Stands of Wyoming Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata var. wyomingensis) have gradually deteriorated over the past decade with a distinct die-off in the spring of 2003. Big game rely on these sagebrush stands extensively. The benches in Wildcat Canyon lie just above an area of extensive sagebrush die-off. They occur at an elevation belt where valuable browse species such as True mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus montanus), Curl-leaf mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius) and Serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia) exist in combination with Wyoming big sagebrush. Unfortunately, most of this acreage has a significant overstory cover of pinyon and juniper. The area is also at the fringes of historic Sage-grouse habitat. Sage-grouse were reintroduced 4 miles southwest of this site in 2002. Historically the benches just south of the proposed project were used by wintering sage-grouse. This project will improve winter range habitat for mule deer, and potentially improve sage grouse habitat also.

Improve mule deer winter range by seeding and removing pinyon-juniper trees using a roller chopper.

1 Archaeologist, 100% arch clearance recommended (est. $4,500). 1-20-05 May be in the Gordon Creek Hist Dist., Jul 19 2010 / 2 PMArchaeology, None entered in old database. -data entry tech, Jul 19 2010 / 6 NEPA, EA (from old database), Jul 19 2010

The proposed treatment would remove pinyon-juniper cover on 150 acres to release understory browse species. Pinyon and juniper trees would be pushed over using a D-8 Cat. The area would be aerially seeded with grasses, forbs, and shrubs.

A range Trend study was placed on the site in the summer of 2005 called "Wildcat Push 16R-16"

No

10/12/2007

11/07/2007

2008

The project was aerial seeded with a mixture of grasses, forbs, and shrubs (see attached seedmix) using a fixed wing aircraft on 12 Oct 2007. Starting on the 22 Oct. 2007, the pinyon and juniper trees were uprooted by pushing them over with a D-8 Cat with a roller chopper attached to crush the trees. The D-8 had a ripper with the blade removed, which worked well because the contractor was able to raise and lower the roller chopper hitch when ravines or hills needed to be crossed. A seed dribbler was mounted to the dozer for dispersal of the sagebrush and four-wing saltbush. Work was completed on 7 Nov. 2007 (contractor worked mainly on weekends, about 8 working days total). The roller chopper was originally filled with water about ¾ full (1,300-1,500 gal) to add weight for crushing the trees (about an extra 10,000 lbs). The hitch broke twice due to the rough terrain (ravines and hills) and possible the weight of the water, so the roller chopper was emptied to about a ¼ of the way full. After inspecting the treatment application, several trees on the east polygon appeared to still be partially rooted in the ground. The contractor had a different worker on that area and some of the trees were only partially pushed and were not roller chopped. The trees that were roller chopped, but still partially rooted may have also been due to the decreased weight of the roller chopper.

The contractor started working on the 15 Oct, but after about 45 minutes the roller chopper hitch broke and the contractor didn’t start again until the 22 Oct. The terrain was not very conducive for the roller chopper due to the many ravines within the project. The contractor work roughly 8 days to complete the project. He was working on a chaining in Spanish Fork Canyon at the same time this project was taking place, worked mostly on the weekends. Due to the many ravines on the site, the roller chopper was only filled about a ¼ full. The weight of the roller chopper was enough to disturb the soil and crush the trees. With flatter terrain, more water could be added if the weight was needed to create more ground disturbance.

Livestock grazing will be rested for 2 years.