Conifer succession into aspen is a well-documented source of aspen declines in the intermountain west. Over a century of fire suppression combined with concentrated use by ungulates has led to large swaths of aspen stands converting to conifer stands. Recent literature suggests that mule deer fawning success, long thought to be winter range limited, is actually highly correlated with doe condition going into winter (Lamb et al. 2023, Hersey 2025). Since aspen and other browse species can comprise up to a third of mule deer summer diet (Beck and Peek 2005), the loss or gain of aspens stands in a specific area could affect doe nutrition and subsequently fawn success. For more than a decade the Cedar City Ranger District (CCRD) has been concerned about fuel loading in Ashdown Gorge Wilderness Area. Fuel plots have been completed within the wilderness due south of the project and found that fuel loading is heavy and there is a high risk of a wildfire start in this area turning into a large, high severity wildfire because of that fuel loading combined with the difficulty of access to the wilderness. With prevailing winds and slope orientation, fire starts in the Ashdown Gorge Wilderness could potentially escalate into a wildfire with extreme fire behavior that may run into Cedar Breaks National Monument and Brian Head Town. After the Brian Head Fire in 2017, Brian Head Town worked with multiple stakeholders, including the Cedar City Ranger District, to develop a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP, UDNR 2018). This plan recognizes that Brian Head Town is at a high to very high risk and that the highest risk is on public lands south of town. The Bear Flat Aspen project was initiated in 2019-2020 to address these issues. The project area has aspen stands that are currently being threatened by conifer succession, high tree densities and ladder fuels, and high dead and downed fuel loading. The area is in summer substantial habitat for mule deer and elk and is locally recognized as being important for mule deer fawning. It is also adjacent to crucial elk calving habitat. The project area abuts Brian Head Ski Resort and Brian Head Town and is a dense pocket of fuel that could provide connectivity for high severity wildfire between Ashdown Gorge and Brian Head Town. Iron and Garfield Counties, the State of Utah, and the local logging industry, have requested additional commercial timber harvest opportunities in southern Utah for many years. This project also offers an opportunity for commercial harvest of up to 1,695 ccf of wood to help sustain the local timber industry. With the exception of wildlife and wildlife habitat, project benefits will be outlined in subsequent sections of this proposal. Need and benefits to specific wildlife species are addressed below. Mechanical treatments in aspen, as well as pile burning can help stimulate aspen roots and cloning. Similar commercial logging units in Sydney Valley that were logged in 2023 are coming back with dense patches of aspen. Recent literature suggests that regeneration and recruitment of aspen increases with fire severity (Wan et al 2014, Lewis et al. 2024) suggesting that burn piles within aspen produce significant aspen regeneration. Berrill et al. (2024) showed that aspen successfully regenerated in pile scars, especially when they were relatively close to residual aspen trees. This project is 100% contained within the Panguitch Lake Unit for both mule deer and elk. The mule deer population on the Panguitch Lake Unit is in a stable to slightly upward trend with an estimated population of 9,500 deer and an objective of 11,000. All of the proposed treatments are in summer substantial habitat for mule deer; however, this area and the area to the north of it has been identified as crucial fawning habitat for mule deer by UDWR during stakeholder engagement for the Brian Head Ski Resort expansion. Collared mule deer use of the general area is high (see Wildlife Tracker maps in Documents), although use seems higher immediately surrounding the project area than in it. Wildlife Tracker also indicates that the area just to the south and west of the project area is utilized by mule deer as a migration route. Providing additional food resources adjacent to hiding/security cover in this area could offer alternative movement routes for deer, or expand habitat use into these areas. Additionally, as noted above providing a nutritious summer food source in fawning habitat may result in better doe body condition going into winter, which could result in increased fawn survival in the area. The elk herd on the Panguitch Lake Unit is within the objective range (1,000-1,500) with an estimated population of 1,200. All of the proposed treatments are in summer substantial habitat for elk; however, the area east of the ski resort is crucial summer calving habitat. Collared elk use near the project area is all north and east of the project area with high use in areas burned by the Brian Head Fire that are coming back in aspen. The importance