DWQ-2013-013030

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UTAH
NONPOINT SOURCE
POLLUTION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

FISCAL YEAR 2012
ANNUAL REPORT

January 2013
Prepared by:
The Utah Department of Environmental Quality
In cooperation with NPS Task Force

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Appreciation is expressed to the following individuals for contributing information and writing
portions of this report: Ray Loveless, Utah Department of Agriculture and Food; Nancy Mesner
and Rhonda Miller, USU Extension; Gordon Younker, Utah Association of Conservation
Districts; Norm Evenstad, Natural Resources Conservation Service; Greg Bevenger, Forest
Service; Jeremy Jarnecke, Bureau of Land Management; Rebecca Weissinger, National Park
Service; Rory Reynolds, Bill Zanotti, Utah Department of Natural Resources; Scott Stoddard,
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Carl Adams, Stacy Carroll, and Jim Harris, Utah Division of
Water Quality. The DWQ also appreciates the progress reports submitted by the Local
Watershed Coordinators as follows: Wally Dodds, Upper Sevier; Lynn Koyle, Middle and Lower
Sevier; Alan Saltzman, San Pitch; Daniel Gunnell, West Colorado; Gary Weiser, Uinta Basin;
Marian Hubbard, Jordan River; Lars Christensen and Jake Powell, Upper Weber; Justin Elsner,
Lower and Middle Bear; and Tessa Groff, South Eastern Utah.

Thanks is also expressed to Gary Kleeman, Watershed Team, US Environmental Protection
Agency, Region 8 in Denver for his review and input to the report.

Cover Photo: River Restoration Project, Strawberry River

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Table of Contents

1. INTRODUCTION AND PROGRAM OVERVIEW ................................................................... 4
2. GRANT MANAGEMENT AND PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION ........................................ 4
2.1. STAFFING AND SUPPORT .............................................................................................................. 5
2.2. MILESTONES ................................................................................................................................ 7
2.3. SUMMARY OF ACTIVE UTAH 319(H) GRANTS DURING FY-12 ..................................................... 7
2.4. WATERSHED BASED PLANS/ TMDLS........................................................................................... 7
2.5. PROJECT PROPOSALS APPROVED FOR FUNDING DURING FY- 12 SOLICITATION PROCESS ........... 8
3. NPS PROGRAM STRATEGIC APPROACH ............................................................................ 8
3.1. TARGETED BASIN APPROACH ...................................................................................................... 9
3.2. UTAH STATE NPS FUNDING ......................................................................................................... 9
3.3. PROGRAM MATCH STATUS .......................................................................................................... 9
3.4. INTEGRATING WATERSHEDS AND NPS FUNDING (BASIN WIDE SUMMARY) ................................10
3.5. NPS WATER QUALITY TASK FORCE/ MONITORING COUNCIL .....................................................16
3.6. GRANTS REPORTING AND TRACKING SYSTEM ............................................................................18
4. WATER QUALITY INFORMATION .......................................................................................18
4.1. SAMPLING AND ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES- JIM HARRIS ..............................................................18
4.2. DATA ANALYSIS AND ASSESSMENT ............................................................................................19
4.3. GROUND WATER PROTECTION ....................................................................................................20
5. OUTREACH ACTIVITIES .........................................................................................................20
6. STATE/LOCAL AGENCY CONTRIBUTIONS .......................................................................22
7. FEDERAL AGENCY CONTRIBUTIONS .................................................................................27
8. FEDERAL CONSISTENCY REVIEW AND NPS PROJECT TOURS FOR FY-2012 .........42
9. APPENDICIES ..............................................................................................................................55

FIGURE 1 PROJECT LOCATION MAP……………………………………………………. 55
TABLE A COMPLETED AND ACTIVE 319 PROJECTS…………………………………. 56
TABLE B 319 FINAL PROJECT REPORTS SUBMITTED IN FY-2012…………………. 56
TABLE C SUMMARY OF ACTIVE UTAH 319(H) GRANTS FY-12…………………….. 57
TABLE D APPROVED TMDL……………………………………………………………… 59
TABLE E WATERSHED PLANS…………………………………………........................... 61
TABLE F STATE NPS FUNDS ALLOCATED IN 2012…………………………………... 62
TABLE G FUNDING USED WITH SECTION 319 FUNDING IN FY-2012……………… 62
TABLE H SUMMARY CONSERVATION PRACTICES- NRCS FISCAL YEAR 2012… 63

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1. Introduction and Program Overview

This report fulfills the requirements of Section 319(m)(1) of the federal Clean Water Act of 1987.
The Utah Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Quality annually prepares
this report to inform the public, the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) on the state’s progress in the area of nonpoint source water pollution abatement. Although
this report should not be considered a complete enumeration of all nonpoint source activities, it
describes the most important features of Utah’s nonpoint source program.

The mission of the Utah Nonpoint Source Pollution Management Program is to support the
environmental protection goals of the state as described in the Utah Administrative Code
R317-2 in part to: 1) to conserve the waters of the state; 2) to protect, maintain, and improve
the quality of the waters of the state for public water supplies, species protection and
propagation and for other designated uses; and 3) to provide for the prevention, abatement
and control of new or existing sources of polluted runoff. The Utah NPS Management
Program works to achieve these goals by working in concert with numerous local, state and
federal agencies and private parties pursuant to the Utah NPS Pollution Management Plan.

Nonpoint source pollution refers to diffuse pollutants that when added together from an entire
watershed can significantly impact water quality in streams, lakes and reservoirs. Nonpoint
source (NPS) pollution is diffuse, coming from land runoff, percolation, precipitation or
atmospheric deposition. Precipitation washes pollutants from the air and land and into our
streams, lakes, reservoirs and groundwater. Such pollutants can include sediment, nutrients,
pathogens (bacteria and viruses), toxic chemicals, pesticides, oil, grease, salts and heavy
metals. In Utah our most common problems are sediment, nutrients, metals, salts and
pathogens. These pollutants alter the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the water
and can impair their designated uses. Most assessment units (waterbodies) are listed on the
State’s 2010 303(d) List of Impaired Waters because of nonpoint source pollution. Some of
the common sources of NPS pollution include agricultural activities, runoff from parking lots,
streets and residential areas, mining and forestry operations, recreational activities, onsite
septic treatment systems, construction and development activities, stream/riparian habitat
degradation and natural sources.

2. Grant Management and Program Administration

In Fiscal Year 2012 (FY-12) the Utah NPS program received $1,439,000 in federal Section
319(h) funds. Of these funds, $608,200 was used for program related staffing and support, while
the remaining $830,800 was dedicated to 5 project grants. Due to federal budget cuts, the FY-
2012 grant was reduced by 7% from the previous fiscal year.

