Aspen forests throughout the Intermountain West have been experiencing decline for several decades. Aspen stands situated on School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA) and surrounding forests are similarly affected. The combination of drought and persistent browsing pressure has led to a degradation of clone structure, resulting in a transition back to rangeland communities or encroachment by conifers. In Fiscal Year 2023, SITLA secured WRI funding for an initial phase of aspen regeneration (Phase I). A portion of this project, located near Beaver Basin (Beaver Creek Drainage), was successfully completed in 2025. SITLA intends to continue this endeavor, potentially partnering with the Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR), the Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands (FFSL), and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). However, a prerequisite amount of work must be accomplished before formalizing collaboration with additional partners. This project is designed to restore decadent, climax aspen stands currently experiencing conifer encroachment to a healthy, early successional, stable, and productive aspen forest type. Promoting aspen suckering will establish persistent, pure stands, along with critical understory vegetation vital for wildlife. Conifer stands will be thinned to mitigate the risk of wildfire and the spread of insect and disease. Furthermore, the scope of work includes Thinning of overstocked conifer stands and the salvage of timber that was blown down as a result of an anomalous windstorm in 2024. This blowdown was surveyed by a team of entomologists, and their recommendation is to clear-out the down timber as soon as possible as the area possesses a high potential for spruce beetle outbreak. Other anticipated benefits encompass watershed protection, enhanced public safety, and the development of forests resilient to fire and disease. Given the project's location and the resulting abbreviated work season, a three-year funding period is recommended.

Aspen Forest Restoration: - Using stand replacement treatments at a scale that increases the overall health of aspen stands and connectivity to the landscape. - Conserve & protect watersheds by maintaining a functioning network of resilient forests; return forest structure to a balanced, healthy and historic level by using mechanical harvesting methods. - Encourage survival and regeneration of aspen stands for overall health, vigor, wildlife habitat and forage, and ecosystem function (healthy aspen forests have increased forage production, diversity and cover). - Reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire through promotion of aspen (low severity fire adapted) and reduction in conifer encroachment in aspen stands. - Increase total treatment acre size (past project acres + new treatment acres) to increase effectiveness and longevity of treatments (disperse ungulate browsing across landscape). - reduce conifer encroachment in historically pure aspen stands, reducing competition for light, water and nutrients for aspen thereby increasing aspen survivability and vigor/resistance to insect and disease (more healthy aspen stands mean less susceptibility to insect and disease). - Enhance mule deer and elk, birthing, hiding and foraging habitat by promoting diverse, healthy, vigorous, and quality understory vegetation. Conifer Forest Treatment: - Thinning conifer will help restore the ecological health and enhance the ecosystem that benefits wildlife habitat, water quality, and recreation. - Increase forest resistance and recovery from disturbances like insect, disease, drought, and fire by reducing density and overall forest health. - Create healthy forest conditions to improve water quality, quantity, and stream health. - Sustainable harvest can have economic and social benefits especially here in Utah where the industry and industry culture is at an all-time low. Forest Blowdown Salvage: - In 2025 a team of entomologists surveyed portions of the blowdown timber. The data indicates that these areas possess a high potential for a spruce beetle outbreak. The recommendation is to clear-out the down timber as soon as possible. A significant infestation of the spruce beetle could negatively impact the Beaver Basin watershed. - Salvage of these areas will accelerate and/or improve the long-term ecological goals. - It will reduce the risk of wildfire, slow the spread of insects and disease, and facilitate natural and artificial regeneration. Reforestation: Plant seedlings within predominant Spruce forests. This will ensure sustainable stocking levels that should help rebuild ecosystems, enhance biodiversity, improve soil health, regulate water cycles, create wildlife habitat, and overtime increase carbon sequestration. Additional Objectives: - Complete archaeology clearance in aspen and mixed conifer stands in preparation for future implementation of selective thinning, aspen regeneration projects, and forest management on SITLA. - Provide higher quality habitat for olive-sided flycatcher by creating openings in aspen that are used for foraging while maintaining aspen on the edge for nesting. -Increase stems per acre of aspen for ruffed grouse and contribute downed-logs for drumming. Increase aspen buds as a primary winter forage for ruffed grouse. - Recovering timber with economic value will help sawmills in rural areas.