of aspen in elks' diet is well established, so it is not surprising elk are using these areas more heavily. Proposed treatments may help expand elk use south of SR143. Peregrine falcons are a Region 4 Sensitive Species for the Forest Service and a SGCN in the state of Utah. A portion of the project area is within a 1-mile nest buffer around the Twisted Forest Peregrine Falcon eyrie. This nest site is one of the nine documented eyries that occur on the Cedar City Ranger District. Approximately 80% of all foraging occurs within one mile of nests sites. The Utah WAP lists Fire and Fire Suppression as a high-level threat to Peregrine falcons. The proposed project consists of aspen restoration by removing encroaching conifer and leaving established aspen trees. Bird and insect species richness increases in aspen communities compared to mixed conifer communities because of positive correlations with forb and grass cover (Schimpf and MacMahon 1985, Rumble et al. 2001). This increase in species richness and abundance could result in an increase in prey availability leading to improved nest success rates for the eyrie. The reduction in fuels would also lower the risk of fire starts on private land moving onto the forest, through this area and into the Wilderness where the peregrine nest is. Townsend's big-eared bats are Region 4 Sensitive Species and a SGCN. A portion of the project area is within potential foraging habitat for Townsend's. Bat acoustic monitors were placed approximately 1.5 miles east of the proposed project area in 2024. These monitors identified six bat species, one of them being Townsend's. Townsend's can travel distances of three to eight miles per night for foraging, placing this parcel well within foraging range of Townsend's identified by the bat monitor. As discussed for peregrine falcon, transitioning from a mixed conifer forest to an aspen forest can increase prey species richness and availability because of increase forb and grass availability. This increase in species richness and abundance will likely lead to an increase in prey availability for Townsend's big-eared bat as a result of project activities. The entire project is within mapped occupied wild turkey habitat (https://utahdnr.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/basic/index.html?appid=f8c20ff4ea524789bf57fe5ff55b38d5). Aspen forests can be important habitat for turkey, providing roost trees, important summer food sources, and excellent edge habitat in mixed forest environments. Bristlecone Pond, a community fishery stocked by UDWR, is 0.25 to 0.7 miles downstream from project activities and is a sport fishery of nonnative trout. This fishery and the pond itself are used fairly heavily for summer recreation. Reducing the potential for high severity wildfire upstream from this pond would lower the risk of losing the fishery from ash and debris flows following such a fire. While other species may benefit from the proposed treatments, we believe the species addressed above are the ones most likely to have direct, or substantial indirect, benefits from completion of the proposed treatments.

The purpose of the project is to maintain or improve aspen community resilience, improve wildlife habitat, and reduce the risk of high intensity and high severity wildfires to public and firefighters. Specific objectives of the Bear Flat Aspen project include: 1) Remove all conifers from aspen stands. This should improve habitat and movement corridors for mule deer and elk and increase prey availability for falcons and bats. 2) Move areas in FRCC 3 toward FRCC 1 to protect Brian Head Ski Resort, Brian Head Town, State and private infrastructure (including the fishery in Bristlecone Pond) from the risk of high severity wildfire.

Location: The 2017 Brian Head Fire (see UWRI projects 4358, 4532, 4661, 4706) demonstrated the risk of late stage mixed conifer succession in aspen stands on the Markagunt plateau. The fire burned over 70,000 acres impacting recreation, tourism, hunting, and fishing and caused damage to private and public infrastructure. The current project area has been identified as an area of high to extreme wildfire risk that connects an area of heavy fuel loading with poor access (Ashdown Gorge Wilderness area) and Brian Head Town. Brian Head Town, Brian Head Ski Resort, and dispersed recreation on this part of the Dixie National Forest have all experienced tremendous growth which appears poised to continue into the foreseeable future. This growth will increase the values at risk within and adjacent to the WUI. The proposed project would lower wildfire risk by substantially reducing fuels, providing an area where fire behavior would be lessened and the chance of containing a wildfire would be higher. During stakeholder discussions about the Brian Head Ski Resort expansion, the area identified for the "Dry Lakes Pod" expansion, north and east of the existing Wildflowers Chairlift (Chair 1) were identified as important fawning habitat for mule deer by local UDWR biologists. Collared