Section 319(h) funds are distributed at the local level to help address water quality issues
contributing to nonpoint source pollution. Recipients of these funds can include local
government entities, watershed groups and individual cooperators. The projects selected for
funding consisted of the Volunteer Monitoring Program, support of local watershed coordinators,
Best Management Practice (BMP) implementation, and watershed group support ( Figure 1).

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Figure 1

In addition to the FY-12 funds, Utah continues to manage five other federal grant awards which
have been partially or completely expended. Table 1 summarizes grant awards by year and the
approximate percentage that has already been expended in each grant. The FY-07 contract
expires August 22, 2012 and is on schedule to be completely spent out by that date.

Table 1
Current Section 319(h) Nonpoint Source Funding Project Allocations Through June 30, 2012
Federal Fiscal Year Grant Award Expenditures in
FY-12
Total
Expenditures
Percent
Expended
FY-07 $1,126,500 $146,288 $910,321 81%
FY-08 $1,161,585 $156,499 $1,004,943 87%
FY-09 $1,119,400 $128,016 $828,110 74%
FY-10 $1,065,000 $335,865 $751,965 71%
FY-11 $832,921 $221,243 $221,243 27%
FY-12 $830,800 $0 $0 0%
Total $6,136,206 $987,910 $3,716,582 61%

2.1. Staffing and Support

In FY-2012 the Division of Water Quality devoted 7 FTEs to the NPS Pollution Management
Program that are funded 60% with 319 funds and 40% state revenue. Table 2 shows the positions
and FTEs funded by the Division of Water Quality using section 319 funds.

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Table 2
PERSONNEL
(# FTE's) SALARY
FRINGE
(44%)
TOTAL
EXPENSES
STATE
(40%) EPA 319 (60%)
Program
Coordinator (1.0) $59,691 $26,264 $85,955 $34,382 $51,573
Environmental
Scientist (0.40) 26,545 11,680 38,225 15,290 22,935
Environmental
Scientist (1.0) 59,691 26,264 85,956 34,382 51,573
Environmental
Scientist (0.40) 26,077 11,474 37,550 15,020 22,530
Environmental
Scientist (0.20) 13,338 5,869 19,207 7,683 11,524
Environmental
Scientist (0.40) 24,077 10,594 34,670 13,868 20,802
Environmental
Scientist (0.20) 15,431 6,790 22,221 8,888 13,332
Monitoring
Specialist (1.0) 59,691 26,264 85,956 34,382 51,573
Two Seasonal
Temps (0.70) 32,739 14,405 47,144 18,857 28,286
Program
Administrator (0.1) 5,038 2,217 7,255 2,902 4,353
Watershed Section
Manager (0.60) 44,161 19,431 63,592 25,437 38,155
Asst. Div. Director
(0.25) 21,668 9,534 31,202 12,481 18,721
Division Director
(0.15) 16,152 7,107 23,258 9,303 13,955
TOTAL
7 FTEs $404,299 $177,892 $582,191 $232,876 $349,315

Section 319 funds allocated to staffing and support functions are also utilized to pay for
laboratory support and report preparation. This includes laboratory analysis of water samples.
Phytoplankton samples are also collected annually from selected lakes and reservoirs by DWQ
monitoring staff. Macroinvertebrates are also collected in various locations. The analysis of these
samples and annual reports are paid for in part with 319 funds, and help determine if the BMPs
that are being implemented are achieving the desired environmental results.

The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food’s (UDAF) Environmental Quality Section via
contract with DEQ has management and statewide responsibility for the agricultural component
of the NPS Program. UDAF received $127,865 in FY-12 319(h) funds to help fund 2 positions
which include: Program Tracking Specialist; and a temporary position to establish an
Environmental Stewardship Certification program. This will be the last year that UDAF will be
using 319 to fund FTEs in that agency.

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2.2. Milestones

 Utah closed out the FY-06 Section 319 Grant, and all information has been entered into
the Grant Recording and Tracking System (GRTS)
 The NPS Task Force meetings were held October 13th 2011, December 14th, 2011, and
June 28th 2012. Instead of a spring meeting it was decided that the Task Force would
hold an initiatory meeting to revise the Statewide NPS management plan. This meeting
was held on March 29th, 2012.
 The annual agency coordination meeting was held on February 22nd. This meeting
allowed relevant agencies the opportunity to give a 15 minute presentation highlighting
the issues their agencies are currently addressing regarding NPS pollution.
 The Utah Watershed Coordinating Council (UWCC) met 3 times during the 2012 fiscal
year including a field tour to the Upper Sevier Watershed.
 The Utah State Monitoring Council conducted two trainings that focused on developing
Sampling Analysis Plans (SAPs). These trainings took place on February 15th and May
31st, and were attended by representatives from various state and federal agencies.
 Utah State is in the final phase of the Utah NPS program review. This evaluation will
help determine more effective ways to administer and implement the NPS program. It
will also look at the effectiveness of the practices that are currently being installed to
reduce nonpoint source pollution. This evaluation will be delivered to the Division of
Water Quality by October 31st.
 The Utah Abandoned Mine Plan was approved September 2012.
 The storm water management plan is in the final stages of development, and will be
integrated into the revised statewide nonpoint source management plan.
 The Emigration Creek TMDL and phase I of the Jordan River TMDL were submitted to
EPA for approval.
 Revision of the Utah Nonpoint Source Management Plan has begun, and is anticipated to
be completed in the summer of 2013.
 A success story highlighting the environmental benefits of the NPS project work that has
recently taken place on the East Canyon Creek Watershed has been submitted to EPA for
approval.
 The Federal Consistency Review was conducted with the Division of Water Quality and
the Forest Service in the Dixie National Forest on May 29th-31st.
 The Utah Division of Water Quality and the Environmental Protection Agency
participated in a project evaluation tour in the Uintah Basin, as well as the San Pitch and
Middle Sevier Watersheds on September 10th-13th.
 The Utah State Volunteer Monitoring Program was initiated, and began taking samples in
various locations throughout the state.
 The State Division of Water Quality and the Natural Resource Conservation Service
worked together to identify three 12 Digit HUCs in the Weber River and Bear River
Watersheds in which the Water Quality Initiative funding will be spent.
 The Utah Division of Water Quality and the NRCS are currently working on a MOU that
will allow the Division of Water Quality to have access to NRCS records, thus improving
the effectiveness of both programs by better correlating program efforts.
2.3. Summary of Active Utah 319(h) Grants During FY-12
For an entire summary of active Utah 319(h) projects see Table A, B, &C in the appendices.
2.4. Watershed Based Plans/ TMDLs