This area was initially part of the Eastern La Sal Watershed Restoration focus area. Consequently, this has become our primary focus area due to the significant impact of the blowdown timber. Any further delay could result in massive loss of spruce and aspen forests.The conifer forest in this region, which consists primarily of Engelmann spruce, has the potential to undergo a massive die-off. Aspen forests would likely cross an ecological threshold and be lost, transitioning to conifer or mountain brush environments. Risks of not completing the forest treatments include: (a) continued decrease in quality of wildlife habitat and forage, (b) a loss of aspen as a valuable watershed component, and (c) increased risk of wildfire (aspen is more resilient to wildfire than decadent sagebrush rangelands, woodlands or conifers). If the aspen resource continues to lose acreage on an annual basis, this could have a detrimental impact on the watershed downstream. Any further delays in implementation could result in further loss of reserves in the aspen root systems, therefore future treatments would be unsuccessful at stimulating aspen regeneration. High severity wildfires could lead to an increase in loss of native species which are critical to maintaining ecosystem resilience and reducing erosion. This project will help improve and maintain diversity and improve ecosystem function in this target area.

Utah Mule Deer Management Plan: The Utah Mule Deer Statewide Management Plan has two objectives to improve the quality and quantity of vegetation for mule deer on crucial ranges by initiating broad-scale vegetative treatment projects. Ranges being diminished by conifer encroachment are specifically listed as important. Habitat Objective 1: Maintain mule deer habitat throughout the state by protecting and enhancing existing crucial habitats and mitigating for losses due to natural and human impacts Implications: Loss of crucial mule deer habitat will need to be minimized to achieve population objectives. Mitigation is essential for loss or degradation of all crucial habitats due to natural and human impacts. 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. 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. Utah Statewide Elk Management Plan Habitat Objective 1: Maintain sufficient habitat to support elk herds at population objectives and reduce competition for forage between elk and livestock. Habitat Objective 2: Reduce adverse impacts on elk herds and elk habitat. This project will facilitate the sustainment of migration corridors on or adjacent to summer range. Habitat Management a) Coordinate with land management agencies and private landowners to properly manage and improve elk habitat, especially calving and wintering areas. b) Work with state and federal land management agencies to use livestock as a management tool to enhance crucial elk ranges. Grand County General Plan (2024) Policies: -Create high quality, well connected, functioning, natural or naturalized corridors which enhance local biodiversity and facilitate species movement, migration and longevity; -Encourage, restore, expand and protect the biodiversity of our plant and animal species including habitat protection and restoration of all native, rare, threatened or endangered species -- minimizing habitat fragmentation. Utah Forest Action Plan 2020 FAP Goals: - Restore healthy and resilient trees and forests across Utah. - Reduce wildfire risk to communities, water resources, and other natural resource values. - Increase collaborative landscape-scale forest restoration activities across the State. - Build capacity among partners, stakeholders and communities to engage in forest restoration activities across the State. Aspen-Conifer Key Terrestrial Habitat Threats (pg. 48) - Inappropriate Fire Frequency and Intensity - Droughts - Problematic Animal Species (native) - Improper Grazing (current) Implementation of aspen restoration on SITLA land fulfills state forest stewardship goals of promoting forest management, while working cooperatively with other agencies. Increasing aspen-conifer habitat through increasing treatment size and targeted dispersal of ungulate browsing will be achieved by this project. The result is a resilient aspen forest representative of various successional stages and stand structure types, providing for watershed health, reduction of wildfire risk, increased economic production and support via timber industry engagement, and ultimately, an ecological resilient and healthy forest. Aspen-conifer are a key habitat in the action plan that are threatened by inappropriate fire and grazing. Introducing disturbance and browse fencing will address these threats. Utah Wildlife Action Plan 2025-2035. - Maintaining aspen stands will create nesting habitat and foraging opportunities by creating open spaces for olive-sided flycatcher. Opening ponderosa stands improves foraging opportunity for Lewis's woodpecker as they catch insects on the fly. Flammulated owls prefer widely spaced ponderosa with diverse and open understory. The retention of large ponderosa and snags provide day and maternity roosts for Allen's big-eared bats. The Merriam's turkey prefers more open ponderosa or Gambel oak stands for roosting while having open areas for foraging. Black-rosy finches are altitudinal migrants that forage in shrublands that are opened up by reducing Conifer in the winter months. Thinning trees, especially near talus slopes will reduce the preferred habitat for black-rosy finch predators like the Clark's nutcracker and squirrels. Creating openings provides foraging opportunities for the prey base of golden eagles in pinyon-juniper habitats. Removal of blow down would allow access to transplant Colorado River cutthroat trout throughout the drainage which has caused limitations in previous attempts. Heterogeneity in oak stands creates mast production that will benefit band-tailed pigeon. Aspen, oak, and ponderosa are all key habitats identified in the WAP. Creating heterogeneity in forest stands and succession of different age class stands will create diversity in foraging including mast production and for nesting.