mule deer show heavy use in this area and in the area surrounding the proposed project. If the ski resort expansion goes through, this fawning habitat would be impacted by 3 chairlifts supporting 15-20 new ski runs. While this area is immediately adjacent to the project area, it contains a larger amount of aspen or mixed conifer aspen in earlier stages of succession than the project area. The proposed project's objective is to restore late successional mixed conifer aspen stands back to early successional aspen stands and or more pure aspen stands, which could help offset some of the potential habitat impacts form the ski resort expansion. The Relationship to Plans section shows that this project helps support the goals and objectives for multiple wildlife, fire and fuels, agency, and local government management plans. The Panguitch Lake Herd Management Plan for mule deer calls out the need to meet "specific vegetative objectives to maintain the quality of important deer use areas" and "Work with federal and state partners in fire rehabilitation and prevention on crucial deer habitat through the WRI process." The Statewide Mule Deer Plan identifies that emphasis should be placed on crucial habitats including "summer range habitat" by "improving aspen" and that active management should be directed at crucial habitat (especially summer fawning habitat) and migration routes. This project proposes conifer removal from 132 acres of aspen stands in summer substantial habitat that has been identified as important for fawning and is immediately adjacent to a migration route. The local UDWR biologist supports this project as one that will improve fawning and foraging habitat along big game migration routes for mule deer and will probably increase elk use of the area. The proposed treatments would also improve habitat for other wildlife including wild turkey. All of the proposed treatments are in mapped occupied turkey habitat. This project would improve summer habitat and improve turkey foraging habitat on public lands. Similar projects have occurred in Oregon where the National Wild Turkey Federation partnered with the Forest Service and restored encroached aspen stands. Wild turkeys were later observed utilizing these treatment area with their pullets. The Utah Wildfire Risk Explorer shows high to very high Wildfire Hazard Potential throughout the project area with Structure Exposure being Extreme (see risk assessment in Documents). The biggest risk to structures on Brian Head Ski Resort, on the Forest, and on private lands immediately adjacent to the proposed treatment (see Fire and Fuels section). As also discussed in the Fire and Fuels section, SR143 and its utility corridor are also at risk. Timing: The most critical reasons to treat this project area now are that many of the aspen stands in the project area are nearly overtaken by conifer and the cost to implement the project would be much higher if we miss the window to use commercial timber harvest as a tool. The longer we wait to treat this area, the less likely we will get the desired aspen regeneration. Additionally, for years there has been little, if any, market value for these types of mixed conifer trees. Exploiting the window where treatments can be completed by a commercial timber sale versus a non-extractive fuels treatment expedites the speed and reduces the cost of completing these treatments. We estimate that completing the entire project with a contracted lop, pile, burn project would cost nearly double the existing project with most of the cost being in contracts and not in-kind. There would also be no financial gain like there will be with the proposed timber sale on 66% of the treatment acres. Additionally, as discussed in the Project Need and Fire and Fuels section of the document, there is substantial risk of wildfire moving from the Forest land onto private property in this area. Ashdown Gorge and the project area have high fuel loads that would probably have extreme wildfire behavior (crown fire with high flames lengths) under the right fire weather. Many private structures and infrastructure are in the path of the prevailing winds. These values at risk are further outlined in the Fire and Fuels section. Completing the treatments would reduce the likelihood of extreme fire behavior within the project area and increase the chance of holding a fire moving toward town from the Forest being held at SR143 and/or on ski runs at Brian Head Ski Resort. If the proposed Dry Lakes Pod portion of the Brian Head Ski Resort Expansion project is approved, implementing this project now would give time for aspen regeneration before implementation of that pod would begin. The EIS process is expected to last through calendar year 2027 and implementation of other proposed infrastructure on the east side of the resort is a higher priority. Implementing this project now would probably provide at least a 5-10 year window for aspen to regenerate prior to implementation of the proposed Dry Lakes Pod, if the pod is authorized.

