The objectives and need for this project are to protect structures and other values at risk of catastrophic wildfire, improve wildlife habitat transition and winter range. To accomplish this purpose, the Fillmore Ranger District of the Fishlake National Forest (USFS) has determined there is a need to treat approximately 12,000 acres of USFS, BLM, State and Private lands. This project is located east of the community of Fillmore and continues north to Holden and towards Scipio. The project is needed because the of current condition the percent of conifer canopy cover in the grassland and sage-steppe community is too dense and not meeting the desired condition. The desired condition is for these communities to have canopy cover of 10% or less. The stands proposed for treatment currently contain between 10 and 30 percent of phase 1/2 cover. This "gap" between current and desired condition points to a need for management. Over the past several decades the east slope of the Pahvant Mountains has seen a gradual shift from sagebrush/bunchgrass communities to thick stands of Utah juniper and two-needle pinyon pine. In the current state, the treatment area is not effective in providing habitat for many of the wildlife species found there, also impacting livestock grazing. The increase in pinyon-juniper over-story also increases the risk of wildland fire, alters snow accumulation patterns, and increases overland flow and erosion during high runoff events. This project is located just north of the Horse Hollow Project that was implemented in 2019, located on the north end of this project is the ebbs project. Between the 2 projects and this proposed the entire west pahavnt front will have treatments and old fire scars. They will complement each other and have the same multiple benefits for wildlife, rangeland, watersheds and decreasing the risk of catastrophic fires. If left untreated the result in the continued shift in these stands from grassland and sage-steppe dominated conditions to closed canopy woodlands dominated by small diameter pinyon and juniper. Such conditions will eventually result in watershed and landscape-level losses in plant diversity, as shrubs and forbs are shaded out by conifers. The LRMP directs to take actions, such as the prescribed conifer reduction treatments, to interrupt the "invasion" of pinyon-juniper. On the ground surveys and site visits have allowed staffs from the Fillmore Ranger District to see the decrease of understory plants in the pinion/juniper dominated lower elevations of the Pahvant range. Forage productivity has diminished greatly over the past century and the pinion/juniper expansion continues on a yearly basis into the more productive sage/grass/forb communities. This pinion/juniper expansion largely results from reduced occurrences of natural disturbance. The lack of an understory and relatively high percentage of bare ground make the area proposed for treatment more prone to erosion and loss of topsoil. Re-establishing a resilient community that includes deep rooted perennial grasses will conserve topsoil and improve watershed functioning. As pinion/juniper has become dominate on the landscape and the loss of understory vegetation increases, big game and small game animals are experiencing a loss of foraging habitat. This expansion of more pinion/juniper and less sage/grass/forb habitat has contributed to the overall decrease in Mule deer populations and other wildlife species on the mountain. This expansion factor also contributes to the issue of big game moving closer to higher elevation aspen and local agricultural crops in the valleys to find sustainable forage. Improving the habitat/thinning PJ in these areas will result in multiple benefits, which include but are not limited to, improving habitat for wildlife dependent upon these various ecosystems, improving native species diversity, reducing hazardous fuel accumulations, reducing the risk for large scale, uncharacteristic wildland fires, which in turn creates a fire resilient environment with less risk to public and firefighter safety. The project area is classified by UDWR as Crucial winter range for deer and high value winter range for elk. Populations for both species have been consistently below UDWR objectives for the Pahvant Herd Unit (21b) and poor winter range conditions resulting from expansion of pinyon/juniper into sagebrush ecosystems is a key factor. This project will create and improve foraging habitat and directly benefit both wildlife and livestock. Given the high social and economic importance of hunting and livestock production in the local area the Fillmore Ranger District and Utah Division of Wildlife have combined to focus on improving and restoring winter range on the east slope of the Pahvant Mountains. This project is part of that effort and is designed to improve habitat and range conditions on one of the most productive sites by removing encroaching phase 1 and phase II pinyon-juniper by hand thinning and re-seeding. This project is a great cooperation between State and Federal Agencies working together to meet a common goal of developing additional habitat for Wildlife and Livestock within Central Utah.