Section 303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) requires states to develop and submit for
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approval a list of impaired waters every two years. This is referred to as the 303(d) list. The most
recent version of the 303(d) list published for the state of Utah was issued in 2010. Waterbodies
listed as impaired require additional study to determine the sources of impairment and if
appropriate have a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) determination made for the pollutant of
concern. Currently the State of Utah is implementing 80 TMDLs, with Phase 1 of the Jordan
River, and Ashley Creek TMDLs awaiting approval. (See Table D and E in the appendices).
Additionally, a comprehensive tracking tool for TMDLs and waterbody assessments has been
provided by EPA that will assist in accurately reporting the status of completed TMDLs.
2.5. Project Proposals Approved for Funding During FY- 12 Solicitation Process

Due to the high demand for 319(h) funds the State of Utah has required that entities applying for
funding submit pre-proposals to the State for review. Fourty-one NPS pre-proposals totaling
more than $4.2 million were accepted from the middle of April to first of June for the 2012 fiscal
year. These pre-proposals were reviewed by the Utah Division of Water Quality using a project
selection ranking criterion developed by the Water Quality Task Force. Of the proposals
received, five projects were selected for funding with Section 319 funds. The Weber Watershed
received the majority of Project funds available, since it was the targeted basin in FY-2012. The
local watershed coordinators, the Utah Watershed Coordinating Council, and an information and
education grant to USU which included the volunteer monitoring program were also funded
(Table 3). The Projects that were not selected for funding with section 319 funds were then
considered for funding with State NPS funding.

Table 3

2012 Project Implementation Plans (PIPs) for CWA Section 319 Funding
(Prepared June 30th, 2011)

Base Fund
Proposal Title Allocation

1. Utah Watershed Coordinating Council Support $ 10,000
2. USU Volunteer Monitoring and I&E $102,500
Sub Total $112,500

Incremental
Proposal Title Fund Allocation

3. Local Watershed Coordinators $340,000
4. East Canyon Restoration $283,070
5. Upper Weber Watershed TMDL Implementation $ 95,230
Sub Total $718,300

Grand Total $830,800

3. NPS Program Strategic Approach

To be eligible for funding, NPS projects must be located on a waterbody, or a tributary to a
waterbody, identified on the state 303(d) list of impaired waterbodies. A current watershed plan
should also be in place which covers all nine elements required in an EPA approved Watershed
based plan. Using a targeted basin approach will allow watershed planners time to develop
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watershed plans between funding cycles. To help facilitate the development of watershed plans
and identify sources of pollutant loading, the Utah State Division of Water Quality will conduct
annual intensive monitoring runs two years before funding is scheduled to be received by the
targeted basin.
3.1. Targeted Basin Approach

The State of Utah uses a targeted basin approach to reduce nonpoint source pollution. FY-2012
represents the third year of implementing the targeted basin approach (see Table 4). This
approach allows the state to focus implementation efforts on a specific watershed and will
promote effective implementation of TMDLs and watershed plans.

The Weber River Watershed obtained 100% of the 319 funds allocated for BMP implementation,
and will also receive an additional $150,000 in State Nonpoint Source funds in FY-2013. The
majority of these funds will be used to implement projects on East Canyon Creek and the Upper
Weber Watershed, as identified in the established watershed plans. Projects have already been
identified in the Uinta Basin, since they will be the targeted basin in 2013.

Table 4
Basin Priority Funding Schedule
Watershed 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
(1) Jordan/ Utah lake
(2) Colorado River
(3) Sevier, Cedar-Beaver
(4) Bear River
(5) Weber River
(6) Uinta Basin

3.2. Utah State NPS Funding

The Utah Division of Water Quality used NPS funding to reduce NPS pollution throughout the
state. NPS funds are acquired from interest generated from hardship grant loans given by the
Utah Water Quality Board for private and municipal water treatment facilities. Individuals,
businesses, private entities, associations, and government agencies are eligible to receive these
grants. Much like section 319(h) funds, all project proposals received are ranked and prioritized.
The highest priority projects are those that address a critical water quality need, will improve
human health concerns, and would not be economically feasible without the grant. In the 2012
fiscal year, 22 projects were funded, totaling $983,866. In addition to these projects an additional
$16,114 was reserved for possible on-site septic projects that may arise during the year. For a
complete summary of FY-12 funded projects see Table F in the appendices.
3.3. Program Match Status

The 319(h) federal money received by the State requires a 40% non-federal match for both the
staffing and support funds used by DEQ and UDAF and the dollars allocated for projects. Most
of the match for projects is provided at the local level by individual producers and landowners.
The DWQ provides State NPS funds as match to selected 319 projects to provide an additional
incentive to implement BMPs.

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There are several State and local programs which have been very helpful in generating match for
the 319 projects. The Division of Wildlife Resources manages several state general funding grant
programs, which include Habitat Council funds, Blue Ribbon Fishery program, and Watershed
Restoration Initiative funding. These funds are dedicated to the improvement of wildlife habitat
on public and private lands, while improving water quality. Table G in the appendices gives a
summary of these funds used in conjunction with section 319 funding.

The Utah Conservation Commission manages an Agriculture Resource Development Loan
Program, ARDL, which in recent years has been expanded to include water quality improvement
projects on farms and ranches. These state programs are tremendous assets to the improvement
of water quality in this state. The Grazing Improvement Program (GIP) at the Utah Department
of Agriculture and Food also provides state revenue to improve upland and riparian areas
throughout the state. All of the programs mentioned above have provided match for 319 revenues
in jointly funded projects.

The Department of Environmental Quality provides state revenue to match the staffing and
support 319(h) funds that are part of the Performance Partnership Grant (PPG). The Utah
Department of Agriculture and Food also provides state revenue to match the portion of those
funds passed through to UDAF via an annual contract. Table 5 shows the amount of match
accrued for all open Section 319 grants.

Table 5
Grant Year 319 Funds Spent
in FY-12
Match Accrued
in FY-12
Total 319 Funds
Spent
Total Match
Accrued
FY-06 $146,288 $97,525 $910,321 $606,881
FY-07 $156,499 $104,333 $1,004,943 $669,962
FY-08 $128,016 $85,344 $828,110 $552,073
FY-09 $335,864 $223,909 $751,965 $501,310
FY-10 $221,243 $147,495 $221,243 $147,495
FY-11 $0 $0 $0 $0
Total $987,910 $658,607 $3,716,582 $2,477,721

3.4. Integrating Watersheds and NPS Funding (Basin wide summary)

Watershed coordinators have proven to be very effective at helping implement water quality
projects on the ground. Local watershed coordinators develop relationships with landowners and
educate the public on the benefits of installing Best Management Practices (BMPs). They also
oversee all project planning, design, project implementation, and reporting. They help organize
and facilitate meetings for local watershed groups. These groups are involved in watershed
planning and the project selection process.