This project will work to address threats, work within focus areas and with focus species, help meet objectives and goals of the below listed plans. Under those plans are specific language from the plan describing threats, goals, strategies, and objectives this project will help meet. 1) Utah Mule Deer Statewide Plan (December 2024 -- December2030) Habitat Objective 1Ba: "Work with local, state and federal land management agencies via land management plans and with private landowners to identify and actively manage and protect crucial mule deer habitats including summer (especially fawning), winter, and migration areas as defined in Sawyer et al. 2009." Habitat Objective 1Ja "Manage vegetation communities to be resistant." Habitat Objective 2Aa"Utilize WRI as a tool to improve deer habitat with all partners across the state." Habitat Objective 2Ac "Work with land management agencies, conservation organizations, private landowners, and local leaders through the regional WRI teams working groups to identify and prioritize mule deer habitats that are in need of enhancement or restoration (Figure 6). Emphasis should be placed on crucial habitats which include summer range habitats such as improving aspen, winter ranges sagebrush habitats, and improving riparian areas." Habitat Objective 2Ae "Initiate broad scale vegetative treatment projects to improve and restore 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." This project is designed to reduce conifer succession into aspen in an area that collared mule deer have used heavily and immediately adjacent to a mule deer migration route. 2) Panguitch Lake Deer Herd Unit #28 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. Work with federal and state partners in fire rehabilitation and prevention on crucial deer habitat through the WRI process. This project is designed to reduce conifer succession into aspen in an area identified as important summer fawning habitat by local biologists. 3) UTAH STATEWIDE ELK MANAGEMENT PLAN (December 2022-December 2032) Habitat Objective 1Ba "Coordinate with land management agencies and private landowners to properly manage and improve elk habitat, especially calving and wintering areas." Habitat Objective 1Ca "Utilize Habitat Council, Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative, Wildlife Conservation Permit funds, and other funding mechanisms to restore or improve crucial elk habitats." Habitat Objective 1Cb "Increase forage production by annually treating a minimum of 40,000 acres of elk habitat." Habitat Objective 1Cc "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." This project would improve summer substantial elk calving habitat via commercial logging, thinning and prescribed fire (pile burning). 4) Elk Unit Management Plan -- Panguitch Lake Unit #28 (2023) Work with private, state and federal agencies to maintain and protect crucial ranges. Continue projects with USFS, BLM, state and private entities to enhance habitat across the unit. Work with land management agencies to improve calving habitat and minimize disturbance in these areas. Seek opportunities to improve aspen communities, and some sagebrush ranges where calving and foraging are occurring. This project would improve summer substantial elk calving habitat via commercial logging, thinning and prescribed fire (pile burning). 5) 2023 Utah Wild Turkey Management Plan Enhance wild turkey habitat -- quality and quantity -- by 100,000 acres statewide by 2029 with the following strategies: Conduct habitat improvement projects in limiting habitat(s) and maximize the benefits to turkeys within all WRI projects that incorporate turkey habitat. Increase outreach to our agency and non-agency partners, regional habitat biologists and wildlife biologists to increase number of and quality of WRI projects, as well as comments on those projects. As discussed under the Project Need the project would protect and improve summer food habitat for turkeys. 6) Utah Wildlife Action Plan Aspen-Conifer, is a key a habitat identified in the WAP that would be treated by the project. WAP identifies inappropriate fire frequency as a High or Very High threat to Aspen-conifer. This project will reduce future fire risk and act as a fire buffer to adjacent higher risk areas. 7) National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy Two of the three national goals of the Cohesive Strategy supported by this project are to (1) create fire-adapted communities and (2) restore and maintain fire resilient landscapes. Additionally, one of the core values in the Cohesive Strategy is to reduce the risk to firefighters and the public. Management options to support these goals include use non-fire fuels treatments in non-forested areas and manage landscapes and fuels for fire regimes altered by climate change, fire and other concurrent, and cascading factors. 8) Wildfire Crisis Strategy Work with partners to treat up to an additional 20 million acres on National Forest System lands and treat up to an additional 30 million acres of other Federal, State, Tribal, and private lands. 8) Utah Catastrophic Wildfire Reduction Strategy Landscapes across all jurisdictions are resilient to fire-related disturbances in accordance with management objectives. Human populations and infrastructure can withstand a wildfire without loss of life and property. 10) Dixie National Forest LRMP Goal 15 -- Maintain or enhance the terrestrial habitat for all wildlife species presently on the Forest (page IV-5). All the vegetation treatments proposed should increase browse and or forage for Forest MIS species, such as mule deer, elk and wild turkey. Additionally, the reduced fire risk should protect the MIS nonnative trout fishery in Bristlecone Pond. Goal 17 -- Managed Classified Species habitat to maintain or enhance their status through direct habitat improvement and agency cooperation (Page IV-6). Peregrine falcon and Townsend's Big-eared Bat are both Intermountain Region Sensitive species. Goal 24 - Emphasize harvesting productive sawtimber stands that are highly or moderately susceptible to attack by the mountain pine beetle and other forest pests. Goal 48 - Ecosystems are restored and maintained, consistent with land uses and historic fire regimes, through wildland fire use and prescribed fire. FOREST-WIDE STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES (P IV-25 TO IV-55) Reduce hazardous fuels. The full range of fuel reduction methods is authorized, consistent with forest and management area emphasis and direction. As discussed under the Project Need this project would enhance habitat for Forest MIS species by restoring aspen habitats, reduce fire risk by restoring aspen ecosystems, and cut saw timber stands at risk of pest outbreaks. The project would also improve foraging opportunities for two Forest Service Sensitive species (Peregrine falcon and Townsend's Big-eared bat). 