The general objectives are to reduce fuel loading and minimize the frequency and intensity of future wildfires, increase habitat quality and quantity for wintering big game and sagebrush oriented wildlife, to provide increased livestock forage by reducing pinyon-juniper dominance and to develop a healthy, resilient rangeland community with diverse age classes and species composition and improve watershed functioning. Specific objectives include reducing pinyon-juniper cover to <20% within treatment polygons and five-year post treatment cover values for perennial grasses, forbs and shrubs within 60% of NRCS Ecological Site Description for Upland Shallow Loam (Black Sagebrush) sites. In certain locations pinyon-juniper removal will be balanced with Fishlake National Forest Plan guidelines for maintaining sufficient thermal and hiding cover for big game habitat quality as well as nesting habitat for pinyon jay. As a result, treatment may include strategically located "leave islands" and connective corridors of pinyon-juniper that may result in slightly higher post-treatment PJ density on localized areas.

This site faces a host of threats associated with increasing pinyon-juniper cover, including loss of grasses and forbs important to wildlife and cattle, increased risk of wildland fire frequency and severity, risk of invasive plant species such as cheatgrass replacing native and desirable introduced plants, increased risk of soil erosion, and lower quality and quantity of water due to continued decreases in watershed functioning. Nearly all of these are present to some extent and some and in much of the project area have combined to greatly limit many of the uses and benefits this section of land historically provided. All of these threats resulted from pinyon-juniper expansion altering the native sagebrush/bunchgrass community, and this project will address these risks by either restoring the site or at least improving it to a functional state close to the native sagebrush type. Removal of the smaller PJ trees in the lop and scatter area is a cost-effective and low-impact method of removing early and mid-Phase 2 encroachment. Delaying treatment until trees are larger and more difficult to handle would greatly increase the expense of treatment and accomplish far less. No action on this project will allow for increased invasive grass species, pinyon-juniper encroachment and increased soil erosion with no productive rangeland conditions. Late Phase II to early Phase III Pinyon-Juniper reduces the native understory of browse, shrubs and herbaceous plants species, reducing PJ will allow for shrub, forbs and grasses species to respond within the treatment site.