Middle and Lower Sevier River Watershed- Lynn Koyle

In 2012 three projects were completed in the Middle Sevier Watershed. These projects consisted
of fencing and stream bank stabilization projects on the main stem of the Sevier River. Much of
the work that has recently taken place has been focused in the Marysvale area south of Richfield.
The local watershed coordinator is optimistic that other landowners in that area will also
implement projects in the future.

The local watershed group continues to employ the recently completed Stream Visual Assessment
Protocol (SVAP) to identify problem areas in the watershed. The local watershed coordinator
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facilitates these meetings, and attends other agency meetings to assure that partnerships are
developed and strengthened.

The local watershed coordinator has also assisted with monitoring in the watershed, specifically
on Yuba Reservoir. He has also been involved in project monitoring, and will continue
monitoring the projects that were recently completed to determine project effectiveness and
environmental results. These results will be included in final reports and success stories that will
ultimately be submitted to EPA, and made available to the general public.

Southeastern Colorado River Watershed- Tessa Groff

The Southeastern Colorado local watershed position is a part time position. The main
responsibility of this coordinator is to oversee the Moab Area Watershed Partnership (MAWP).
The MAWP is a diverse watershed group that has been fully active for a year and a half. The
coordinator has worked closely with this group to successfully develop a mission statement,
partnership agreement, by-laws, website and brochure.
The largest goal for this group is to develop a holistic watershed management plan for the
Mill Creek and Castle Creek watersheds, both of which have had completed TMDLs. The
coordinator worked closely with partners to gather data and draft a watershed inventory to be
used in the development of this plan. Lastly, the coordinator had the opportunity to take the lead
in the development of two “Education & Outreach” proposals on behalf of MAWP. The total
amount awarded was $1759.77 to support the development of water quality programs for the
Moab community in addition to the development of an educational kiosk located at the head of a
heavily used trail.

Scofield and West Colorado Watershed- Daniel Gunnell

Phase one of the Price River Planting project, which uses Watershed Restoration Initiative and
Montezuma Creek Mitigation monies is almost complete. Over 400 plants have already been
planted, and other plantings will shortly follow.

A project implementation plan for an animal feeding operation in Moab, Utah was developed, and
funding was received from the State non-point source revolving fund. The diversion (berm) has
been completed, and sections of fencing have been installed. The landowner will be working on
completing the fence and cement pads, and the project is estimated to be complete by early 2013.

Gordon Creek, a tributary to the Price River is listed for TDS exceedances. A project using
Watershed Restoration Initiative funds and BLM money were used to remove noxious and
invasive Russian olive and Tamarisk. 198 acres were cleared below the trestle bridge. Mulch
was left onsite with a seed mixture from the Division of Natural Resources to reduce possible
erosion. Since the treatment, beaver have already begun to spread throughout the vicinity.

The Buckhorn Stock Water Project is nearing completion, 12 miles of ditch through Mancos
shale and 2 ponds are being replaced with pipelines and troughs. Return flows from the ditches
will be completely eliminated, reducing TDS inputs drastically. Pipelines have now been placed
into the ground and the troughs will be installed shortly.

The NRCS plant materials center has donated seed for Price River Planting projects. CEU
(College of Eastern Utah) will provide greenhouse space and the associated care for the growing
plants. Containers were purchased with WRI funding, while the potting material was donated by
the local Wal-Mart. A wide variety of native plants will be grown and planted by an Eagle Scout
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project later in 2012. Plant education signs were also developed and will be placed with the
plants when planted. 40 plug trays have been grown along with 250 potted plants. All of the
plants will be planted along the newly established Price River Trail.

Jordan River Watershed- Marian Hubbard

Over the past twelve months, the Salt Lake County Watershed Planning and Restoration Program
of Salt Lake County has engaged in several restoration and planning efforts, aimed towards
achieving TMDL and Salt Lake County’s Water Quality Stewardship Plan’s goals.

In 2008, Salt Lake County received $1.5 million in grant funds from the EPA for a large-scale
ecosystem restoration project along the Jordan River between 6400 South and 7800 South (East
Bank) totaling approximately 7000 linear feet. This is part of the Bingham Junction Project, with
Salt Lake County working collaboratively with EPA, DEQ, USGS, UTA, and Midvale City.
Work has been completed with vegetation becoming established. The Remedial Action
Completion report (RAC) is complete and has been approved by EPA. A media day occurred on
October 5th 2011 with Mayor Corroon, the Salt Lake County Watershed Planning & Restoration
Program, EPA, DEQ, Midvale City and TAG. In addition, in May 2012 Salt Lake County
partnered with EPA to educate Midvale School fourth graders on watershed stewardship and the
Jordan River. Furthermore, Salt Lake County restored and stabilized approximately 550 linear
feet of bank on the Jordan River near West Jordan in December 2011, which included weed
mitigation and seeding.

In 2007, Salt Lake County received 319 Nonpoint Source funds to relocate, redesign, and
reconstruct the Alta Wetland Fen. Due to issues of where to place the Fen, the project stalled.
Salt Lake County did complete a conceptual design of a limestone channel, which is to be used in
conjunction with another form of treatment. With no feasible option to expand the Fen, the
project is now closed.

Riparian Restoration and New Stream Gage on Red Butte Creek (a Chevron Mitigation Fund
Project): This project aims to restore riparian vegetation in the University of Utah stretch of Red
Butte Creek (below Red Butte Garden to Foothill Drive) to repair damage caused by the 2010
Chevron oil spills and subsequent cleanup activities. Restoration goals are to: stabilize
streambanks, protect against erosion, protect water quality, improve riparian habitat, and slow
high flows. Plant-based streambank bioengineering techniques will be used primarily, specifically
the installation of dormant woody plant cuttings called live-stakes. Native species of dogwood
and willow will be used, which are naturally occurring in the riparian plant communities of Red
Butte Creek.

Salt Lake County will also install one new automated stream gage to continuously monitor stream
flow and water quality in Red Butte Creek. The gage will be installed in the Miller Park section
of the creek, with placement determined in collaboration with Salt Lake City’s Miller Park
restoration project (another Chevron Mitigation Fund project).

Bangerter Restoration: The Jordan River’s west bank north of Bangerter Highway had been
eroding its banks and consuming the Jordan River Parkway trail since 2009. In August of 2012
Salt Lake County Flood Control Crews re-graded and stabilized 474’ of the eroding bank. There
was no irrigation available for tree plantings so native seed was distributed in the toe rock and
upland areas in an effort to control invasive weeds in the area.

