Upper Sevier River Community Watershed Project

2002 Annual Report Research Monitoring Demonstrative Restorative Techniques and Adaptive Management The State Division of Environ- Utah State University mental Quality has applied a Partnership Overview researchers and private land stream visualization assessment The Upper Sevier River Community Watershed Project is a collabo- managers have demonstrated process to private land along rative partnership addressing restoration needs, management range and pasture manage- the Sevier River to increase challenges, and research opportunities for rangelands, agricultural ment techniques that can be awareness of stream channel lands, forestlands, and aquatic ecosystems in the Upper Sevier applied to better manage conditions. Watershed. vegetative conditions within the watershed. Mission The Utah State Division of The Upper Sevier Soil Conser- Wildlife Resources and local The mission of the Upper Sevier River Community Watershed Project is organized into four major endeavors: vation District has emphasized land owners on the East Fork of cooperation, coordination and • Research, monitoring and adaptive management the Sevier River have restored collaboration through annual over 9 miles of stream channel • Demonstrating restorative techniques field tours within the watershed to improve fisheries habitat and • Restoration and maintenance of watershed ecosystems and with monthly technical riparian function. • Cooperation, coordination and collaboration advisory committee meetings emphasizing watershed assess- ment and planning goals. Restoration and Maintenance of Watershed Ecosystems Cooperation, Coordination and Collaboration

Page 2 The Upper Sevier Watershed Utilizing Geographic Information System Utilizing local knowledge of Management Plan continues to (GIS) maps, each watershed has been the watershed conditions, progress utilizing direction found displayed to show its’ major ecological and historical and current in “Ecosystem Analysis at the social features. This will increase a coop- condition analysis is used to Watershed Scale” federal guide. erative understanding of the watershed better understand restora- This analysis method has been structure and ecosystem dynamics. tion opportunities. preferred for our interagency plan development.

Visualization and Watershed Current & Historical Characteristics Conditions Assessment

Partnership Goals

In an effort to better understand the watershed focus areas, the watershed assessment process will need to be collaboratively assembled into a plan document for all the watershed. Current goals for development of watershed plan will focus on the East Fork Sevier River. This area is slated for total maximum daily load analysis (TMDL) in the upcoming year and will help in cooperative management in the watershed with the EPA and the State of Utah Department of Environmen- tal Quality.

Cooperation and coordination between the public and government agencies will be essential for a cohesive development of the watershed management plan. The current structure of the technical advisory committees (TACs) will facilitate this effort in involving multiple resource perspectives.

Priority Ratings of Watersheds for Restoration Resource Issues Opportunities Key Issue Identification

Issue identification will focus on the Priority ratings are currently being most relevant management questions Restoration projects are currently compiled and will need to be coop- associated with human values and being prioritized according to eratively agreed upon to enhance the resource conditions. The partnership current recommendations and key leveraging ability of the watershed. issues. Restoration objectives will be must collaboratively agree on key a driving force in the future and will issues that have been represented by assist in fund leveraging objectives. many resource specialists and land- Page 3 owners. Accomplishments Riparian and Habitat Management • 23 miles of riverine valleys Major accomplishments within the inventoried watershed with riparian and habitat • 450 acres of soil and water improvements have been high- resource improvements lighted by cooperative fisheries • 110 acres of lake habitat projects with private landowners improved and State Division of Wildlife • 10 miles of stream channels Resources. Species habitat restored monitoring on management indicator species has also been a partnership goal.

Access Management • Duck/Swains Access Man- Access management objectives this agement Project DEIS year have involved actions released, October 2002 associated with the Upper Sevier • 176 miles of trails main- Trails Workshop to develop goals tained/improved related to trail expansion along the • Upper Sevier Trails Work- Sevier River. The Duck Creek shop held October 2002 Swains Access Management draft EIS (released Oct. 2002) will address possible road decommis- sioning and closure for watershed and habitat improvement goals.

Vegetation Management

• 1,500 acres of noxious weeds Vegetation management has been treated emphasized this year by the Utah • 480,000 acres of rangeland State University Extension Service monitored with workshops highlighting range • 17 acres of reforestation and pasture management. Forest • 2,500 acres of rangeland Service emphasis has included improved/established projects related to the Englemann • 4 million board feet of timber Spruce ecosystem recovery efforts, harvested aspen regeneration monitoring and tree stand density reduction related to mixed conifer and ponderosa ecosystems.