The pinyon-juniper and big sagebrush areas lie within the Mountain Sagebrush Steppe Habitat type which is one of the key habitats identified in the 2015 WAP, and falls one of the UDWR Focus Areas. The proposed project will address some of the habitat management strategies outlined in the deer and elk management plans for herd unit 21B (Fillmore Pahvant Unit ) including: *Continue to improve and restore sagebrush steppe habitats critical to deer according to DWRs Habitat Initiative. *Maintain habitat quantity and quality at a level adequate to support the stated population objectives while at the same time not resulting in an overall downward trend in range condition and watershed quality. *Work cooperatively with land management agencies and private landowners to plan and implement improvement projects for the purpose of enhancing wildlife habitat and range resources in general. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Statewide Management Plan for Mule Deer 2025-2030 States: Habitat Objective 2: Improve the quality and quantity of vegetation for mule deer on a minimum of 600,000 acres of crucial range by 2030 Implications: Habitat will need to be improved on at least 600,000 acres of crucial mule deer range to meet the population objectives in this plan. If habitat improvement projects cannot be completed because of inadequate funding, environmental restrictions, or unfavorable climatic conditions, population objectives may not be achieved. Additionally, because habitat treatments often require a number of years before they provide optimal benefits to mule deer, and if large catastrophic wildfires and energy developments continue to negatively impact crucial mule deer ranges, the population and habitat goals of this plan may not be achieved within the 6-year life of this plan. ) Utah Statewide Elk Management Plan *"Continue to provide incentive programs for landowners that will encourage elk populations on private land such as the CWMU, Landowner Association, and Walk-In Access programs." * "Increase forage production by annually treating a minimum of 40,000 acres of elk habitat.' * "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. ii) Encourage land managers to manage portions of forests in early succession stages through the use controlled burning and logging. Controlled burning should only be used in areas with minimal invasive weed and/or safety concerns." *The proposed projects will address the following goals and objectives of the Division of Wildlife Resources most recent strategic management plan: *Resource Goal: expand wildlife populations and conserve sensitive species by protecting and improving wildlife habitat. *Objective 1: protect existing wildlife habitat and improve 500,000 acres of critical habitats and watersheds throughout the state. *Objective 3: conserve sensitive species to prevent them from becoming listed as threatened or endangered where it will benefit them due to the treatment area and goals. *Constituency Goal: Achieve broad-based support for Division programs and budgets by demonstrating the value of wildlife to all citizens of Utah. *Objective 2: improve communication with wildlife organizations, public officials, private landowners, and government agencies to obtain support for Division programs. *UDWR SR critical big game summer range are important browse communities that need to be enhanced and improved. The Division may employ but not limited to a variety of methods to achieve this including prescribed grazing, prescribed burning, reseeding and seedling transplants, also mechanical treatments. Priority areas will include sagebrush-steppe and mountain browse communities. Falls within the rangeland focus area for WRI wildlife species for mule deer and elk. *This plan is consistent with the Fishlake National Forest Plan for wildlife habitat enhancement and fuels management to improve habitat, reduce fuel loading, and protect against catastrophic wildfire. *Other project have been completed by the Forest Service, BLM and UDWR in past years within the HUC 12 area. *Project within the are also benefit the management plans objectives of the Lower Sevier River Watershed, as this will reduced sediment run off and create a healthy rangeland communities. *Management Plans are also in conjunction with NRCS overall goals of healthy rangelands and communities, improving watersheds and reducing erosion and sediment. The Natural Resources Conservation Service provides leadership in a partnership effort to help people conserve, maintain, and improve our natural resources and environment Project would also be relevant to NCS Goals and supported through the FS National Cohesive Strategies. CAT FIRE Objectives and Strategies: In 2013, the State of Utah developed the Catastrophic Wildfire Reduction Strategy (CAT FIRE) in response to the severe 2012 fire season. Reducing the catastrophic wildfire requires attention to three interdependent goals identified in the National Cohesive Wildfire Management Strategy -- Restore and Maintain Landscapes, Fire Adapted Communities, and Wildfire Response. These goals have been embraced throughout the development of the state's CAT FIRE strategy. Mitigation of hazardous fuels can change fire behavior making it easier to suppress. The effects of the mitigation, however, are not limited to life and property safety but will also affect forest health, water quality, vegetative species abundance, etc. As we continue to implement projects across the landscapes in Utah, the only way to truly be successful is to integrate existing programs, utilize local and federal partners and continue to educate the general public to create the desired shift towards more resilient communities and ecosystems. Relationships to the Fillmore Fishlake National Forest Plan: This action responds to the goals and objectives outlined in the Fishlake LRMP as amended and helps move the project area toward the following desired conditions. *Diversity: Integrate vegetation management with resource management to maintain productivity and provide for diversity of plant and animal communities. LRMP, IV-3 *Wildlife and Fish: Protect aquatic habitats which are in good or excellent condition and improve habitats where ecological conditions are below biological potential. LRMP, IV-3 *Management Prescription 4B: Rangeland vegetation is managed to provide needed vegetation species composition and interspersed grass, forb and shrub sites or variety in age of browse. LRMP, IV-95 *Management Prescription 4B: Vegetation characteristics and human activities are managed to provide optimum habitat for the selected species, or to meet population goals jointly agreed to with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources LRMP, IV-95 *Management Prescription 4B: Grass, forb and browse vegetation characteristics are regulated LRMP, IV-95 In addition to the above listed objectives the below goals/objectives are identified in the Turkey Statewide Plan: General Suitable habitat includes three key ingredients: trees, forbs and grass. Regardless of the type of environment, this combination must exist for turkeys to thrive. Trees provide food, daytime loafing and escape cover, and- --most importantly -- nighttime roost sites. Grasses and forbs provide food for adults and are especially important to poults as an environment in which they can efficiently forage for insects. Brood Rearing: During the first eight weeks after hatching, there are three essential components of brood rearing habitat. First - Poults need an environment that produces an abundance of insects. Second - Poults need habitat in which they can frequently and efficiently forage throughout the day. Third - Poults need an area that provides enough cover to hide, but allows the adult hen unobstructed vision for protection from predators. Therefore, the fundamental component of brood rearing habitat is herbaceous vegetation interspersed with trees. Herbaceous vegetation is key because it provides an ideal foraging environment for poults. Fall and Winter: Wild turkeys seek two imperative habitat ingredients in the fall and winter --food and roosting cover. Vegetation that turkeys utilize during the fall and winter is highly varied. Turkeys increase their use of forested cover during the fall and winter and decrease their use of open areas. Mast (pine nuts, acorns, berries) is the primary food source during fall and winter. Habitat value increases with higher proportions of mast-producing species in the forest and their degree of maturity. In mountainous environments, spring seeps are an important source of fall and winter food. Seeps provide invertebrates, mast and green vegetation. Because such water does not freeze, it provides a microclimate that allows foraging throughout the winter. Golden and Bald Eagles will benefit form this type of restoration treatment as well typically these eagles are found in open country, especially in mountainous regions. They feeds mainly on small mammals, especially rabbits, marmots, and ground squirrels, but it also eats insects, snakes, birds, juvenile ungulates, and carrion. This project will allow for increased open space for hunting small mammals and other pray due to the reduction in pinyon and juniper woodlands. The increased of understory of grasses forbs and shrubs should increase small mammals and other prey species for the Bald and Golden Eagles to prey upon. Utah Milk snake and the Soroan Mountain Kingsnake occupy a variety of habitats, including farmland, disturbed areas, meadows, river bottoms, bogs, rocky hillsides, and coniferous and deciduous forests. To support these snakes, these habitat types must have plenty of cover and a healthy rodent population. Information on the limited due to the survey work of UDWR, some survey work was conducted by Jimi Gragg in 2019 stated: "On the maps - we have positive-occurrence data only for these species. We have a distribution-modeling project that'll start in the fall, but we will begin with higher priorities. It will be a few years until we get around to those 2 (although they are pretty ideal candidates - from a technical standpoint - to model, I think). As far as value of habitat - I've tried to address that before. Basically, *all* snakes are predators. These 2 feed exclusively on vertebrates - lizards primarily, and small mammals to a lesser extent. That prey base depends on a landscape that isn't excessively dominated by woody plants, and which also isn't depleted of its herbaceous component. Basically, there needs to be enough seeds and bugs - same story as for so much small wildlife. The location, objectives, and methods of this proposal are well aligned to benefit these 2 snake species. Hope this is helpful". With the reduction of pinyon and juniper woodland, and the increased cover from spoil piles of trees and limbs from the treatment we expect to increase the foraging range for these two predatory snakes and the availability of small mammals and insects across this treatment. Thus improving habitat for the Utah Milk Snake and Sonoran Mountain King Snake. Pinyon Jays in Utah need pinyon-juniper woodlands, scrub oak, and sagebrush habitats. They also need edge habitats, which are areas where trees and shrubs meet. During implementation of this project we will continue to work in keeping mosaics, edge treatment both within the mastication portion and the Lop and Pile portion of this project. Allowing for the benefit of the pinyon Jays that inhabit this area. **I have also included information pertaining to the State of Utah Resource Management Plan, Mule Deer Management Plan for the Fillmore Pahvant, along with the Statewide Mule Deer Plan, and Utah Statewide Turkey Plan along with the Sevier County Resource Management Plan located in the Documents Tab of this project.