11) Brian Head Town Community Wildfire Protection Plan Goal C.2 -- Work with local, state and federal fire officials to decrease fuels on private and adjacent public lands to reduce wildfire intensity and impact in and around the community. This project would reduce fuels in public lands WUI immediately adjacent to the Town of Brian Head. 12) Iron County Management Plan This project supports multiple goals and objectives in Iron County's RMP including but not limited to: Recognize all resources on federal lands as part of Iron County's custom and culture. Public lands must be managed in a manner that recognizes the Nation's needfor a domestic source of minerals, food, timber, and fiber. Properly manage watersheds and other resources. Protect watersheds from threats of catastrophic wildfire. Selective timber harvest and thinning. Increase timber harvest and adjust requirements to meet local timber industry capabilities. Iron County supports timber sales for forest health and benefit to the community through proper planning that makes the timber sales attractive to local companies. Protect water resources and quality which are essential to short and long term economic, recreational, and cultural viability. Wildland urban interface, culinary watersheds, and backcountry lands be actively managed to maintain structure and tree species composition consistent with low severity fires, when these are secured, move. Properly manage culinary watersheds to minimize risk of catastrophic wildfires. The RMP can be found in the "Documents" section.

The USDA Forest Service Wildfire Risk to Communities application shows that Brian Head Town is at high risk, having a higher risk than 86% of the communities in the U.S (https://apps.wildfirerisk.org/explore/overview/49/49021/4900008020/). Wildfire likelihood is high with higher likelihoods in the project area and southwest into Ashdown Gorge Wilderness Area. The entire project is within Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) and has transportation and utility infrastructure, businesses, and a considerable number of private residences immediately adjacent to it as evidenced in the Brian Head Community Wildfire Protection Plan (UDNR 2018). The Dixie National Forest identifies WUI as; the area adjacent to an at-risk value (structure, community, critical infrastructure or municipal water shed) where wildland fuels and human development exist, creating a fire environment that poses a threat to life safety and/or property damage. The State of Utah lists the Brian Head community as a Community at Risk (https://www.ffsl.utah.gov/fire/wildfire-community-preparedness/communities-at-risk/). This community had an overall score of 12 (0 =No risk to 12= Extreme risk) when the State analyzed risk factors for each community. High fuel loading and the difficulty of firefighting contributed to this high score. Private lands, including their improvements and structures and human occupants, face a threat from wildfire. Conversely, there is a threat of wildfire coming from these private lands onto the forest and causing damage to forest resources. Forest Service regulations provide for special attention to WUIs to reduce wildfire intensity, create defensible space around the WUI, and reduce risk to National Forest lands from unwanted fire. The principles of the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy include "To safely and effectively extinguish fire when needed; use fire where allowed; manage our national resources; and as a nation, to live with wildland fire" (https://www.forestsandrangelands.gov/documents/strategy/natl-cohesive-wildland-fire-mgmt-strategy-addendum-update-2023.pdf). Two of the three national goals of the Cohesive Strategy supported by this project are to (1) create fire-adapted communities and (2) restore and maintain fire resilient landscapes. Additionally, one of the core values in the Cohesive Strategy is to reduce the risk to firefighters and the public, which is also a goal of this project. In 2022 the Forest Service expanded on the Cohesive strategy with a new Wildfire Crisis Strategy (https://www.fs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/fs_media/fs_document/Confronting-the-Wildfire-Crisis.pdf). This Wildfire Crisis Strategy highlights how one in three homes in the United States is now in the WUI and that 70,000 communities are at risk from wildfire. It directs Forest Service units "to place fuels and forest health treatments in the right places and at the pace and scale needed to change the trajectory of wildfire risk to people, communities, and natural resources and to restore forest health and resilience." The goals of the proposed treatments are to improve health and vigor of stands by moving them toward a FRCC of 1 and away from FRCC 3, reduce fuel loading, fuel continuity and to reduce the risk of large-scale fires of uncharacteristically high severity that could result in a degradation of watershed conditions. As discussed under Project Location And Timing, large, high severity fires can have negative impacts to both terrestrial and aquatic wildlife habitats and the bulk of infrastructure at risk outlined below would be in the direction of the prevailing winds from Ashdown Gorge Wilderness and the proposed project area. In addition to potential impacts to vegetation communities and species (noted in Project Need and Project Location and Timing Section) this project directly abuts private lands. The project runs along the south side of the Wildflowers chairlift on Brian Head Ski Resort and would encompass the top terminal and a portion of the lift structure of the proposed Sugarloaf Lift in Brian Head's current proposal for expansion. There are at least 10 single family homes, 10 condominium complexes, and a private business within 0.5 miles north/northeast of the proposed treatments. Neighborhoods are also currently under construction along the eastern border of the proposed treatments. There are two groundwater protections zones and seven water sources immediately north and northeast of the project area (see Water Quality/Quantity section). On the Forest, the Town of Brian Head has and operates a municipal work shed under a Special Use Permit. This is a large building that stores maintenance vehicles and equipment for the town. Additionally, the Bear Flat dispersed camping area is in the middle of proposed project treatments. This area receives high use from the public and has pit toilets and over 10 dispersed camping sites.

