Wildlife and Plant Resource Specialist Report For The JACOB’S VALLEY VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PROJECT ESCALANTE RANGER DISTRICT GARFIELD COUNTY, UTAH Prepared by: _______________________________ Date: _____________ Mark S Carrara, Wildlife Biologist NEPA Support Team, Dixie National Forest Reviewed by: _______________________________ Date: _____________ Lisa Young, Wildlife Biologist Escalante Ranger District, Dixie National Forest Date: July 24, 2018 In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). 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USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. 2 Table of Contents Table of Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 4 Project Overview ........................................................................................................................................... 4 Affected Environment ................................................................................................................................... 5 Proposed Action ............................................................................................................................................ 6 Alternative 1 - No Action........................................................................................................................... 6 Fuels Management ............................................................................................................................... 9 Access Management ............................................................................................................................. 9 FOREST PLAN MANAGEMENT AREAS ......................................................................................................... 10 Duration and Timing ................................................................................................................................... 11 Climate Change Effects ............................................................................................................................... 11 Cumulative Effects Area .............................................................................................................................. 11 Wildlife and Plant Resources ...................................................................................................................... 12 Current Management Direction .................................................................................................................. 14 Effects of the No Action Alternative ........................................................................................................... 14 Effects of the Proposed Action Alternative ................................................................................................ 22 Threatened, Endangered, and Candidate Species .................................................................................. 23 Management Indicator Species .............................................................................................................. 34 Other Species of Concern ....................................................................................................................... 38 Sensitive Plants ....................................................................................................................................... 40 Wildlife Management and Project Design Features ............................................................................... 43 Summary of Effects and Determination ..................................................................................................... 44 Consideration of Available Scientific Information ...................................................................................... 48 Contributors ................................................................................................................................................ 49 Compliance with Forest Plan and Other Relevant Laws, Regulations, Policies and Plans: ......................... 49 3 Introduction The purpose of this report is to provide an analysis of the effects of the proposed Jacob’s Valley Vegetation Management Project on wildlife and plant resources that may have Threatened (T), Endangered (E), Proposed (P), Sensitive (S), Management Indicator Species (MIS) and/or Migratory Bird Species of Concern status. The analysis of effects are based on information provided in the silviculture and vegetation analysis, fuels analysis, wildlife and plant field surveys, a review of the current scientific literature, and in consultation with the district biologist and forest botanist. The objectives of this report are to: 1. Identify the wildlife and plant species of concern that may occur or have potentially suitable habitat within or near the proposed project area. 2. Describe existing conditions for the identified wildlife and plant species of concern. 3. Analyze and make a determination of the effects of the proposed action and alternatives on the wildlife and plant species of concern. Project Overview The Dixie National Forest proposes to implement vegetation treatments including uneven-aged, even- aged and intermediate silvicultural treatments, fuels reduction, prescribed fire and an update of the 2009 Motorized Travel Plan. The project would facilitate landscape-scale forest vegetation management to promote resiliency of the Aquarius Plateau ecosystem while maintaining the aesthetics and character of the landscape. For a complete description of the project and full environmental analysis, see the Jacob’s Valley Vegetation Management Environmental Assessment (EA) (USDA 2018) incorporated here by reference. The Jacob’s Valley Vegetation Management Project is located within the Escalante Ranger District of the Dixie National Forest (Figure 1). The project lies within Garfield County, Utah, approximately 19 miles north of Escalante, Utah and located within T31S R2E, T31S R3E, T32S R2E and T32S R3E relative to the Salt Lake Base and Meridian. The project boundary encompasses 13,867 acres of which 9,935 acres are proposed for various treatments. The purpose of the project is to (1) Trend vegetation toward desired forest structure, composition, disturbance regime, and vegetation patterns, and promote mature and old growth forest characteristics in compliance with the Forest Plan and Northern goshawk amendment; (2) Lower the potential of landscape-scale stand replacing wildfire by managing natural and activity fuel loading, (3) Develop vegetation patterns which promote seral species and heterogeneous forest canopies to maintain and enhance the visual aesthetics of the landscape, (4) Reroute, repair, and decommission portions of the trail and road systems to protect soil and water resources, and (5) Maintain recreational opportunities within the Jacob’s Valley project area. In order to fill the gap between the existing and desired conditions the Dixie National Forest has developed the following needs for action: (1) Modify the existing forest structure to maintain and develop suitable habitat for the Northern goshawk and to promote sustainability of Engelmann spruce and aspen. 4 (2) Improve the silvicultural condition of forested stands and promote resiliency of the forest landscape by reducing stand densities to improve forest health and vigor, and reduce insect and disease populations. (3) Improve seral species composition and promote a mosaic of vegetation patterns. (4) Reduce the risk of large scale stand replacing wildfire through the proactive management of fuel loadings and strategic use of prescribed fire to reduce risk to heritage resources such as the Jubilee Guard Station from fire damage in conformance with the Utah Fire Amendment.