South Eden and North Eden Creek upstream of the county road. Assessment and design work will occur in 2025. Implementation of wood structures to the stream will occur in 2026 and 2027. We will initially target about two miles of stream to restore habitat complexity, floodplain reconnection, and riparian vegetation. We will also replace several headwater culverts to improve fish passage to about 0.75 miles. We will assess and monitor fish and habitat response to all the restoration actions on over 10 miles of stream using a survey methodology developed by Utah State University (see Monitoring section).

Photo plots will be taken before and after the treatment to upload to the database. aerial imagery via UAV will be taken to monitor contract and provide before and after state of project area. As part of the USFWS landowner agreement, USFWS biologists will visit the sites at minimum once per year to assess needs, success, failures, and the need for any follow-up treatments/maintenance for the duration of the 10-year Landowner Agreement. After photos and documentation will be uploaded to WRI website. Wildlife counts and classifications will monitor mule deer in the area. Collared deer will continue to be monitored in the area. -See attached photo of collared deer use in the area. Pre-project fish and habitat surveys were begun and a monitoring plan developed for North Eden Creek in 2024 by researchers at Utah State University (see attached plan). The habitat and fish surveys (electrofishing) will be repeated at all ten sites in 2025. These same sites will then be repeated after the culvert is replaced to assess how the distribution and abundance of fishes changes over time. Two of these monitoring sites are located downstream of the irrigation diversion, along with a water flow monitoring site. We also have several water temperature monitoring sites located throughout the creek that are collecting continuous year-round data. We will then use all these means to assess the changes for restoring stream flows to 1.5 miles of the creek. Lastly, the existing monitoring sites along with remote sensing tools will be used to assess the effects of the process-based restoration that will be completed.

DWR- will oversee the contract and implementation of the project. SITLA- will help plan the project and do site inspections and plan and implement weed spraying treatments. FFSL- Rich County fire warden was involved in the design and planning of the project and will help oversee any implementation needed. GIP- coordinate with private land owners and permittees in the area. Plan and install pipe and trough water system on private land Permitees- feedback on areas of concern on SITLA and private lands Private Landowners- Help identify areas to treat on their lands. Provide access and some match funding through GIP and NRCS. MDF- Assist with planning and managing contracts Trout Unlimited - will manage the North Eden Creek culvert replacement, the irrigation system upgrade, the process-based restoration work, and work with Utah State University on the monitoring and assessment of all restoration actions. Utah State University - will complete the North Eden Creek fish and habitat assessments, along with macroinvertebrate sampling and analysis. USFWS Partners Program - funding assistance for culvert improvement on North Eden Creek, funding assistance for noxious weed treatment in South Eden Canyon on private land, funding assistance for riparian pollinator seed mix.

There are many acres of encroaching PJ that are all in the phase I state. We plan to do a multi year project to complete all the acres needing treatment before they hit phase II status. The project will expand onto private land as well as variously managed state/federal lands along the Bear Lake Plateau in future phases. There are no changes to the grazing plans or rest required following the treatments. As treatment phases progress, past phases will be inspected for areas that need retreatment to ensure project success and longevity. Weed monitoring will take place to help plan future treatments and address any new outbreaks. We are working on "watershed-scale" restoration of North Eden Creek from the headwaters to the confluence of Bear Lake that will require a long-term approach. In the next three years, we will reconnect the stream to the lake, restore stream flows in the lower 1.5 miles, and begin restoring and improving stream and riparian habitat. The response of the habitat and fish to these actions will be monitored with a rigorous study plan developed and implemented by Utah State University. Based on monitoring results, we assess if changes will be needed with livestock grazing and work with landowners and permittees. Additional process-based stream restoration will continue in the future on more stream miles. As treatment phases progress, past phases will be inspected for areas that need retreatment to ensure project success and longevity. Weed monitoring will take place to help plan future treatments and address any new outbreaks. As part of the landowner agreement with USFWS the landowner agrees to leave the habitat restored in place for a 10-year period and during that time will work with the USFWS biologist to monitor and access needs, success, and any needed adaptive management. We are working on "watershed-scale" restoration of North Eden Creek from the headwaters to the confluence of Bear Lake that will require a long-term approach. In the next three years, we will reconnect the stream to the lake, restore stream flows in the lower 1.5 miles, and begin restoring and improving stream and riparian habitat. The response of the habitat and fish to these actions will be monitored with a rigorous study plan developed and implemented by Utah State University. Based on monitoring results, we assess if changes will be needed with livestock grazing and work with landowners and permittees. Additional process-based stream restoration will continue in the future on more stream miles.

By removing the expanding juniper, forage production will be increased due to the removal of competition. Grazing will continue in the area on SITLA and Private lands providing economic benefits to Rich County and to the public education system. Hunting and other recreation activities are popular in this area with its close proximity to Bear Lake and are expected to improve with the outcomes of this project. The North Eden Creek culvert replacement will increase available spawning and early rearing habitat, which will result in more wild cutthroat trout in Bear Lake, which is considered a Blue-Ribbon Fishery in Utah.