The Sheeprock population of greater sage-grouse continues to struggle. Part of the process of stabilizing the population has included translocating birds, aggressive predator control, and vegetation treatments to improve habitat. Key threats to GRSG include conifer expansion, invasive species and fire. Since 2004, the BLM has done extensive vegetation treatments throughout the nearby Government Creek area and more recently focused on the southern Sheeprocks areas to reduce fire threat, remove expanding juniper and restore ecosystem resiliency. Since 2018, over 12,000 acres of BLM in the southern Sheeprocks have been treated to remove juniper and expand GRSG habitat. This project builds on previous efforts by connecting previously treated areas and creating and expanding useable habitat that could used as a corridor between nesting/brood rearing habitat and winter range. Wildlife tracking data clearly show sage grouse using previous treatments and avoiding this area. To accomplish this, trees will be removed and areas where perennial understory is lacking will be seeded. A total of about 4,500 acres have been identified for treatment.

1) Create/expand sagebrush habitat for sagebrush dependent species and GRSG that could be occupied immediately after treatment. 2) Create travel corridors between brood rearing and winter habitat. 3) Mitigate the 3 major threats to sagebrush habitat: fire, conifer expansion and invasive species. 4) Increase available moisture for residual and seeded plant species by removing competition from trees. 5) Reduce crown fire potential and fuel loading by decreasing juniper cover to less than 5% immediately post treatment. 6) Improve ecosystem resiliency and meet habitat objectives defined in the BLM Utah Approved Resource Management Plan Amendment by increasing perennial grass and forb cover to >10% and >5% respectively by 3 years post treatment.

The southern side of the Sheeprocks has a high likelihood of sagebrush habitat loss due to increased fuel loading from juniper and cheatgrass which in turn elevates the risk of fire. Because of the declining GRSG population it is imperative that proactive steps be taken to minimize these threats. This project will decrease the risk of high severity wildfire by reducing fuel loading and promoting the growth of perennial understory species which are critical to maintaining ecosystem resilience.

