Project Details

The purpose of the project is to maintain and restore aspen communities.  Aspen is an important forest community in the Interior West, supporting significant biological diversity and providing increased water yields and ecosystem resiliency to fire. Aspen ecosystems can support a wide array of plant and animal species due to their high productivity and structural diversity. Many consider it the most important deciduous forest type in western North America. In addition, aspen stands play an increasingly important role in the suppression and management of wildfires because they can act as natural fuel breaks.  Many aspen populations across the west are declining due to drought, ungulate browsing, and lack of disturbance, particularly fire, requiring active restoration efforts to maintain and improve aspen forest health in the region. The primary method for aspen reproduction is suckering from the clonal root system. Therefore, any decline in aspen is concerning because the loss of aspen presence is not easily recovered and may be permanent. This project will help maintain and improve the health of aspen communities across the Logan and Ogden Ranger districts preventing further decline and will continue on 22,057 acres over the next 10 years. The treatment will additionally benefit ungulates (mule deer, elk, moose) providing more habitat and forage. After treatments, the area may open up more and see an increase in individuals moving through. This will also open up possible habitat for forest dwelling grouse, especially for breeding and provide protection from predators.

Provide evidence about the nature of the problem and the need to address it. Identify the significance of the problem using a variety of data sources. For example, if a habitat restoration project is being proposed to benefit greater sage-grouse, describe the existing plant community characteristics that limit habitat value for greater sage-grouse and identify the changes needed for habitat improvement.

Provide an overall goal for the project and then provide clear, specific and measurable objectives (outcomes) to be accomplished by the proposed actions. If possible, tie to one or more of the public benefits UWRI is providing.

Currently there is an overabundance of mature to old aspen stands and late-seral conditions in which high densities of conifer are replacing aspen.  These stands with a conifer component will continue through succession to a conifer dominated cover type and possible the long-term loss of the aspen clone if not treated or disturbed by natural events such as fire.  The Swan Flat area is at high & very high risk for wildfire hazard potential according to the Utah Wildfire Risk Assessment Portal and implementing treatment in this area will benefit the town of Garden City by providing options for fire crews when a fire does occur.  The 2003 Wasatch Cache National Forest plan estimates for the output of aspen vegetation treatments in a 10-year planning period are 32,000 acres for Aspen and mixed Aspen/Conifer however the current treatment acres are 21,500 for a ten-year period. This work will contribute to meeting that plan.  Waiting to implement will result in more conifer dominated stands which is cost prohibitive and possible loss of aspen which will make restoration impossible.

LOCATION: Justify the proposed location of this project over other areas, include publicly scrutinized planning/recovery documents that list this area as a priority, remote sensing modeling that show this area is a good candidate for restoration, wildlife migration information and other data that help justify this project's location.

TIMING: Justify why this project should be implemented at this time. For example, Is the project area at risk of crossing an ecological or other threshold wherein future restoration would become more difficult, cost prohibitive, or even impossible.

Forest Plan of the Wasatch-Cache National Forest:
Forest wide Goal 2-Watershed Health-Maintain and/or restore overall watershed health (proper functioning of physical, biological and chemical conditions). Provide for long-term soil productivity. Watershed health should be addressed across administrative and political boundaries.
Subgoal 2a. Identify areas not in properly functioning condition. Improve plant species composition, ground cover and age class diversity in these areas.
Forest wide Goal 3-Biodiversity & Viability- Provide for sustained diversity of species at the genetic, populations, community, and ecosystem levels. Maintain communities within their
historic range of variation that sustains habitats for viable populations of species. Restore or maintain hydrologic functions. Reduce potential for uncharacteristic high-intensity wildfires, and insect epidemics.  To achieve sustainable ecosystems, meet properly functioning
condition criteria for all vegetation types that occur in the Wasatch-Cache National Forest. Focus on approximating natural disturbances and processes by restoring composition, age class diversity, patch sizes, and patterns for all vegetation types.
Subgoal 3d. Restore or maintain fire-adapted ecosystems (consistent with land uses, historic fire regimes, and other Forest Plan direction) through wildland fire use, prescribed fire, timber harvest or mechanical treatments.
Subgoal 3e. Maintain or restore as mature and old age classes 40% of total conifer and 30% of total aspen cover types, well distributed across the landscape.
Subgoal 3f. Maintain or restore species composition, such that the species that occupy any given site are predominantly native species in the kind and amount that were historically distributed across the landscapes.
Forest wide Goal 4-Fire and Fuels Management- Wildland fire use and prescribed fire provide for ecosystem maintenance and restoration consistent with land uses and historic fire regimes. Fire suppression provides for public and firefighter safety and protection of other federal, state and private property and natural resources. Fuels are managed to reduce risk of property damage and uncharacteristic fires.
Subgoal 4d. Reduce hazardous fuels (prescribed fire, silvicultural and mechanical treatments) with emphasis on interface communities (wildland/urban) and increase proactive participation of communities at risk.
Forest wide Goal 9-Heritage Resources- Inventory, evaluate, protect and enhance heritage sites and landscapes.
Goal 9b. Fully integrate the Heritage Program into land and resource management.
The project is consistent with the following Forest Plan Objective:
3.b. Stimulate aspen regeneration and reduce other encroaching woody species in aspen by treating approximately 3,200 acres average annually for a 10-year total of 32,000 acres.
GRSG-GRSGH-O-026-Objective -- Every 10 years for the next 50 years, improve greater sage- grouse habitat by removing invading conifers and other undesirable species based upon the number of acres shown in Table GRSG-GRSGH-O-026 (Amendment #13 September 16, 2015).
Forestwide Standards and Guidelines:
(S12) Prohibit Forest vegetation treatments within active northern goshawk nest areas (approximately 30 acres) during the active nesting period.
(G24) Management activities that negatively affect pollinators (e.g. insecticide, herbicide application and prescribed burns) should not be conducted during the flowering period of any known Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive plant populations in the application area. An exception to this guideline is the application of Bacillus thuringiensis.