This project will reduce fuel loading by removing the pinyon-junpier trees with a mastication treatment, as well as with a lop and scatter treatment. Reseeding the site and establishing a resilient and competitive community of perennial grasses and forbs will help prevent the site from being dominated by invasive annuals such as cheatgrass that perpetuate a rapid fire cycle. Treatments like this have been proven to prevent wildfire from spreading following an ignition event, and this particular treatment will create several barriers or buffers between treated and non treated areas that will be critical for controlling or containing wildfires. The Forest Service and BLM Fuels have implemented several prior projects that reduced the likelihood of wildfire in the area and adjacent to this project, these projects consisted of clear cutting, burning and reseeding along with cut and pile projects. This project will help protect valuable infrastructures, from Catastrophic Wildfires, such as homes, summer cabins, outbuildings, hay sheds, livestock corrals, the communities of Fillmore and Frampton Heights. This project will also have an effect on the very busy Interstate 15 freeway that is a very critical travel corridor, and has been shut down in the past due to several wildfires within the area. The size of the treatment is around 2,250 acres and is within .5 miles of several structures including homes, and out buildings, and within 3 miles of Fillmore, UT. This treatment will reduce fuel loads and improve critical habitat for mule deer, elk and turkeys in the future, along with providing additional forage for livestock. We are looking as the project stands today at a Fire Regime Condition Class (FRCC) Condition Class III with the implementation of this treatment we would expect to drop to a FRCC Class I giving us some good ecological integrity in the treatment with improved understory and shrub components. This would reduce the flame height and fuel loading in the areas and look to prevent Catastrophic Wildfires in the area.