13 management plans are referenced, some with multiple objectives. North Moore -- Relation to Management Plans The proposed action and alternatives are consistent with federal, state and local laws, regulations, and plans to the maximum extent possible. 1) Conservation Plan for Greater Sage-grouse in Utah, February 14, 2013. Sage-grouse Management Goal: Protect, maintain, improve and enhance sage-grouse populations and habitats within the established Sage-grouse Management Areas. 5.4.1 Aggressively remove encroaching conifers and other plant species to expand greater sage-grouse habitat where possible. 2) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Greater Sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) Conservation Objectives: Final Report. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Denver, CO. February 2013. General Conservation Objectives: 1. Stop population declines and habitat loss. 2. Implement targeted habitat management and restoration. Specific Conservation Objectives: 1. Retain sage-grouse habitats within PAC's. 3. Restore and rehabilitate degraded sage-grouse habitats in PAC's. Conservation Objective: Maintain and restore healthy native sagebrush plant communities within the range of sage-grouse Conservation Objective: Remove pinyon/juniper from areas of sagebrush that are most likely to support sage-grouse (post-removal) at a rate that is at least equal to the rate of pinyon/juniper incursion. - Prioritize the use of mechanical treatments. - Reduce juniper cover in sage-grouse habitats to less than 5% but preferably eliminate entirely. - Employ all necessary management actions to maintain the benefit of juniper removal for sage-grouse habitats. 3) Secretarial Order 3336 -- Implementation Plan: Rangeland, Fire Prevention, Management and Restoration. Section 7b(iii) -- Expand the focus on fuels reduction opportunities and implementation Section 7b(iv) -- Fully integrate the emerging science of ecological resiliency into design of habitat management, fuels management, and restoration projects. 4) Utah Greater Sage grouse Management Plan, 2009 Publication 09-17, State of Utah, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife Resources, - Specifically the plan addresses goals outlined in part B-1.3 Public land habitat objectives; A Vegetation management, D Fire Management, and E Conifer Encroachment - 1. Reduce conifers that are encroaching on sagebrush habitats using appropriate methods, which may include: masticators, chains, chain saws, prescribed fire, etc (pp45-48). In addition it addresses goals in section B-2.3 Public land habitat restoration objectives (p 49-50). 5) Bureau of Land Management - Greater Sage-Grouse Interim Management Policies and Procedures (2011) -- This plan meets the guidelines for conservation policy and procedures in both the "Preliminary Priority Habitat" (PPH) and "Preliminary General Habitat" (PGH). Which call for implementation of vegetation treatments (e.g., pinyon/juniper removal, fuels treatments, green stripping) and associated effectiveness monitoring between Resources, Fuels Management, Emergency Stabilization, and Burned Area Rehabilitation programs to promote the maintenance of large intact sagebrush communities. 6) (2 Objectives listed) Utah Conservation Strategy (Utah Wildlife Action Plan), DWR Publication Number 15-14, State of Utah, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife Resources, Effective 2015-2025. The proposed action supports mitigating threats to Lowland Sagebrush including: Promoting policies and management that allow fire to return to a more natural regime. * Promoting policies that reduce inappropriate grazing by domestic livestock, feral domesticated animals, and wildlife. * Promoting and funding restoration that reduces the Uncharacteristic class, including cutting/mulching/chaining of invading pinyon and juniper trees, herbicide or mechanical treatment of non-native invasive species such as cheatgrass and secondary perennial weed species, and rehabilitation of burned areas following wildfire. * Promoting management that includes seeding a diversity of grasses, forbs and shrubs that will lead to increased resiliency and resistance in the plant community 7) Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Statewide Management Plan for Mule deer. Section IV Statewide management goals and objectives. This plan will address Habitat Objective 2: Improve the quality and quantity of vegetation for mule deer on a minimum of 500,000 acres of crucial range by 2013 (p11-12). Strategy C. Initiate broad scale vegetative treatment projects to improve mule deer habitat with emphasis on drought or fire damaged sagebrush winter ranges, ranges that are being taken over by invasive annual grass species, and ranges being diminished by encroachment of conifers into sagebrush or aspen habitats. Strategy f. Encourage land managers to manage portions of pinion-juniper woodlands and aspen/conifer forests in early successional stages. 8) West Desert Deer Herd Management Plan Unit #19 (2006) - Habitat Management Objectives - Provide a long-term continuing base of habitat quantity and quality sufficient to support the stated population objectives. Habitat management Strategies include; Continue 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, [mechanical juniper removal], and water developments on public lands. Maintain and/or enhance forage production through direct range improvements throughout the unit to achieve population management objectives. Work with private and federal agencies to maintain and protect critical summer ranges from future losses or degradation. 9) The Utah Smoke Management Plan (1999, 2006 revision). By using mechanical mastication this plan will accomplish Goal #5, Use of alternative methods to burning for disposing of or reducing the amount of wildland fuels on lands in the State (p3). 10) State of Utah Hazard Mitigation Plan (March 2011) this plan accomplishes statewide goals including 1) Protection of natural resources and the environment, when considering mitigation measures and 2) Minimize the risk of wildfire (p12). http://publicsafety.utah.gov/emergencymanagement/documents/IntroductionMarch2011.pdf 11) Rangeland Health Standards and Guidelines for Healthy Rangelands Utah State Office (1997). Standard 3. Desired species...are maintained at a level appropriate for the site and species involved. As indicated by: frequency, diversity, density, age classes, and productivity of desired native species necessary to ensure reproductive capability and survival. 12) The Fire Management Planning (FMP) for the Fillmore Field Office (FFO) 2005 EA UT-050-04-045 (Richfield Fire Management Plan Environmental Assessment). This project is within the Fire Management Unit C4 Eureka. Within this Unit vegetation management would include a wide variety of management activities including widespread use of prescribed fire activities to attain desired resource and ecological conditions. Fire and non-fire fuel treatments would also be utilized to reduce the hazardous effects of unplanned wildfire. 13) BLM Land Management Plan, House Range Resource Area, Resource Management Plan-EIS (1987) Record of Decision (p 93), Objectives -- Reduce human and ecological losses; complement resource management objectives and sustain productivity or biological systems through fire management

One of the major threats to sagebrush habitat is fire. This area is near the McIntyre Meadow lek and sage-grouse regularly occupy the surrounding area. This project will help protect and preserve brood rearing and winter habitat by decreasing both fuel loading and fire potential. Although the area appear to be within historic values for fire regime (the Fire Regime is currently classified as IV which is defined as a "replacement" fire occurring between 35-200 years) the condition class (CC; III) is highly departed from historic norms (LANDFIRE 2016). Removing the juniper will help improve the condition class and bring the vegetation back to where it should be. Additionally, a significant portion of the treatment are is identified as high to extreme fire risk (see documents section for fire risk image).