Fire Management • 101 acres of brush disposal Current accomplishments within • 2,000 acres of wildland/urban the watershed include urban interface lands treated wildland fire interface projects • 40,000 acres of prescribed with landowners, Forest Service fire objectives meeting and State of Utah Division of ecological goals. Forestry and Fire to work together in achieving structural protection goals. The prescribed fire accom- plishments within the watershed have focused on vegetative/fuels management for ponderosa pine and pinyon-juniper ecotypes. Page 4 Duck Creek Fuels Reduction Analysis Environmental Conseqences/Outcomes Related to Fire Management Duck Creek, Utah, located in the Upper Sevier River Asay Creek subwatershed, was identified as one of the Urban Wildland Interface Communities at risk from fire as part of the National Fire Plan. Duck Creek consists of several privately owned, small subdivisions adjacent to Forest Service lands. A recent spruce-bettle epidemic, as well as a lack of periodic fire, and current drought conditions in southern Utah, has left this area at high risk to wildland fire.

The Duck Creek Fuels Reduction project, currently in the analysis stage, with Forest Service work scheduled to begin next summer, will reduce accumulated fuels and staff have create defensible natural space around the perimeter of several subdivisions. emphasized the Overall, the project covers a 15,000 acre area, to be completed over the next importance of 5 years. partnerships in achieving Currently, fuel load throughout much of this area is as high as 25-50 tons/ common goals in acre. Following the treatment, which will consist of removal of smaller the urban diameter trees, followed by pile and broadcast burning, fuel loads are wildland fire expected to be in the vicinity of 15 tons/acre. interface areas of the forest.

Thinning of dense undergrowth will see an increase in aspen, grasses and forbs, thereby reducing erosion within the watershed.

Fuels Private lands adjacent to forest lands with high fuel Maintaining defensible natural spaces with low loading are at risk to catastrophic wildfire. Fuel (high density small diameter trees and large fuel loading around communities will decrease reduction programs are much safer and cost concentrations of downed woody debris) fire hazard. effective than wildland fires. Reduction

As part of the fuels reduction, area homeowners are encouraged to maintain defensible space on their own property, as well as surrounding forest lands.

Page 5 Accomplishments and Growth

Roles, Traditions Panguitch elementary Various partners continue to take the lead role in furthering grade school watershed restoration objectives. students help plant willows, Utah State University (USU), and in particular Garfield pull weeds and County Extension continues to work with local schools and improve civic groups to accomplish volunteer restoration projects. riparian This past year’s annual watershed days included watershed conditions along Panguitch Creek education and improvements at the Panguitch Outdoor as part of Classroom, and willow planting and fencing on local Community ranches. In addition, 4-H and scout groups have used the Watershed Days. USU Panguitch farm for demonstration stream restoration projects. Upper Sevier Soil Conservation District remains the leader in providing landowners with available low interest loans and other cost- share opportunities. They have also taken the lead role in developing the Upper Sevier Community Watershed Project Newsletter to better involve and update local landowners. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) continues to complete phases of restoration work in the East Fork of the Sevier River. Re-establishing streambank vegetation and re-creating stream meanders has encouraged other adjacent landowners in the area to improve fisheries and riparian habitat and function. Species habitat restoration involving forage development goals has been an annual goal for DWR, within the watershed. Currently seeding plans for this fall include over 5,000 acres of forage improvement within the watershed. U.S. Forest Service personnel continue to work closely with partners in all aspects of watershed management, and in helping partners understand the interactions between such issues as grazing, recreation, riparian protection and non-point pollution. The emphasis for large-scale watershed restoration is a forest priority that has broad support from forest leadership.

Fund Leveraging

Watershed field In the upcoming year, the Watershed Steering Committee and Color Country trips with topics Resource Conservation and Development District will continue to work with such as the 2002 landowners to best utilize available funds and seek new sources. Of special Farm Bill help interest is the 2002 farm bill which will give private landowners the opportunity local ranchers/ farmers to apply conservation practices to their own lands for watershed benefits. The understand fund watershed has also been successful in attaining Non Point Source Pollution leveraging (319) funding for use within the watershed. opportunities.

Wyden Amendment

Wyden Amendment Funds (USFS & BLM funds that can be used Installation with local partners to accomplish high priority restoration, of fencing on protection and enhancement work on private lands adjacent to the Tebbs public lands) continue to be successfully used in 2002. The funds Ranch, near Panguitch, is will continue to be used as part of the Upper Sevier Community just one way Watershed Project as opportunities for private/public restoration Wyden funds continue to increase throughout the watershed. The Wyden were utilized amendment funding is one of the best ways to work with a variety in 2002. of private landowners installing watershed practices that will help foster improved communication for watershed restoration goals.

Page 6 Sanford Fire Challenges and Change

Within the boundaries of the Upper Sevier River Watershed the Sanford Fire burned from April 22 to July 1 consuming portions of 78,000 acres (6% of the watershed) before it was declared contained.

In the wake of one of the largest fires in the history of the Dixie National Forest, the Sanford Fire provides opportunities to work with partners in long-term restoration and monitoring.

