Background information. The South Canyon project area consists of 121,000 acres within the Upper Sevier River Watershed in southern Utah. This watershed is ranked as a high priority for restoration because of degraded riparian and upland vegetation and erosion, the presence of hazardous fuels placing communities at increased risk of wildfire, and degraded greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) habitat because of the expansion and infilling of pinyon and juniper. In particular, this project was designed to reestablish and maintain sagebrush semi-desert habitat, open travel corridors, and provide benefits to sage-grouse and mule deer within and immediately adjacent to the project area. Restoration [...]
Summary
Background information. The South Canyon project area consists of 121,000 acres within the Upper Sevier River Watershed in southern Utah. This watershed is ranked as a high priority for restoration because of degraded riparian and upland vegetation and erosion, the presence of hazardous fuels placing communities at increased risk of wildfire, and degraded greater sage-grouse
(Centrocercus urophasianus) and mule deer
(Odocoileus hemionus) habitat because of the expansion and infilling of pinyon and juniper. In particular, this project was designed to reestablish and maintain sagebrush semi-desert habitat, open travel corridors, and provide benefits to sage-grouse and mule deer within and immediately adjacent to the project area.
Restoration in this area is ongoing; this case study focuses on restoration activities that occurred between 2009 and 2013. During this period, restoration was accomplished on 5,929 acres of public and private lands. The project was funded by a variety of private, State, and Federal cooperators, including the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Background information on the BLM Color Country South Canyon restoration project was obtained from Vicki Tyler, BLM Color Country District, written commun., 2015; and from the WRI Website at
https://wri.utah.gov/wri/.
Economic impacts. Total expenditures for this project were $3,546,000 (2014 dollars), with an estimated 34 percent of these expenditures spent within the local economy (Beaver, Garfield, Iron, Kane, and Washington Counties in Utah). Local expenditures supported an estimated 14.7 job-years; $855,000 in labor income; $1,202,000 in value added; and $2,029,000 in economic output within the local economy. Many of the contractors that worked on the project are located outside of the local area. Including the impacts associated with all project expenditures, the South Canyon Restoration Project supported an estimated 59.8 job-years; $3,616,000 in labor income; $4,629,000 in value added; and $8,755,000 in economic output in the Western States economy.