This project aims to increase watershed health across sagebrush communities by increasing ground cover in native grasses, forbs, and shrubs. The project aims to do this using hand thinning, mechanical thinning along with prescribed fire treatments to help return to a healthy sagebrush age class diversity, density, and increase grass and forb density. This would result in a more efficient use of plant water use, decreased overland flow and erosion, and decreased sediment delivery to surface waterbodies in the project area. Surface waters that would benefit from this project include Chalk Creek, Meadow Creek, Wildgoose, and Maple Hollow. The Forest will be evaluating existing springs and areas that may produce additional water for fish and wildlife within this treatment as well as improve the overall goals and objectives of the Forest Service through their Land and Resource Management Plan (LMRP). The current condition of much of the project area is Phase I&II pinyon-juniper stands with little to no understory of grasses, forbs, and shrubs. Meeting the project objectives would reduce bare ground, increase vegetative cover, increase infiltration, reduce overland flow, and ultimately increase stream flow and reduce sedimentation and phosphorous loading into the water supplies of the nearby towns of Fillmore, Meadow and Holden. These benefits have been documented by research done in similar ecosystems (Deboolt et al, 2008). I found a webinar by the NRCS where the presenter mentions through her study that 130 pinyon and juniper trees she sampled within an acre (33% pinyon, 9% juniper and 58% inter-space) over a twelve month period would utilize and estimated 280,000 liters of water per acre per year or approximately 23% of an acre foot. And while the Quality of water will not be overwhelming the first year after treatment it becomes significant over time. This type of treatment will benefit the soil over the long term, due to increasing plants that will utilize the excess water, overland flows of rills will be filled in, chance for overland flooding will be minimized allowing for springs and seep to start appearing and improved rangeland conditions will benefit overall. Information from the Millard County Resources Plan addressing water Quality and Quantity: DESIRED MANAGEMENT PRACTICES 1. Access for municipal water and secondary water development, quality management, or infrastructure construction or maintenance on federal public lands must be granted as soon as possible in order to protect the health, safety, and welfare of citizens. 2. Develop improved methods to reduce and remove sediment in storage reservoirs and continue stream bank stabilization efforts. 3. Where water resources on public lands have diminished because grasses have succeeded to pinyon-juniper and other woody vegetation, a vigorous program of mechanical treatments should be applied to promptly remove this woody vegetation and biomass, stimulate the return of the grasses to historic levels, and thereby provide a watershed that maximizes water yield and water quality for livestock, wildlife, and human uses. 4. Millard County will participate in watershed management on public and private lands to optimize quality and quantity of water. 6. Support projects to increase water quality and quantity in the county. 7. Maintain and improve our fresh water supplies and watersheds, and increase our watershed production capabilities. 8. Conserve and preserve water for agricultural uses in the county. 9. Millard County shall protect ground, spring, and surface water quality. 19. The county encourages actions by individuals, groups, and local governments that are aimed at improving water quality and supporting the hydrology of the county. Deboodt, T.L., et al., 2008, Monitoring hydrological changes related to western juniper removal: A paired watershed approach: Third Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds, p. 227-232. Researchers such as Kormas et. al, Roundy, Deboolt, etc. have well documented the correlation of Pinyon and Juniper removal to water quality and quantity. In our project area we expect to see these results through decreased erosion and increased infiltration rates. This will be evidenced by increased flows and lower sedimentation within the drainages.

