BEAVER COUNTY, UTAH RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN Beaver County Commissioners Michael F. Dalton, Chair Mark S. Whitney Tammy Pearson Planning & Zoning Commission Darrel Davis, Chairman Kyle Blackner, Administrator Von Christiansen, Attorney Jamie Kelsey, Secretary Steve Kinross Mike Riley Walter Schofield Kolby Blackner Drew Coombs Don Noyes Public Lands Keven Whicker, Public Lands Administrator County Staff Scott Albrecht, Michelle Evans, Tracy McMullin, Heidi Eyre Adopted June X, 2017 i TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... v LEGAL BASIS FOR COUNTY RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLANNING .......................... ix SOCIAL-ECONOMIC LINKAGES ............................................................................................. xi CURRENT RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SETTING .............................................................. xv DESIRED RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SETTING .............................................................. xvii 1. LAND USE ............................................................................................................................. 1 2. ENERGY, MINING, MINERAL & GEOLOGICAL RESOURCES .................................... 9 2.1 Mining and Mineral & Geological Resources .................................................................. 9 2.2 Energy Resources ............................................................................................................ 20 3. AGRICULTURE .................................................................................................................. 26 3.1 Agriculture ...................................................................................................................... 26 3.2 Livestock and Grazing .................................................................................................... 29 3.3 Water Rights & Irrigation ............................................................................................... 40 3.4 Noxious Weeds ............................................................................................................... 44 4. WATER RESOURCES ........................................................................................................ 51 4.1 Hydrology ....................................................................................................................... 52 4.2 Surface Waters ................................................................................................................ 58 4.3 Ditches and Canals .......................................................................................................... 61 4.4 Rivers and Streams ......................................................................................................... 62 4.5 Flood Plains and River Terraces ..................................................................................... 65 4.6 Dry Washes and Ephemeral Streams .............................................................................. 68 4.7 Groundwater ................................................................................................................... 72 4.8 Wetlands ......................................................................................................................... 75 4.9 Water Quality .................................................................................................................. 77 ii 5. RECREATION AND TOURISM ........................................................................................ 82 6. FIRE MANAGEMENT ........................................................................................................ 85 7. LAND ACCESS ................................................................................................................... 90 7.1 Land Access .................................................................................................................... 90 7.2 Wilderness and Other Special Land Designations .......................................................... 95 7.3 Wild and Scenic Rivers ................................................................................................. 100 7.4 Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs) ..................................................... 104 7.5 Broadband Access ......................................................................................................... 114 8. CULTURAL, HISTORICAL & PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCES ......................... 119 9. FISH & WILDLIFE ............................................................................................................ 122 9.1 Fish and Fisheries ......................................................................................................... 122 9.2 Wildlife ......................................................................................................................... 124 9.3 Threatened, Endangered, and Sensitive Species ........................................................... 129 9.3.1 Prairie Dog Management ........................................................................................... 141 9.4 Predator Control ............................................................................................................ 145 9.4.1 Wolf Management ..................................................................................................... 149 9.5 Wild Horses .................................................................................................................. 153 10. FOREST MANAGEMENT .............................................................................................. 164 11. LAW ENFORCEMENT ................................................................................................... 169 12. ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS ................................................................................. 172 13. AIR QUALITY ................................................................................................................. 175 MAP 1 – Locatable Minerals ...................................................................................................... 179 MAP 2 – Salable Minerals (Building Stone) .............................................................................. 180 MAP 3 – Salable Minerals (Clay) ............................................................................................... 181 iii MAP 4 – Salable Minerals (Crushed Stone) ............................................................................... 182 MAP 5 – Solid Leasable Minerals ............................................................................................. 183 MAP 6 – Wind Energy ............................................................................................................... 184 MAP 7 – Solar Energy (BLM Study) ......................................................................................... 185 MAP 8 – Solar Energy (UREZ Study) ....................................................................................... 186 MAP 9 – Geothermal Energy ..................................................................................................... 187 MAP 10 – White Rocks Range WSA ......................................................................................... 188 MAP 11 – Wah Wah Mountains WSA ....................................................................................... 189 MAP 12 – Inventoried Roadless Areas ....................................................................................... 190 MAP 13 – Pine Valley Prairie Dog Area .................................................................................... 191 MAP 14 – Beaver County BLM HMAs ..................................................................................... 192 APPENDIX 1 – Scenic Quality Inventory and Evaluation Chart ............................................... 193 APPENDIX 2 – Visual Resource Management Classification Process ..................................... 194 APPENDIX 3 – List of Acronyms.............................................................................................. 197 iv INTRODUCTION Plan Process and Methodology The purpose of this County Resource Management Plan (“CRMP”) is to amend the Beaver County General Plan and to address issues related to public and private lands. It is intended, to the maximum extent allowed by law, to establish criteria, policies, and requirements to be followed in the various state and federal land planning processes and to provide consistency across agency boundaries while preserving and enhancing Beaver County’s custom, culture, resources, and socioeconomic base. The information used as the basis for this plan was obtained from various state and federal agencies, experts in various natural resources, public participation, and independent research. After this plan was completed and recommended, the Beaver County Planning and Zoning Commission held a public hearing on the proposed plan on May 16, 2017. The Beaver County Planning and Zoning Commission then forwarded the plan to the Beaver County Commissioners. On June X, 2017, the Beaver County Commissioners held another public hearing. On June X, 2017, the Beaver County Commissioners adopted the plan. County History and Culture Natural resources in Beaver County have been explored and documented as far back as the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition in the late 18th Century. Archaeological discoveries