The proposed action is to conduct several different forms of forest and rangeland health treatments to improve and restore good health conditions in aspen woodlands and rangelenads on roughly between 700,000-750,000 acres of public lands. The goal is to implement a combination of treatments (mechanical removal of conifer encroachment in aspen stands, prescribed burning, hazardous fuels reduction and mechanical brush beating) within identified areas of forest and rangelands to improve aspen stands, rangeland vegetation, and riparian ecosystem health; improve livestock grazing and wildlife habitat conditions; and reduce hazardous fire fuel build up within juniper woodlands. This is an effort to improve the overall ecosystem health and production within the area. The proposed project area is suffering from severe conifer encroachment of aspen stands, failed watershed health conditions for wildlife, poor crucial winter range conditions, ailing rangeland conditions and hazardous fuels overloading in juniper woodlands.
2008 Update: This project treats aspen habitat through removal of decadent trees and encroaching conifers. Prescribed fire was also used to improve aspen habitat with about 400 acres treated. A mile of stream was improved through planting woody riparian species. This project improved aspen habitat in an area south of Rawlins. Treatments involved, state, private, forest service, and BLM lands.
2009 Update: In the Little Snake Watershed on the west side of the continental divide in the Sierra Madre Mountain range and the associated foothills there are approximately 35,000 - 40,000 acres occupied by aspen. Based on aerial photographs, approximately 50% of the aspen has been lost in the lower elevation due to multitude of human induced activities. This project has been designed to integrate ecosystem function and habitat treatments at the landscape scale and are associated with other WLCI projects. All past and current projects associated with this effort are within the same herd unit, or geographic area of wildlife impacts associate with natural gas development but are spatially separated away from these areas so as not incur the deleterious effects or loss of habitat value associate with this development. Conifer removal and aspen regeneration will be accomplished through mechanical treatments and prescribed fire. The at-risk aspen stands that will be treated were identified as a high priority by the Aspen Joint Venture Working Group in 2008. During 2008, aspen treatments associated with this project were monitored by USGS. Monitoring protocols and monitoring results from those efforts will be refined and used to test maps associated with indentifying at-risk aspen stands. Only 50 of 300 acres of at-risk aspen stands were treated due to difficulty in the new budget system.
2010 Update: 276 acres of aspen stands were treated, where encroaching conifers were removed. In the Dirtyman Creek watershed on Private and BLM lands.
2011 Update: 280 acres directly mechanical treated, encompassing an effective treament area of 840 acres. An additional 20 acres of aspen stands were treated with prescibed fire. 400 acres BLM. 400 acres state mechanical & 20 acres state burned. 40 acres private. This is the fourth year of a ten year project to restore up to 5,000 acres of aspen stands in the Little Snake River Basin.