The project overlaps two Utah Division of Water Quality Assessment Units, with the majority of the project area being in the headwaters of the Parowan Creek Assessment Unit (UT16030006-004_00) and a smaller portion being in the headwaters of the Coal Creek C/B Assessment Unit (UT16030006-001_00). The Parowan Creek Unit has been found to support all assessed uses and the Coal Creek Unit has been found to support designated uses. The project area within the Parowan Creek Unit would all drain into the headwaters of Parowan Creek and through the Bristlecone Pond. The project area within the Coal Creek Unit would all drain into Coal Creek and through Rattlesnake Creek. The project is split into three 6th field HUCs in the Forest Service's Watershed Condition Class Assessment (https://usfs.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=3abe1c380f72472eb4b47c6cd4766fe5. The majority of the project is in the Dry Lakes Creek watershed which is listed as Functioning at Risk with poor scores for the roads and trails and water quantity indicators. The southwestern edge of the project is in the Ashdown Creek watershed, which is listed as Functioning with no poor scores for indicators. A small piece of the project area by Navajo point is within the Summit Creek watershed, which is also listed as Functioning with no poor scores for indicators. The project is immediately adjacent to the Town Hall Well and Mammoth Hill Spring Groundwater Protections Zones for the Brian Head Town Water systems. Three other Groundwater Protections Zones that are part of the Brian Head Town Water System (Bear Flat Well, Brian Head Seep Spring, and Decker Spring) are within 0.7 miles of project treatments and in the direction of prevailing winds (to the north and east of the project area). Two other water sources (Quaking Aspen Spring and Rock Spring) for the Brian Head Town Water System are within 0.2 miles of project treatments but are not within a Groundwater Protection Zone. Project benefits to water quality would mainly be preventative. By reducing the risk of a large, high severity wildfire, existing water quality and beneficial uses would be maintained and Brian Head Town water sources would be protected. Runoff after fires results in increased sedimentation, nutrient loading, and even increased prevalence of E. Coli contamination, so reducing the risk of fire should protect water quality in and adjacent to the project area. The results of research on the volume and longevity of water yield increase following conifer removal from aspen communities, such as those proposed in this project, have been variable with some studies showing fairly substantial, relative long-term increases (Gottfried 1991) and others show little increase, or only short-term increases (Troendle et al. 2010). Perhaps the most compelling local study shows that aspen stands had 34-44% higher snow water equivalents than adjacent conifer stands and a 42-83% greater potential water yield for runoff and groundwater recharge (LaMalfa and Ryle, 2008), indicating that removal of conifer and maintaining and improving aspen stands should result in higher water yield. As with water quality, one of the main benefits of the project to water quantity would be protecting existing water developments for the Brian Head Town Water System for wildfire impacts.

This project was analyzed under the Bear Flat Aspen Restoration Project. The Decision Memo was signed in February 2021 (see Documents section). Cultural resource surveys were completed by the Forest Service and SHPO concurrence for the proposed activities was obtained (see Documents section).