This project is being implemented to effectively restore resilient, fire-adapted forest ecosystems by moving the stands toward properly functioning condition in terms of stand composition, age, and density. In addition, the treatments will improve structural diversity, promote aspen regeneration and recruitment, reduce the hazardous fuel loading and reduce the continuity of fuels across the La Sals. If and when wildfires occur, this could result in damage to private property, communication towers, numerous structures, increased erosion events, greater opportunities for noxious weed establishment, impacts to available short-term forage, and stream sedimentation. This project will mitigate the risks and damage associated with a high intensity, high severity, uncharacteristic/catastrophic wildfire.

Conserve & protect watersheds by maintaining a functioning network of resilient forests; By reducing the risk of severe, large scale wildfire in the project area, the actions will protect watershed values from damage to soils that result in reduced infiltration and increased runoff in the short-term and loss of topsoil and subsequent reduction in soil productivity in the long-term. The additional treatment of drainages that could act as funnels during a wildfire protects these riparian areas in the long term. Water quality/quantity will improve through increased water yield in this watershed due to a sustainable aspen forest resource: studies have shown that sagebrush (and conifer) encroachment into aspen stands throughout the Intermountain West causes a significant decrease in an area's water yield (mechanisms include differential accumulation of snow, melting patterns, and plant water use rates). By encouraging the regeneration of aspen, the watershed's water yield should increase. Utah's Forest Water Quality Guidelines serve as a resource created by the State that include considerations for land managers to reduce water quality/quantity impact in their management practices. The guidelines will be consulted for the aspen harvest to minimize impacts and enhance water quality. A post-harvest field review complements the guidelines to determine the effectiveness of the logging (including road construction, maintenance, skid trails, site prep etc.) on the protection of forest, soil, and water resources. A post-harvest review will be conducted and submitted to the State for evaluation.

The entire proposed project is on state land therefore no NEPA will be required. An archaeological clearance will be necessary due to the ground disturbance from large machinery. The cultural survey will be done in house by SITLA cultural staff. It will be completed prior to implementation in fiscal year 2027.

