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Cook WMA Enhancements Phase 1
Region: Northeastern
ID: 7595
Project Status: Current
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Project Details
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Need for Project
The Cook WMA was acquired by UDWR in 2025 and is a stronghold for Mule deer, wintering elk, and Bighorn Sheep. The property was privately owned prior to UDWR acquisition and used primarily for domestic livestock grazing and hunting. After UDWR acquisition, the property needs the appropriate fencing/maintenance, signage, and water developments (guzzlers) to help protect the property and begin management for wildlife.
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.
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Objectives
Objectives are to maintain and appropriately sign the fencing and gates, develop water sources, and inventory the property for future needs.
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.
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Project Location/Timing Justification (Why Here? Why Now?)
The property was acquired in 2025 and UDWR needs to perform the foundational projects to get this property on track to be managed as a public WMA.
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.
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Relation to Management Plans
NER Habitat staff will begin the process of developing an HMP for the property in early 2025.
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.
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Fire/Fuels
N/A
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.
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Water Quality/Quantity
Guzzlers will serve as a water source on the upland ridge area of the WMA, reducing pressure on other water sources in the area.
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.
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Compliance
New ground disturbance will require arch clearance. It is anticipated this will be such small scale, it could be accomplished with UDWR staff.
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.
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Methods
Three big game guzzlers will be located using GPS collar data in areas of high animal use. They will be constructed by NER Habitat staff. NER staff will also survey, sign, and perform any needed maintenance along the perimeter fence and gates.
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.
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Monitoring
UDWR staff will use these preliminary surveys/projects to guide future phases of projects on the WMA.
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.
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Partners
N/A
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.
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Future Management
Future project phases on the WMA will be guided by the HMP when it is completed in late 2025.
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.
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Sustainable Uses of Natural Resources
Fence maintenance will help control neighboring domestic livestock, protecting the WMA's resources for wildlife use.
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.
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