State FY 2026-2030 Commercial thinning of conifer from aspen stands (88 acres) Timber sale contract - All conifer 5" DBH and larger will be removed from the aspen stands to promote aspen regeneration. Sale is expected to be offered in February 2026 and the successful bidder will have up to 5 years to complete the harvest, removal, and close out of the sale. Non-merchantable slash would be machine piled by the contractor and burned by FS personnel over snow after curing. State FY 2027 Thin, lop, pile contract (46 acres) Hand thin removal of all conifers 8-inch Diameter Breast Height (DBH) and smaller from aspen stands. Prune all lower branches from remaining conifer trees over 8-inch Diameter Breast Height (DBH) from the ground level up 6 feet of the tree trunk. All thinned and pruned cut material will be piled. Dead and downed woody material sound or rotten between 3 inches and 8 inches would also be cut and piled. Piles will be approximately 8 feet wide, by 8 feet across, by 8 feet tall dome shaped and tightly compacted. Piles will not be constructed under drip lines of remaining conifer and aspen trees over 8-inch Diameter Breast Height (DBH). Piles would be burned by Forest Service personnel over snow after curing.

Vegetation -- Timber cruise plots were conducted in the commercial harvest portions of the project area and can be repeated post-harvest to validate tree reduction. Additionally, plots will be established post-harvest to determine aspen regeneration success. Wildlife monitoring -- UDWR flies the unit every 3 years for elk counts, they also use collars and look at post-season survival rates to determine mule deer population size and trends. UDWR uses harvest data to model turkey population size. Peregrine falcon eyrie surveys occur annually to determine if eyries are occupied and active. These occur during the breeding season. Bat acoustic monitoring is something we recently started utilizing, acoustic surveys were conducted nearby in correlation with the Brian Head Expansion project. Acoustic monitors were placed in areas near open water in the vicinity of the Bear Flat Aspen project. The monitors were only placed in these locations for approximately a week but recorded a variety of bat species utilizing the areas around Brian Head and the Bear Flat Aspen project. Additional acoustic monitoring will likely occur near the project area as the monitoring program continues to develop. Fuels monitoring -- During environmental planning for the project photo plots were set up throughout the whole project area. In addition to photos, all trees were counted 1/10 acre circumference from plot center. These sites can be repeated following project treatments and the comparison posted to the project web site (see Documents section for sample photos).

Cross boundary coordination on this project was completed during NEPA scoping for this project in 2020 when the Scoping Statement for the project was sent to nearly 50 stakeholders including Brian Head Town, Brian Head Ski Resort, Iron County, the Mule Deer Foundation, Rocky Mountain Elk Federation, UDWR, UTFFSL, National Wild Turkey Federation, and the livestock permittee, among others. A phone call of support was received from Brian Head Town. No other comments were filed at that time. The local logging industry and local county and state representatives are supportive of the commercial timber units being offered for sale as soon as possible and this project has been identified during multiple 2025 meetings about increasing the amount of volume being offered for sale on the Dixie National Forest. Emails describing the project were sent to potential partners/stakeholders in summer 2025. A site visit was scheduled for 10/27/2025, which was subsequently cancelled because of the lapse in federal appropriations and the number of critical employees that were furloughed. After the furlough follow-up emails were sent to partners further describing the proposed project and requesting input and partnership opportunities. Partners/stakeholders included Brian Head Town, Brian Head Ski Resort, Iron County, the Mule Deer Foundation, National Wild Turkey Federation, NRCS, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation UDWR, UTFFSL. One on one follow up meetings were held with representatives from Brian Head Town, Brian Head Ski Resort, the Mule Deer Foundation, and UTFFSL. All indications were the stakeholders are supportive of the project. Iron County and UTFFSL are contributing $10,000 in Participation Commitment money towards the project. The permittee was contacted during Scoping and the Forest service met with the permittee recently to discuss this project. They are supportive of the project and have committed to whatever rest is necessary (two years after treatment) whether it is accomplished by resting the pasture or herding sheep to avoid individual treatment areas. This will depend on the timing and scale of treatment since the fuels contract and timber sale may be completed at different times. Annual Operating Instructions will be modified to reflect the timing and method of rest for the units/pasture and would serve as the signed commitment. Brian Head Town and Brian Head Ski Resort were both consulted on the project. The ski resort may be completing additional vegetation removal in the area in their proposed expansion however, that project is currently in the EIS process. The existing resort has an open ski run immediately adjacent to project treatments. Brian Head Town was supportive of the project and brought up that Senate Bill 1860 (https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1860/text) would convey one of the fuels units (7 acres) to the town as part of the 24 acre proposed land conveyance. They would still be interested in completing fuel reduction treatment should the conveyance occur. FFSL and the Town of Brain Head using other grant funds planned project work in this area, but due to newly planned development and landowner concerns, have decided to use the funds on a different area of the town. The Bear Flat Project will help protect the new development from wildfire and will allow for the local experts to help warn and encourage FireWise planning around homes and buildings.