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126th South Restoration Project: At Rotary Park in Draper, Salt Lake County Flood Control crews
re-graded 492’ of the Jordan River’s east bank. The design used 48” riprap at the toe of the slope
and 4 J-Hook vanes in the channel to dissipate energy. 200 Sandbar Willows, 10 Narrow-Leaf
Cottonwoods and 25 Fremont Cottonwoods were planted in June to help with bank stabilization.
All disturbed areas were reseeded to control weed infestations.

In August 2008 the Watershed Planning and Restoration Program finalized the Water Quality
Stewardship Plan (WaQSP) for Salt Lake County. The WaQSP identified 15 priority
recommendations for this planning cycle, which Salt Lake County is in the process of
implementing. These recommendations focus on water quality and quantity, and also restoration
projects in the Salt Lake Countywide watershed. The 2015 WaQSP update has already started
with data collection. Furthermore, Salt Lake County continues an extensive public involvement
and outreach effort. This includes the Salt Lake Countywide Watershed Symposium, the bi-
annual Watershed Watch Newsletter, informational table events throughout the year, and the
Jordan River Watershed Council. WaQSP planning implementation includes the “I Love the
Jordan River” campaign, flow and water quality data collection, macroinvertebrate sampling, and
water quality sampling

Weber River Watershed- Jake Powell and Lars Christensen

The Echo and Rockport Reservoir TMDL is currently in the development stages with the public
comment phase to be initiated during the spring of 2013. The TMDL is on schedule to be
completed by the middle to end of 2013. The watershed coordinator has been involved
throughout the TMDL development process, providing technical expertise as well as engaging
and encouraging local stakeholder’s participation in the process. The watershed coordinator has
attended all the TMDL development meetings and continues to act as a liaison between
stakeholders, state and federal agencies, and subcontractors on the project.
A streambank stabilization project was completed in November 2011 on Chalk Creek. This
consisted of over 250 linear feet of streambank stabilization using root wads, rock vanes, rock
barbs, and vegetative planting. The project was also fenced off from adjacent pastures to protect
the project from grazing. The project was funded using FY-06 319 grant.
Several projects were completed in the East Canyon Creek drainage. The two implementation
projects were streambank stabilization projects which used soil lifts, streambank sloping,
vegetative planting, and revetments. These projects utilized 319 funding in addition to State NPS
funds and a non-point source grant from the Central Weber Sewer Improvement District. These
two projects encompassed over 5,900 linear feet of stream and riparian area stabilization and re-
vegetation.
Projects implemented in previous years also required monitoring and maintenance to ensure the
long term viability of the projects and that previously funded projects continue to function and
accomplish project goals. Funding from both 2010 and 2011 319 grants was used to fund
monitoring and management of invasive weeds, replace vegetation, maintain soil lifts,
revetments, and stabilization structures, as well as monitor the projects so that lessons learned on
prior projects can be effectively transferred into future projects. The monitoring conducted by the
watershed coordinator include: E.coli monitoring, photo monitoring, as well as the installation of
a monitoring station near the Swaner Eco Center.
A pre-project survey was conducted in March of 2012 to assess and provide recommendations on
Fish Creek for over 70’ of culvert that was washed out in the spring of 2011. The watershed
coordinator assisted in preparing permit documents and with overall project implementation of a
new bridge to replace the washed out culvert. The project has further developed into a
partnership with Trout Unlimited, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, and the landowner to
14
develop a project intent on repairing the current eroding banks where the culvert was washed out
and re-establish once severed fish passage for the threatened Bonneville Cutthroat Trout.
The Watershed coordinator also conducted several information and education type activities
throughout the watershed. These activities include assistance in research studies with Utah State
Univerity, managing booths at the county fair, conducting watershed tours, and presenting at
conferences and meetings throughout the watershed
Middle and Lower Bear River Watershed- Justin Elsner

During FY-2012 the local watershed coordinator completed 6 projects to help improve water
quality throughout the watershed. These projects included: 2 stream bank stabilization projects
that took place on the Little Bear River and the Blacksmith Fork Rivers. There were also four
animal feedlot projects that were completed. These projects took place on Spring Creek, Little
Bear River, Middle Bear River, and Lower Bear River. In addition to completing these projects
the local watershed coordinator continues to work on six additional projects that are scheduled to
be completed in the next couple of years.

In addition to project implementation the local watershed coordinator has been actively involved
in educating the public in his watershed. His efforts have focused on proper pharmaceutical
disposal, storm water awareness, and informing landowners of practices that can be implemented
on their property to improve water quality.

The local watershed coordinator also continues to facilitate two different watershed groups in the
Middle and Lower Bear River Watersheds. The Cutler Reservoir Advisory Committee is active
in the middle Bear River Watershed, and is currently developing the implementation plan for the
Cutler Reservoir TMDL. The watershed group in the Lower Bear River has recently begun the
process of revising the TMDL on the Lower Bear River.

San Pitch Watershed- Alan Saltzman

The San Pitch Watershed coordinator completed 7 projects during the 2012 fiscal year including
the Kevin Turpin River Restoration project, the M. Kyle Christensen pasture
improvement/riparian project, the Quedell Jensen irrigation project, the Affel Erekson corral
project, the Edward Jessen Corral project, and the Reed Christensen pasture project. Besides the
projects that were completed two additional projects are nearing completion. These projects are
the Journey Blazing New Trails irrigation/pasture project and the Gunnison and Mayfield
Irrigation projects.

The local watershed coordinator, with assistance from the Watershed Stewardship group,
sponsored two watershed education days, one in the fall for 5th grade students, and one in the
spring for 4th grade students. Normally there is only one held per year. However, due to increased
demand an additional day was added. The Watershed Stewardship group also held a producer of
the year dinner where the water quality conservation efforts of an individual were highlighted and
different projects were showcased.

In addition to the many projects that were implemented in 2012 by the San Pitch watershed
coordinator, he also submitted annual reports for the grants that were expended during this period.
To generate these reports the coordinator gathered additional data which included photo points,
and grab samples from project areas. Much of this information is currently being used to
generate a success story showing the environmental benefits that have been observed due to
project implementation.

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Upper Sevier Watershed- Wally Dodds

The Upper Sevier Watershed Coordinator has continued to implement several projects on the East
Fork of the Sevier River, as well as various projects on the main stem of the Upper Sevier River.
While none of the projects were completed in FY-2012, several large projects were initiated, and
are anticipated to be completed in the fall or winter of FY-2013. The local watershed coordinator
worked with the BLM to complete a project in the upper end of the watershed, establishing grass
cover in place of bare ground pinyon-juniper stands. This project has shown very large
reductions in sediment loading over several thousand acres.