All NEPA (Fishlake National Foreast Pinyon-Juniper-EA) has been completed. We are requesting funding for Archaeological clearance that will be coordinated by our Forest Archaeologist prior to implmentation.

For phase 1 we propose reducing juniper density on roughly 2,250 acres using a combination of bullhog mastication (500 acres), and hand thinning, piling and lop/scatter (up to 1,750 acres) and prescribed fire. Treatment would occur during fall and winter. Mechanical areas will be reseeded with a mix of grass, shrubs and forbs using aircraft prior to treatment. Travel corridors will be kept intact allowing for thermal and escape cover for wildlife in the area. Cultural Resource issues have been addressed on this project under the Pinyon-Juniper Environmental Assessment that was signed December 5, 2019, and additional survey will be completed prior to implementation. The mastication, aerial seeding, and lop and pile portions of the project will be contracted out through state purchasing. These contracts will be awarded based on price per acre and the experience the contractor may have to complete the project in a efficient and professional manner.

Monitoring plans will include UDWR and USFS bi-annual big game classifications used to monitor production and subsequent survival of area deer and elk herds. Also, the Project Manager will establish a set of vegetation and photo points within a transect to collect pre and post treatment data. UDWR may ask for the GBRC Range Trend Crew to set a permanent vegetation transect for future monitoring of this project that are generally lead every five years, workload permitting. The Chalk Creek pollinator study site is located in the southern tip of the project area. This study was established in 2022 to monitor monarch butterfly, but data on bumble bees and other butterflies are also collected. Data is collected annually. The Wildgoose and Wide Canyon pellet group transects are also located within the study area. These sites were last read in 2024 and will be read again in 2029.

All partners partners were heavily involved in its design. Partners for this project consist of the Fillmore Ranger District of the Fishlake National Forest, Utah State Forestry and Fire, private land owners, UDWR and BLM. All partners are supportive of this project and are willing to commit a lot of time and effort towards making this project a success. This includes resting the treatment from grazing for if necessary. In addition, many members of the general public and sportsman enjoy hunting and recreating in this area that benefit from the Habitat Restoration Work will have the opportunity to participate in future maintenance of this project as volunteers.

The USFS will work with grazing permittes to implement a deferred rotational grazing system on the bullhog mastication treatment consistent with the Fishlake National Forest management plan. This will be written into the Annual Operating Instructions signed by the permittes each spring prior to grazing on the Forest. The Forest Service is strongly committed to improving habitat through restoration efforts to meet overall regional goals and objectives for wildlife and livestock grazing in this area. Success will be determined by the Management Plans of the Forest Service and UDWR along with the grazing permittees through proper grazing systems that allow for healthy rangeland communities. The permitees are very motivated and committed to management that will insure productivity and maximize the useful life of this project.

Both the hand thinning and mastication treatments will open up areas to sunlight, reducing overall pinyon-juniper stands and facilitating the establishment of seeded species.This will dramatically increase desirable plants such as perennial grasses and forbs, protecting the soil, improving watershed function, and increasing the forage available for livestock grazing on the Forest. The mix of wooded and open areas and diverse plant community that will result from treatment will provide superior habitat for many species of birds, reptiles and small mammals as well as improved habitat for game species such as mule deer, elk, turkey and upland game. The additional hunting opportunities for these species will benefit the local communities and other Forest visitors and should last for decades. The mastication aspect in particular can enhance the visual appeal of the area, providing a better experience to many forest users, including people who come from across the country to attend the annual Millard and Sevier County ATV Jamboree and enjoy riding trails, camping and recreating in this area.