Forest permittees have met directly with agency personnel and verbally agreed to avoiding the project treatment units via herding or resting the entire pasture for two years following treatment. The Forest Annual Operating Instructions will be adjusted to reflect the avoidance that will constitute the signed agreement. Upland vegetation trend monitoring sites in both pastures show that objectives are being met at the last reading. The sheep on this allotment are tended by a herder allowing for appropriate distribution and utilization. This evidenced by the fact that 83% of the 12 long term trend sites on the allotment were meeting objectives at their last reading. The Cedar City Ranger District is also working with the permittee to identify range infrastructure projects that could improve allotment management, but overall management of this allotment is good, and aspen browse increases from the proposed project should only add to management flexibility. As mentioned in other areas of the proposal, the project area is in WUI, Brian Head Ski Resort has proposed an expansion immediately adjacent to the project area, there is high value city, state and private infrastructure adjacent to the project, and the project area is a heavily used dispersed recreation area. The focus on multiple use and active management in this area will only continue to increase. Once treatments in the entire project area are completed the goal is to manage fire adapted ecosystems through a combination wildfire (managed for resource plan benefits) and prescribed fire.

As mentioned previously, 88 acres of this project are intended to be treated with a commercial timber sale. This sale would produce 1,695 ccf of timber volume with an appraisal value of $425. A recent similar sale sold for more than 40 times its appraisal value. The wood will end up in Utah mills creating jobs within Utah's rural economy. The logging industry in Utah creates about 6,100 jobs and comprises about 0.5% of the State's GDP. The sale should be out for bid in February 2026. On Forest Service lands, all but 7 acres of the proposed project are within the Six Lakes-Navajo Ridge Allotment. Within this allotment all but about 3 acres of the project area are on the Bear Flat Pasture with the 3 acres being on the Third House pasture. This allotment is authorized to run 1,230 ewe with lamb pairs authorized over 4,529 head months. Currently, this allotment is run on an 8-pasture deferred rotation. As discussed under the Future Management section implementation of this project should allow for livestock grazing to continue under a variety of annual weather conditions, while improving livestock weights and resource conditions. The other major uses of this area are camping, hiking, snowmobiling, downhill skiing, snowshoeing, hunting, wildlife viewing, and OHV recreation. As outlined in other areas of the project, these treatments should help protect recreation infrastructure (ski lifts/runs, roads and trails, camping areas, restroom facilities, snowmobile trail, Bristlecone Pond, etc.) from the risk of large, high severity wildfire. Treatment should also improve wildlife habitat and increased wildlife use may lead to recreational use of the area for wildlife viewing and hunting. The project should help protect road and trail infrastructure from potential impacts of high severity wildfire. The U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis data shows that in 2023 outdoor recreation created $9.5 billion in value-added for Utah, accounted for 3.4% of Utah's GDP, and provided 71,898 jobs. Hunting/shooting/trapping accounted for $331 million, boating and fishing for $537 million, and OHV/motorcycling/ATVing for $166 million. More specifically, Forest Service roads in the project area are used as part of a permitted snowmobile outfitter and guide business permitted by the Forest Service. Brian Head Ski Resort has an annual revenue upwards of $30 million and retains over 120 permanent employees and hundreds of seasonal employees. UDWR spends about $2,500 annually to stock the Bristlecone Pond. With the project area immediately adjacent to Brian Head Town and not far from Parowan, Cedar City, Iron County communities are sure to benefit from recreation generated dollars. Data from 2015 indicated that almost 20% jobs in Iron County were from the recreation, leisure, and hospitality industry (see Documents section). Knowing how much visitor use in southern Utah has increased over the past decade, this is surely a higher share of the County's revenue now. Reducing wildfire risk in this area and regenerating aspen would protect and improve the recreation, hunting, fishing, and wildlife viewing experience in and around the project area, which would in turn protect the economic benefits these activities provide.