Aspen Treatment A stand replacement method (clear-fell) will be used for many of these stands. Mechanical harvesting will be used for this work. These activities will include removing all conifer and most aspen, leaving scattered legacy aspen trees. Some pre-commercial and cull trees will be utilized to construct a brush fence around the perimeter of more decadent aspen stands to reduce herbivory pressure. Some cut and pile in-place may be necessary to achieve the desired residual slash tons/acre. Sawlogs will be merchandised to a local sawmill. All other biomass will be piled and burned. Where the formation of an adequate slash fence is not possible due to lack of material, polypropylene fencing may be supplemented to complete the perimeter. In areas where machinery does not disturb the soil sufficiently to stimulate regeneration, a ripper attachment will be used. Seed will be broadcast in the areas of high disturbance to decrease the spread of noxious weeds. Conifer Thinning A treatment or combination of treatments will be utilized to improve the growth, minimize the spread of insects, and disease. There will be no bias towards subalpine fir. Use of mechanical harvesting will be used to cut, skid, and deck forest products. Some cut and pile in-place may be necessary to achieve the desired residual slash tons/acre. Sawlogs will be merchandised to a local sawmill. All other biomass will be piled and burned. Blowdown Salvage These blowdown areas are a direct result of a massive summer storm resembling hurricane-force conditions. Salvage operations in these areas will recover saw timber and prepare the land for subsequent reforestation. Mechanical harvesting will be utilized for the remediation of these areas. Some cut and pile in-place may be necessary to achieve the desired residual slash tons/acre. Sawlogs will be merchandised to a local sawmill. All other biomass will be piled and burned. Reforestation Post harvest tree planting of blowdown and heavily harvested areas is critical to restoring biodiversity and wildlife habitats, protecting essential water and soil resources. Planting contractors will be utilized for this work. Access Mostly existing roads will be used to access the project area, but some new road construction will be required. All roads shall be constructed according to best management practices (BMP) standards to mitigate disturbance and erosion. All equipment will be cleaned before entering the property to reduce the risk of invasive/noxious weeds spreading to the project area. Should any noxious weeds be identified within the project area, immediate removal and/or treatment will be implemented. Roads that are no longer necessary following the project's conclusion will be decommissioned.

Monitoring will happen annually to observe the success of the project. Photo points will be established along with multiple transects lines that will monitor the trend, recruitment, and status of both aspen and any encroaching conifer. The photos will be uploaded to the WRI database. Monitoring of noxious weeds within the project area will be conducted rigorously to mitigate proliferation. This monitoring data will be used to determine future treatments within the focus area.

SITLA - Project lead, planning, layout, implementation, grazing management, monitoring, on the ground lead. DWR - wildlife expertise, planning, contracting. FFSL - Forestry, fuels/fire coordination and expertise, pile burning. USFS -Prospective partner, pending completion of the administrative process. Grazing permittee- Involved in the planning. Willing to adjust grazing rotation to meet project objectives. All prospective partners were extended an invitation to participate in this phase of the project. However, the preparation of projects requires further development at this time.

Given the restricted applicability of prescribed fire within the project area, mechanical treatments will remain the principal method for maintaining diverse age classes and vegetation communities. Multiple phases will follow this project in order to improve the forest health in the Beaver Basin and surrounding areas. The livestock grazing will be adjusted or rested for at least 3-5 years in order to allow regeneration to reach survival potential. Should slash- fencing be employed to mitigate browsing pressure, it will be removed via controlled burning upon the conclusion of its necessity. Once the slash-fence has been taken down, livestock will be allowed back in the area. Some maintenance tree planting may be needed to ensure adequate stocking levels. Trust Lands will be responsible for annual checks and maintenance of the project area.

The proposed timber harvest represents a sustainable utilization of forest resources. The local forest industry receives support through the acquisition and processing of saw timber from projects such as this, concurrently generating employment opportunities for rural communities. Furthermore, the land benefits from a range of ecosystem services, including: enhanced biodiversity, improved fire risk mitigation, increased and higher-quality forage and cover for wildlife and livestock, provision of hunting and recreational opportunities, improved water and soil retention, and strengthened connectivity and resilience within these susceptible aspen communities. An alternative market may exist for the pre-commercial timber, potentially as firewood or wood pellets, instead of incineration..