In addition to project implementation the local watershed coordinator has been able to work with
several local entities, and serve on many of their boards, including: the local sage grouse work
group, the county weed board, and the local irrigation company. He also facilitates meetings for
the local watershed groups, and attends all meetings held by the local Conservation District.

Several Information and Education projects have taken place in the Upper Sevier Watershed
including: field days for the local fourth graders; two workshops for producers where recently
gathered water quality data and studies were presented; and a watershed tour for all parties
interested in seeing what has been accomplished in the watershed.

The local watershed coordinator is actively applying for grants from various agencies to be able
to keep the momentum going in the areas where he has generated interest from the local
landowners in impaired waterbodies throughout the watershed.

The Uintah Basin- Gary Wieser

Since the Uinta Basin will be the targeted basin in 2013 the local watershed coordinator has spent
the majority of his time preparing to receive this funding. This preparation included the
organization of a local work group to identify NPS concerns that exist in the watershed,
approaching landowners with existing NPS concerns on their property, soliciting proposals for
projects, and ranking these projects. The coordinator has also been heavily involved in the
development of watershed plans that address all nine elements required to meet EPA watershed
planning standards. The local coordinator has also been in contact with the NRCS in determining
where USDA Water Quality Initiative funding will be spent.

The local watershed coordinator has also been working on two additional projects that involve
several other partner agencies. These projects are located in the Matt Warner / Pot Creek
Watershed, and the Strawberry River / Lower Duchesne Watershed.

The Matt Warner Pot Creek project deals with a large erosional problem that is currently
occurring around the reservoirs and the tributaries. In 2012 an improved culvert and retention
pond was installed, and the road was graveled to reduce the amount of nutrient rich sediment
entering into the tributaries of Calder Reservoir. Additional work is scheduled to take place in
the watershed, and should be completed by December of 2012.

The Strawberry River/ Lower Duchesne project deals largely with Russian Olive and Tamarisk
removal. The majority of the funding used for this project is Watershed Initiative funding from
the DWR, and funding from the County. This project will help the restore riparian health, and
increase wildlife habitat while reducing erosional potential to the stream bed.

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Project Summary

In 2012 local watershed coordinators have been involved with the completion of 22 projects
throughout the state of Utah. These projects used over $500,000 in section 319 funds and
generated over $3,285,144 of funding from other sources. These projects are estimated to result
in a reduction of 1,954 pounds of phosphorous per year and 15,630 tons of sediment per year. In
addition to the projects that have been completed additional funding is also being spent on other
projects that are scheduled to be completed in the next fiscal year. Table 6 shows a summary of
accomplishments by watershed.

Table 6
Watershed Number of
Projects
Completed
319
Funding
Funding
from Other
Agencies
Estimated
Total P Load
Reductions
(lbs/year)
Estimated
Sediment
Load
Reductions
(tons/year)
Middle Sevier 3 $135,317 $76,811 22 42
West
Colorado
1 $0 $88,000 220 175
Jordan River 2 $87,500 $853,524 222 181
Weber River 1 $4,846 $2,423 5 7
Bear River 6 $114,550 $374,236 1043 97
San Pitch 7 $167,494 $750,150 300 15,007
Upper Sevier 1 $0 $1,140,000 133 108
Uintah Basin 1 $0 $31,536 9 13
Total 22 $509,707 $3,285,144 1954 15,630

3.5. NPS Water Quality Task Force/ Monitoring Council

The mission of the Utah Water Quality Task Force is to facilitate coordinated and holistic
management of Utah’s watersheds for the protection and restoration of Utah’s surface and ground
waters.

The Utah Nonpoint Source (NPS) Program is administered by the Division of Water Quality
(DWQ) of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) through the coordination and
assistance of the Utah Water Quality Task Force, and its established ad hoc committees. The
responsibility of the Utah Water Quality Task Force is to advise the DEQ in the holistic
management of Utah’s watersheds, with a focus on reduction of nonpoint source pollution.

The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food has been delegated management and
implementation responsibility for eliminating agricultural sources of NPS pollution via a
memorandum of understanding with DEQ. The chairmanship of the Water Quality Task Force is
shared by the Executive Directors of the DEQ and UDAF or their designated representatives. The
UDAF is responsible for chairmanship on even numbered years and the DEQ is responsible on
odd numbered years. The Task Force meets quarterly, but may meet more frequently if deemed
necessary.

Specific functions of the Utah Water Quality Task Force include:
 Serve as a coordinating body for the review and direction of federal, state and local NPS
management programs to assure that these programs are implemented consistently with
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the Utah Nonpoint Source Management Plan (approved by EPA in 2000 and as amended
or revised);
 Promote and foster better alignment of relevant programs to assure efficient and effective
watershed management efforts that improve water quality, in addition to other benefits;
 Provide a forum for the exchange of information on activities which reduce nonpoint
source pollution;
 Provide a forum for discussion and recommended resolutions to program conflicts;
 Work with partner agencies to coordinate the prioritization of watersheds for nonpoint
source activities. Prioritization criteria should include local involvement (e.g. locally led
watershed committees), effective use of partnerships, and evidence of leveraged sources
of funding;
 Establish and implement a process for field inspections of nonpoint source reduction
activities on public and private lands to ensure that best management practices are
installed and functioning as designed to protect water quality; and
 Serve as a coordinating body for outreach and education to increase public awareness
regarding nonpoint source pollution abatement.

Specific Products of the Utah Water Quality Task Force include:

 The Annual Utah Nonpoint Source Program Report. This report is required by EPA, but
is not restricted to 319 funded efforts. The report is prepared by DEQ. The task force
will assist in providing content, advice and review. The report will highlight the planning
efforts, projects, and successes statewide that are possible with the broad coalition of
partners encompassed in the Water Quality Task Force;
 Presentation of the Annual Utah Nonpoint Source Program Report each year to the Utah
Water Quality Board and the Utah Conservation Commission.
 An institutional repository (e.g. a web site) that includes originals or links to documents,
reports, minutes, etc.