DEER HERD UNIT MANAGEMENT PLAN Deer Herd Unit # 2 (Cache)
Summer range habitat concerns are mainly the loss of aspen stands due to conifer encroachment.  It is recommended that work to reduce conifer encroachment (bullhog, chaining, lop and scatter, etc. and prescribed fire in aspen) continue or begin in these communities-Aspen regeneration prescribed fire in Card Canyon, near Old Ephraim's Grave, Tony Grove, and Franklin Basin.

ELK HERD UNIT MANAGEMENT PLAN Elk Herd Unit # 2 (Cache):
Habitat objective: Maintain and/or enhance forage production through direct range improvements throughout the unit on winter range to achieve population management objectives. Pay special attention to WMA's and areas were holding elk could alleviate pressure on private landowners experiencing damage by wintering elk. Work with private and federal agencies to maintain and protect critical and existing winter range from future losses.

Utah Statewide Elk Management Plan (2022):
B. Habitat Management Goal: Conserve and improve elk habitat throughout the state.
Habitat Objective 1: Maintain sufficient habitat to support elk herds at population objectives and reduce competition for forage between elk and livestock. Strategy A, B and C.

Utah Mule Deer Statewide Management Plan (2019):
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 Strategy B. 
Habitat Objective 2: Improve the quality and quantity of vegetation for mule deer on a minimum of 500,000 acres of crucial range by 2024. Strategy A.

Utah Moose Statewide Management Plan (2017):
D. Habitat - The primary limiting factor for moose in Utah and across their range is the availability of suitable habitat. - Moose have done well in drier habitats in northern Utah which are dominated by mountain mahogany, Gambel oak, serviceberry, quaking aspen, and burned over coniferous forests
A. Habitat Degradation or Loss. - The single biggest influence on moose populations in Utah is the quantity and quality of available habitat. Habitat can be degraded, fragmented, or lost to a variety of causes including human development and plant succession.
Habitat Management Goal B: Assure sufficient habitat is available to sustain healthy and productive moose populations. Strategies A, C, and E.

Utah Sage grouse Management Plan
4c. Using Utah's Watershed Restoration Initiative (WRI), remove conifer as appropriate in areas protected in 4(b) to ensure that existing functional habitats remain intact.
4d. Using the WRI, maintain existing sage-grouse habitats by offsetting the impacts identified in 1(f) by creating additional habitat within or adjacent to occupied habitats at an equal rate each year--or 25,000 acres each year--whichever is greater. 
4e. Increase sage-grouse habitats by using the WRI--and other state, federal and private partnerships--to restore or create 50,000 acres of habitat within or adjacent to occupied habitats each year, in addition to those acres identified in 4(d).

List management plans where this project will address an objective or strategy in the plan. Describe how the project area overlaps the objective or strategy in the plan and the relevance of the project to the successful implementation of those plans. It is best to provide this information in a list format with the description immediately following the plan objective or strategy.

If applicable, detail how the proposed project will significantly reduce the risk of fuel loading and/or continuity of hazardous fuels including the use of fire-wise species in re-seeding operations. Describe the value of any features being protected by reducing the risk of fire. Values may include; communities at risk, permanent infrastructure, municipal watersheds, campgrounds, critical wildlife habitat, etc. Include the size of the area where fuels are being reduced and the distance from the feature(s) at risk.

Describe how the project has the potential to improve water quality and/or increase water quantity, both over the short and long term. Address run-off, erosion, soil infiltration, and flooding, if applicable.

Description of efforts, both completed and planned, to bring the proposed action into compliance with any and all cultural resource, NEPA, ESA, etc. requirements. If compliance is not required enter "not applicable" and explain why not it is not required.

Describe the actions, activities, tasks to be implemented as part of the proposed project; how these activities will be carried out, equipment to be used, when, and by whom.

Describe plans to monitor for project success and achievement of stated objectives. Include details on type of monitoring (vegetation, wildlife, etc.), schedule, assignments and how the results of these monitoring efforts will be reported and/or uploaded to this project page. If needed, upload detailed plans in the "attachments" section.

List any and all partners (agencies, organizations, NGO's, private landowners) that support the proposal and/or have been contacted and included in the planning and design of the proposed project. Describe efforts to gather input and include these agencies, landowners, permitees, sportsman groups, researchers, etc. that may be interested/affected by the proposed project. Partners do not have to provide funding or in-kind services to a project to be listed.

Detail future methods or techniques (including administrative actions) that will be implemented to help in accomplishing the stated objectives and to insure the long term success/stability of the proposed project. This may include: post-treatment grazing rest and/or management plans/changes, wildlife herd/species management plan changes, ranch plans, conservation easements or other permanent protection plans, resource management plans, forest plans, etc.

Potential for the proposed action to improve quality or quantity of sustainable uses such as grazing, timber harvest, biomass utilization, recreation, etc. Grazing improvements may include actions to improve forage availability and/or distribution of livestock.