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Bear Fire spot herbicide
Region: Southeastern
ID: 7670
Project Status: Proposed
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Project Details
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Need for Project
The need of the project is to prevent new weed establishment and mitigate the reestablishment of existing weeds in burned areas. The native vegetation that did burn consisted of the sage-steppe and mixed conifer woodland habitat types. Certain noxious weeds have a deep root system and have the ability to survive fires. Weed infestations can invade native plant communities and reduce the available forage/habitat to big game, livestock, and sage-grouse. A weed inventory to identify the noxious/invasive weed locations has been completed. A spot herbicide treatment Help treat weeds identified in the inventory.
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
Treat Infestations that have been identified in the weed inventory. Reduce Invasive/noxious weeds within the burn areas.
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?)
f the areas are not treated, noxious/invasive weeds may continue to spread. Noxious weeds are defined as any plant that has been determined to be injurious to public health, crops, livestock, land, or other property. Noxious weeds reduce wildlife habitat and alter natural food sources. Common noxious weeds, as well as threats and risks, that may be present within the project area; Canada Thistle, Hoary Cress, Black Henbane, Musk Thistle, and Dyers Woad. If left untreated these infestations can dominate native communities. The removal of the infestation will enable communities to recover.
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
The Price RMP ROD directs that vegetation should be managed to attain an ecological stage that will benefit wildlife, livestock grazing, livestock use, and ensure high species diversity. -The Green River District Vernal BLM Fire Management Plan aims to achieve a desired mix of seral stages for all major vegetative types. This project will help create diversity of vegetative types in the area. -The Utah Elk Statewide Management Plan has the following applicable objectives and strategies: Habitat Objective 2, strategy d -- Initiate broad scale vegetative treatment projects to improve elk habitat with emphasis on calving habitat and winter ranges. -ARMPA; In PHMA, integrated Vegetation Management will be used to control, suppress, and eradicate noxious and invasive species; Treat areas that contain cheatgrass and other invasive or noxious species to minimize competition and favor establishment of desired species. -Utah Greater Sage-grouse Plan and UWCA-identifies Utah's noxious weeds and has a strategy to cooperatively implementing the strategies outlined in the Utah Strategic Plan for Managing Noxious and Invasive Weeds (2004) including the on-the-ground projects that address the threat of invasive weeds on sagebrush ecosystems. -Utah Mule Deer Plan lists cheatgrass (annual grass) as a threat to mule deer habitat.
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
The project is targeted to treat noxious and invasive species within the Bear Fire burn area. Invasive annual grasses can alter natural fire cycles by increasing the fire frequencies, often resulting in shrublands being converted to annual grasslands. Noxious weeds may continue to spread with increased fire frequency. Over time native plant communities can be replaced by noxious and invasive weeds. The spot treatment of noxious weeds will further reduce the threat of weed spread throughout the burn area.
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
Invasive and noxious species lead to more frequent fires which result in more soil erosion. Many noxious weeds utilize a large amount of water. They also release toxins into the soil that inhibit growth of other plants, which can also reduce the water quality. The inventory/treatment should reduce the spread of weeds and decrease the fire frequency which will improve soil stability while increasing the water quality and quantity at a local scale.
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
PUPS would be completed before any herbicide treatments occur. Nepa is completed and covered under the Bear Fire DNA. If infestations are documented on the adjoining lands, coordination for the herbicide treatment would occur before it's implemented.
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
Aerial, truck mounted boom spray, utv mounted sprayers, or back pack sprayers will be used to treat weed infestations.
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
After the weeds are mapped, spot spraying will occur. The treatment areas will be monitored and retreated if necessary. The inventory data will be uploaded into WRI.
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
Partner's would include UDWR and BLM for contracting and funding.
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
The area will continue to be monitored for future treatments. In the fall of 2021 treatment polygons in high burn severity areas were aerially seeded. Follow up treatments which include cheatgrass treatments, continued spot treatment of noxious weeds and seeding may be needed if monitoring determines it's necessary.
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
Treatments of Noxious and Invasive weeds will improve the over all health of the ecosystem; improving habitat conditions and increasing forage for livestock and wildlife. The area is also used for recreational uses such as wildlife viewing and hunting.
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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