Science supports the concept that removing juniper increases water availability. A publication by Roundy et al. 2014 (Pinyon-juniper reduction increases soil water availability of the resource growth pool. Range Ecology and Management 67:495-505) showed that phase 3 juniper removal can increase available moisture for more than 3 weeks in the spring. And removing juniper from phase 1 and 2 stands can increase water from 6-20 days respectively. Because juniper are prolific water users they readily outcompete understory species which eventually die off. Removing juniper is critical for restoring sagebrush habitat and ecosystem resilience because of the water available to other species once they're gone. The majority of the project area is phase 2 transitioning to phase 3 juniper stands. Additionally, some of the treatment area is near Cherry Creek. Removing juniper and establishing robust perennial understory should help decrease soil erosion during run-off events which could potentially improve water quality in Cherry Creek.

Cultural surveys will be completed in 2025. The Greater Sheeprocks Sage-grouse Habitat Restoration and Hazardous Fuels Treatment EA was completed in August 2017. A tiered DNA was completed by BLM in 2024.

Up to 100% of existing juniper will be removed through mastication, lop and scatter, and selective thinning of smaller trees on slopes not suitable for machinery. Pinyon pine, bearing trees, trees with active raptor nests, and trees with old-growth characteristics will be avoided. The work will be contracted and will begin in fall 2025. Areas where perennial grasses and forbs are lacking will be aerially seeded prior to mastication to increase vegetation cover and diversity.

Multiple 3-spoke monitoring plots will be established and read within the project area. Vegetation and ground cover data will be collected using the line-point intercept method and nested frequency. Photos will be taken and a qualitative site condition assessment completed. Sagegrouse occupancy will also be assessed within our plots. Data will be collected pre, 1, 3, and 5 years post treatment. Monitoring reports will be updated as data is collected and summarized and uploaded to the WRI database.

Local permittees are supportive of the treatments and have agreed to rest seeded areas a minimum of two growing seasons. TLA- is also a partner with about 600 acres identified for treatment. They will help with project design and implementation on the TLA portions of the project and with managing grazing rest. BLM- Will oversee the cultural surveys, plan and design the project and oversee project implementation. Input from wildlife, fuels, and range staff has been incorporated into the design. UDWR- help with contracting and working through state procurement. The majority of adjacent private lands have already been treated

This area will be maintained as sagebrush habitat. Potential threats include noxious weed invasion, cross country OHV use, and reinvasion of juniper. Periodic visual inspection, photo points, and vegetation monitoring will occur to assess current conditions and track trends over time. The longevity of the treatment will be maintained by slashing young junipers that resprout within the project area. Slashing could occur in 10 to 15 year intervals post-treatment. Aerial application of Plateau herbicide will be used to control cheatgrass if necessary.

Where junipers dominate they outcompete understory vegetation for water and nutrients. Over time, these understory species become less productive and vigorous and eventually die out. Removing juniper releases understory grasses and forbs from competition which increases plant vigor and rangeland productivity. Juniper removal treatments alone help increase forage quantity and quality for livestock but are especially effective when combined with seeding perennial grasses and forbs where depleted. These treatments will increase forage value within the Desert Mountain and Sheeprock allotments. This project will complement past projects to help distribute the livestock and the wildlife more uniformly across the south slope of the Sheeprock range. By increasing valuable habitat and populations for wildlife, hunting and recreation opportunities will increase in the Vernon Limited Entry Deer unit and the West Desert unit for elk. This area is highly used for recreation with its proximity to the Little Sahara Sand Dunes and Recreation area.