Project Details

The Dairy Fork, Lake Fork, Birdseye, Spencer Fork, and Salt Creek WMAs have needs for shrub restoration. From fires and historic agriculture practices, the shrub component has been lost or degraded. These shrub species are important for big game in the winter and many other wildlife species. All of these WMAs are in crucial deer and elk winter range habitats. Improving mule deer and elk winter range on these WMAs is important to reach the primary objective of these wildlife management areas and the objectives in the Central Mtns. Nebo unit Deer and Elk management plans. Small mammals and other upland game will benefit from the additional shelter and food provided by shrubs. This will benefit their populations and in turn, benefit predators like golden eagles that depend on these species for food. Activities from powerline construction have had a negative impact to wildlife in the area. While reclamation activities (reseeding, weed control) will be performed on access roads and construction areas, more habitat improvements will be beneficial to the big game species that rely on these winter ranges.

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.

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.

Utah Statewide Mule Deer Management Plan:
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.
b. Work with land management agencies, conservation organizations, private
landowners, and local leaders through the regional Watershed Restoration Initiative
working groups to identify and prioritize mule deer habitats that are in need of
enhancement or restoration (Figure 6).
d. Initiate broad-scale vegetative treatment projects to improve mule deer habitat with emphasis on drought or fire-damaged sagebrush winter ranges
 
The Habitat Management Plan for this unit states:
Goal III, objective 1  "Maintain key forage species on winter range"

This project will help meet some of the Habitat management strategies listed
*  Improve sagebrush and bitterbrush habitats with seed and/or seedling transplant projects.

Wildlife Action Plan:
1. The project area occurs within the sagebrush steppe type which is one of the key habitats identified in the WAP. This area supports mule deer (S4), elk (SNA), and numerous other species of concern also inhabit the area including neotropical birds and raptors.

The proposed projects will address some of the habitat management strategies outlined in the deer management plan for herd unit 16 (Central Mountains including continuing to restore and improve sagebrush steppe habitats critical to deer according to DWR's Habitat Initiative; cooperate with federal land management agencies and private landowners in carrying out habitat improvements such as reseedings, controlled burns, water developments, etc. on public and private lands; and maintain and/or enhance forage production through direct range improvements throughout the unit to achieve population management objectives.

The proposed projects will address the following goals and objectives of the Division of Wildlife Resources most recent strategic management plan:  
Resource Goal: Conserve, enhance, and actively manage Utah's protected wildlife populations
Objective 1:Increase, decrease, or maintain wildlife populations, as needed, to meet the objectives in our management plans
Objective 2:Maintain existing wildlife habitat and increase the quality of critical habitats and watersheds throughout the state.   
Constituency Goal: Strengthen support for wildlife management by demonstrating the value and importance of wildlife to all Utahns.
Objective 5: Improve our understanding of how the broader public views and values wildlife -- and how it contributes to their quality of life -- and take reasonable steps to address their needs, wishes, and priorities.
Agency Goal: Create a culture of respect, innovation, efficiency, and effectiveness within the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.
Objective 4:Increase our coordination with partners, including local, state, and federal agencies; non-governmental organizations; universities, and others.

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.