Partners we are working with include:

• Division of Wildlife Resources in the monitoring and recovery of riparian habitat for fisheries reintroduction and improvement. • Private landowners for monitoring of sedimentation and downstream effects from accelerated post-fire runoff. • Livestock allotment managers to monitor the vegetative re-establishment that will be conducive to grazing within the burn perim- eter.

Many of the already burned areas within the Sanford Fire were scheduled for subsequent-year prescribed fire treatments to reduce accumulated fuels and to improve vegetation conditions and habitat for wildlife. However, high burn intensities in some drainages, followed by post fire flood events, caused sediment runoff that exceeded historic levels within the watershed. A long-term monitoring plan com- posed of various resource specialists and communi- cating with local partners will help ensure that desired future conditions are met for areas affected by the Sanford Fire.

Top - While the Sanford Fire created a desired mosaic of burned and unburned areas, some areas within the burn perimeter may require rehabilitation and supplemental seeding to stabilize the watershed. Center - Forest Service personnel will continue to work with partners such as private landowners and Division of Wildlife Resources. High levels of sediment have affected the fishery on the East Fork of the Sevier River and also altered some vegetation and riparian functions. Bottom - Of special concern to resource personnel is a remnant population of pure-strain Bonneville cutthroat trout located within the Deep Creek drainage. Following the fire, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and U.S. Forest Service personnel rescued and relocated about 218 live cutthroat trout. It may be several years before the stream is sufficiently recovered to reintroduce the fish.

Page 7 Future Actions and Opportunities

Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Analysis Burned Area Monitoring - Sanford Fire Much of the Upper Sevier River and its tributaries are slated Although much of the area burned during the Sanford Fire for Total Maximum Daily Load Analysis (TMDL), as part of (78,000 acres) was scheduled for future prescribed burning the Clean Water Act and subsequent listing as a 303(d) treatments, the intensity of the burn and large area the fire “impaired” water. The Utah Division of Water Quality has covered, and the fact that it happened all at once, may pose initiated altered watershed TMDL work function for many along the East years. Fork of the Shortly following Sevier River. the fire, intense The TMDL thunderstorms studies will carried a great identify deal of debris into designated the East Fork uses of water Sevier River and (irrigation, tributaries, fisheries, degrading fish culinary water sources), and specific chemical and biological habitat and critieria necessary for protection of the designated uses, along removing critical streamside vegetation. with Short-term emergency rehabilitation efforts, including placing antidegredation log erosion provisions barriers and necessary to annual grass protect water seeding is helping quality. to slow and It is vital that direct run-off; the Upper however, long- Sevier River term monitoring Community will need to Watershed focus on the group take a following: collaborative role in developing the TMDL for the watershed. • Vegetative recovery in The watershed management mixed conifer stands plan currently being • Aspen regeneration success developed will need to • Long-term soil productivity coincide and coordinate to • Riparian and stream ensure a successful TMDL channel recovery and watershed plan that • Prevention of noxious will be useful for all weeds and invasive plants partners in the watershed • Forage level suitable for and to achieve common livestock use goals. • Road damage that effects the safety of travel.

Page 8 Partnership Budget

FY2002 4000

3500

3000

2500 Total Need Estimated Expenditures 2000

1500

Budget in Thousands 1000

500

0 BLM NRCS DEQ UDWR EPA Fores t Pr iv ate Grants Service Lands Watershed Partners

These charts summarize our funding level for the fiscal 2002 and projected 2003 budget. Funding figures listed are based on project implementation work; salary and other fixed cost budgetary items are not captured in these charts. The business plans out year prediction for these budgets are consistent when all factors of funding are considered. Budget figures for 2003 are estimated by modestly increasing our project implementation levels from 2002. Federal program funding can shift from year to year; in anticipation of these swings we will strive to seek funding from all sources of state, federal and private funding. With completion of the watershed management plan, all partners will be able to utilize unified cooperative goals as a leverage tool to attain funds. With federally managed lands comprising over 80 percent of the watershed, a continued emphasis of the partnership budget will be dominated by federal resources.

FY2003 5000

4500

4000

3500

3000 Total Need 2500

2000

1500

1000 Budget in Thousands

500

0 BLM NRCS DEQ UDWR EPA Priv ate Forest Grants Lands Service Watershed Partners

Page 9 Partnership Contacts

Tyce Palmer Richard Jaros Utah Association of Conservation Districts Dixie National Forest Zone 5 - Coordinator Soil and Water Program Manager 2460 West Highway 56, Suite #5 1789 N. Wedgewood Ln. Cedar City, UT 84720 Cedar City, UT 84720 435-865-0703 (435) 865-3722 Fax (435) 586-7249 Fax (435) 865-3791 [email protected] [email protected]

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