Membership:

The Task Force includes representation of those entities with programs that could potentially
cause or prevent nonpoint source water pollution. As new NPS program components are
developed and implemented additional entities will be invited to participate. Current membership
includes representatives of:

Local Governments
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Intermountain Civil Works Office
U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management
U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Reclamation
U.S. Department of Interior National Park Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
U.S. Geological Survey
Utah Association of Conservation Districts
Utah Department of Agriculture and Food
Utah Department of Environmental Quality
Utah Department of Natural Resources
Utah Department of Transportation
Utah Farm Bureau, Trout Unlimited, the Nature Conservancy, and other NGOs
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Utah State University Cooperative Extension

Utah Monitoring Council- Jim Harris

The Utah Water Quality Monitoring Council is now in its fourth year of working with
cooperators, Utah State University, citizen monitors, and the Division of Water Quality. During
this time we have established a solid community of volunteers. We are working to enhance a
Lake Watch program and expanding our citizen based monitoring by providing monitors with
equipment and lab services for chlorophyll a analysis. This can be used with secchi depth to
identify lakes in Utah that might be impaired. Samples will be shipped by volunteers to the
Unified Laboratory Services to be analyzed.

In addition, we have begun working with the new USU Extension Citizen Monitoring
Coordinator, Brian Greene, to develop monitoring strategies for citizens and a tiered approach for
using their data for DWQ’s assessment program. DWQ’s new data base is now on line and we
are in the process of setting up customized portals for our cooperators to enter data. They will
also be able to download and submit data without having to go through DWQ’s staff.
3.6. Grants Reporting and Tracking System

The Section 319(h) Grant Reporting and Tracking System is a national database developed by
EPA to track projects and activities funded with CWA Section 319(h) funds. The primary
purpose of the database is to track project progress, accomplishments, funding information and
environmental results using several nationally mandated information items that are reported to
Congress annually by EPA. Information extracted from this system forms part of the justification
to Congress for funding the Section 319 Program. EPA Region VIII uses GRTS to enable the
States to electronically fulfill reporting requirements using the Project Evaluation Form and other
attachment features in GRTS such as final reports, GIS maps or other project publications.

DEQ is the lead agency for administering the 319 Program. Until recently UDAF had been
tasked with entering relevant data into the GRTS Database. However, due to budget cuts the
GRTS database entry position has been dissolved, and the responsibility of entering this data will
be assumed by the DEQ. The majority of the data entry will be done by the State NPS program
coordinator.
4. Water Quality Information
4.1. Sampling and Assessment Activities- Jim Harris

As more restoration projects are being implemented around the state, monitoring of individual
projects is becoming more difficult to perform. The majority of 319 projects in Utah address
impacts to stream and riparian habitats in order to restore aquatic life beneficial uses. Often,
these projects substantially reduce erosion and inputs of nutrients to streams and rivers, in
addition to improving the localized conditions of aquatic habitats. Unless restoration is
widespread and inclusive of a large portion of a watershed, it is often difficult to document
improvements in ambient water quality trends given the resources available. The DWQ’s
monitoring strategy identifies a couple of key changes in the approach to assessing the
effectiveness of nonpoint source projects.

The first of these monitoring approaches involves the direct measure of the aquatic communities
affected by restoration utilizing UCASE protocols in a BACI (Before-After-Control-Impact)
approach. DWQ staff have already performed UCASE monitoring at sites where restoration
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projects are planned and linked them to sites of similar condition not anticipating management or
restoration changes (Before-Control). In coming years, those same sites will be visited again to
assess the changes from restoration activities (After-Impact). The BACI design provides
statistically rigorous comparisons between the control site(s) with the restored site (impact) to
quantify changes in biological and physical parameters that have occurred since the restoration
was conducted. In reality, grab samples of chemistry are sufficiently variable that even
statistically rigorous approaches like BACI may not demonstrate discrete changes in the chemical
composition of surface waters following restoration activities. However, similar analyses will be
conducted for measures of biological composition, which may help demonstrate relatively rapid
improvements that result from remediation activities. Measures of biological composition are
also useful because they directly measure improvements of the biological designated uses the
numeric criteria are intended to protect. Of course, measures of both biological and chemical
improvements will be dependent on the relative size of the watershed and restoration activity.

In FY 2012, the majority of the biological monitoring occurred as part of the Probabilistic
Surveys performed in the Bear River Basin and as a result there were few sites targeted
specifically for the evaluation of nonpoint source projects utilizing UCASE protocols. However,
the focus of the Targeted Monitoring Program which collects primarily water chemistry data was
centered on the Jordan River/Utah Lake Basin and Colorado watersheds as well. These sites were
targeted with several objectives in mind: supplying data for assessment and listing, Total
Maximum Daily Load analysis, permitting and compliance and nonpoint source assessment. As
such many of these sites may fulfill more than one of these objectives and to create an efficient
annual monitoring plan the Monitoring Section consults with Water Quality Management and
Watershed Protection staff to identify particular assessment and evaluation needs to meet their
program objectives.

Another proposed improvement to monitoring nonpoint source projects on a watershed or sub-
watershed scale is the installation of long-term continuous monitoring stations. Depending on the
parameters of concern and the nature of restoration activities, these automated stations could
measure a variety of constituents, including dissolved oxygen, specific conductivity, pH, turbidity
and discharge. Since these probes collect a limited set of water quality parameters, surrogate
measures may be used and additional water chemistry monitoring implemented to develop
relationships between parameters of concern and the surrogate measures. For instance, positive
relationships may be developed between continuous turbidity data and chemistry data such as
nutrients to provide the necessary linkage between changes at long-term stations and project
effectiveness. While the installation of long-term stations isn’t feasible for the assessment of
individual projects on a small scale, they could be used to document the effects of a number of
projects implemented as part of a watershed-scale implementation strategy as in the case of
irrigation efficiency projects to reduce TDS or range improvements to reduce TSS (turbidity).

Currently, Sandy Wingert is implementing a long-term monitoring project in the Strawberry
River Basin in conjunction with Division of Wildlife Resources and the Forest Service. This
project seeks to evaluate the relationship between phosphorus and other measures such as
turbidity to generate data sets sufficient in size to perform trend analysis. In this way, watershed
improvements due to restoration activities may be discernible over time.
4.2. Data Analysis and Assessment

Data analysis for evaluating the effectiveness of nonpoint source projects will vary depending on
the type of project and the available data sources. Biological monitoring will provide background
condition of the biotic community for both the “Before” and “Control” collection events. Once
implemented, projects will be assessed by revisiting the “Control” and “Impact” site. Data will
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High school volunteers are trained in
Tier I techniques at Ogden Nature Center.
Adult volunteers completed a training along Red Butte
Creek in Salt Lake City.
be compared using similar tools described in the biological monitoring component of the
probabilistic and targeted assessments. Scores of biological condition can be evaluated for the
“Impact” or restoration site (Before vs. After) in conjunction with the “Control” site not receiving
treatment (Before vs. After). In this way, changes in the biological condition can be evaluated
against year-to-year variability.

