Strawberry Valley

Next Meeting: Tuesday, December 2, 2008 at 10:00 am
Wasatch County Building (55 South 500 East in Heber) Front conference room. RSVP to Lorien Belton at 435-770-2413 or lorien.belton@usu.edu

SVARM Sage-grouse Conservation Plan

Reports and Publications

2006-7 Accomplishment Report; Strawberry Valley section
Bambrough, D.J. 2008. Master's Thesis. "Greater Sage-grouse winter and male and female summer habitat selection in Strawberry Valley, Utah." Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.
Baxter, R. 2007. Ph.D. Dissertation. "The Ecology of Translocated Greater Sage-grouse in Strawberry Valley, Utah." Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.
Bunnell, K.D. 2000. Master's Thesis. "Ecological factors limiting sage grouse recovery and expansion in Strawberry Valley, Utah." Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.
Translocation Project Boosts Dwindling Population. Communicator newsletter article by Rick Baxter and Jerran Flinders.

Minutes:

Field Tour, July 2008

By Michael Bornstein, Biologist, U.S. Forest Service

Trout Creek Sage-Grouse Brood-Rearing Habitat Improvement Project

The goal of this project is to improve greater sage-grouse brood-rearing habitat in the Strawberry Valley Conservation area. The Trout Creek sage-grouse habitat improvement project is located immediately north of Strawberry Reservoir, and approximately six miles north of the lek site. Baseline vegetation measurements in known brood-rearing areas estimated the pre-treatment canopy cover was >50% Mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata vaseyana) with low vegetation diversity in the understory.

In August and September 2007, using a combination of mowing with a brush-hog, and one-pass and two-pass Dixie-harrowing, approximately 168 acres were treated in a mosaic pattern, with no-treatment 50 foot buffers along perennial and intermittent streams, and additional untreated areas. Seeding with native forbs occurred simultaneously with the treatments. Treatments did not occur on slopes greater than 15% to minimize risk of soil erosion.


Photo 1. Response of forbs to treatment. Photo courtesy of Lester Flake.	Photo 2. Mowing treatment effects. Photo courtesy of Lester Flake.

The post-treatment estimated sagebrush canopy cover was reduced to 15-25%, and forbs appear to have flourished as a result of both seeding and opening up the sagebrush canopy (Photo 1). Additionally, an increase in invasive musk thistle, which, like many other forbs in the area, responded positively to the treatment. Musk thistle was removed by hand treatment with weed crews in the summer of 2008.

FY09 PLANNED SAGE-GROUSE HABITAT PROJECTS IN STRAWBERRY VALLEY

Badger Hollow sage-grouse habitat project

The Heber-Kamas Ranger District of the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest is proposing to implement the Badger Hollow Sage-Grouse Habitat Enhancement project, located immediately southeast of Strawberry Reservoir and adjacent to an existing lek site. The purpose of the project is to enhance greater sage-grouse brood-rearing habitat in the project area. The need for the project is identified through vegetation sampling which indicated sagebrush canopy cover of 40-50% impacting forb production. Sage-grouse management recommendations for brood-rearing specify desirable sagebrush canopy cover at levels of 15-25%. The need for this action is also identified in the sage-grouse conservation strategy of the Strawberry Valley Adaptive Resource Management Local Working Group (SVARM 2006, pp.59-62).

The project design will involve mechanical treatments conducted in a mosaic pattern, on approximately 60-75% of a 3100-acre project site. Mechanical treatments used will include a Dixie Harrow and brush-hog to reduce dense sagebrush conditions and increase forb components to encourage habitat use by sage-grouse. Slopes greater than 15% will be untreated to minimize soil erosion. Treatments will be limited on south and east-facing slopes because they currently provide more snow-free habitat in winter. Noxious weeds will also be treated as part of this project to minimize spread of undesirable vegetation. It is expected this project will take 3-4 years to complete. Initial treatment will occur at the Chicken Springs Ridge site, immediately east of the existing sage-grouse lek. The Road Hollow Ridge area, immediately north of Chicken Springs Ridge, will be treated next, followed by the Sage Creek Bay area, just north and west of Road Hollow Ridge..

South Strawberry sagebrush treatment project

The Heber-Kamas Ranger District of the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest is also proposing to implement the South Strawberry Project. This project will involve mowing with a brush-hog in a mosaic pattern, approximately 500 acres within the Streeper Creek basin, Trail Hollow, and Upper Willow Creek. No mowing would be done within 50 feet of any perennial stream. The purpose of this project is to reduce of fuel build up, improve wildlife habitat, increase plant diversity, and reduce soil erosion.