Methods for long-term trend analysis have yet to be developed. However, these sites will likely
utilize a combination of continuous monitoring data coupled with water chemistry to establish a
relationship between the surrogate measures and chemical parameters of concern linked to PIPs
and TMDLs. For example, correlations can be readily established between total dissolved solids
collected by grab samples and specific conductance as measured by probe sensors. Continuous
monitoring datasets are sufficiently large enough to perform trend analysis with a level of
confidence not possible through periodic grab sampling. Developing correlations between probe
data and other parameters such as nutrients and sediment prove more difficult than the above
described scenario. In these cases, measures for dissolved oxygen, turbidity or other surrogates
may need to be evaluated. As mentioned above, specific monitoring plans will be developed
individually for implementation strategies and QAPPs and subsequent reporting documentation
will detail specific data analysis for each project.
4.3. Ground Water Protection

Ground water protection remains a priority in the State of Utah. In the past, various projects were
funded using 319(h) funds to help analyze ground water around the state. Recently the State has
noticed an increase in nutrients in various ground water sources. This monitoring will help assess
the problem, and identify the sources of the contaminants. The Utah Division of Water Quality
and the Division of Drinking water will continue to fund monitoring and information and
education programs around the state to identify groundwater issues, and educate the public on
what they can do to protect groundwater in the State.

5. Outreach Activities

Utah State University Extension- Nancy Mesner (USU Water Quality Extension Specialist)

USU Water Quality Extension’s outreach program represents a true
partnership with agencies and non-governmental organizations across
Utah, the region and the nation. Each year we seek input on those
elements in our program that work well and identify new and
emerging areas that we should be addressing. We also work with
other water quality and watershed Extension programs and
professionals throughout the country, and regularly make
presentations at regional and national meetings. The result is
increased efficiency and effectiveness in our programs and the ability
to reach broader and more diverse audiences. Below we describe
several of USU Water
Quality Extension’s
major program areas.

Citizen Monitoring
In 2012, we initiated a statewide volunteer
monitoring program called Utah Water Watch
(UWW), which has created a network of engaged
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Screen shot of interactive map displaying Secchi Disk depth
measurements collected by volunteers
High school students test water quality for the
Utah Envirothon competition.
citizens partnering with the UDWQ to monitor streams and lakes. Our goals are 1) to improve
citizen understanding of NPS and watershed concepts, and 2) to collect credible data that UDWQ
can use in its watershed protection programs.

2012 was the initial proof of concept year to establish the functionality and feasibility of the
program. In its first year, UWW held 18 trainings in 9 different counties with over 200 total
participants. These volunteers have completed over 160 monitoring events at 60 different sites on
lakes and streams across Utah. They utilized “Tier I” monitoring methods for turbidity, water
temperature, air temperature, pH, and E. coli. The use of Coliscan EasyGel monitoring for E. coli
has proven to be comparable to state E. coli methods and a good indicator for bacteriological
pollution. This first year of has also provided a sound foundation for program growth in 2013. In
addition to Tier I data, we are working with
UDWQ to develop Tier II data protocols to collect credible data
with higher QA/QC criteria. Next year we intend to monitor
more sites, collect higher quality data, and increase awareness
about water quality in Utah. We are working directly with
watershed coordinators so they can utilize UWW monitors.

Utah Water Watch was featured in newspaper articles across
the state and has an active following via social media allowing
for the dissemination of water quality information on Facebook
and Twitter.

We created a website for UWW as a successful way to promote
the program and distribute information. It quickly became one
of the top two Google search results for Utah and water quality.
The website also serves as an online way for volunteers to
submit collected data. These data are then displayed using
maps, graphs, and spreadsheets. Our volunteers have
commented that this is a useful and efficient way to submit
data. We are in the process of enhancing our database to
provide data queries, automated graphs, and statistics.

Youth outreach and teacher training:
During the 2012 calendar year, USU Water Quality Extension provided
hands-on NPS
water quality educational activities to over 5,500 youth in 8 counties at
venues across the state. We continue to develop new water quality
materials to cover emerging concepts and new audiences such as. high
school and junior high students at the Utah Science Olympiad.)

We also continue to provide excellent teacher trainings for our Stream
Side Science and other interdisciplinary curricula. In 2012 we trained 196 educators at
workshops in 6 counties throughout the state. This past year we partnered with the Utah
Education Network, Utah Society of Environmental Education, the Utah Master Naturalist
Program, the Utah Envirothon, and others.

Watershed Coordinator Support:
We continue to support Local Watershed Coordinators in many ways. We are currently working
on 7 new watershed factsheets to add to the 17 fact sheets we have already produced. In
22
addition to printed copies of these factsheets, we are creating online versions with hot links to
maps, data and other timely information. We have also continued to develop outreach materials
and trainings focused on establishing improved monitoring techniques. We have conducted
several workshops and provide support for the Utah Watershed Coordinating Council on
developing better monitoring programs and implementation of more effective BMPs, including a
workshop on innovative ways to incorporate beaver dam construction into riparian restoration.

We continue to assist the local watershed coordinators and other agencies with a pharmaceutical
disposal education project in Cache County. Through this project, over 285 pounds of drugs were
properly disposed at our last take back event.

We also continue to maintain several websites with valuable information for the public (see
www.extension.usu.edu/waterquality.) Our main extension site provides current and useful
information for many different audiences (educators, students, homeowners, producers). We are
finalizing an interactive website for East Canyon Creek at the Swaner Ecocenter and have rebuilt
and updated the Bear River Watershed Information System website.

USU Extension AFO/ CAFO Education Efforts- Rhonda Miller

Current efforts are focused on developing a manure application “app” for smartphones. This
“app” will assist producers in maintaining manure application records for their nutrient
management plan (NMP). The information can also be downloaded into a spreadsheet that will
help producers with their overall nutrient management. A Producer’s website, which provides
“one-stop” shopping for the producers, is being maintained and expanded. This website provides
information, in laymen’s terms, on the regulations producers are likely to encounter. Factsheets
aimed at helping producers with their NMPs are also being developed.
6. State/Local Agency Contributions

1) Utah Conservation Districts/Utah Association of Conservation Districts- Gordon
Younker

Utah Conservation Districts have statutory authority for the prevention of nonpoint source
pollution (Utah Code 17D-3). They provide local leadership to identify resource needs and assist
private property owners/managers obtain the resources to addresses those needs. The Districts
and UACD partner with the Utah Division of Water Quality to implement the Clean Water Act,
Section 319 projects throughout Utah.

Assistance available through Utah Conservation Districts includes conservation planning,
engineering, and GIS/GPS services. Further, Districts promote and fund educational activities for
children including fairs, field days, and in-classroom presentations.

UACD has contracted with the Utah Division of Water Quality for 319 Agricultural NPS
Management Contract Tracking and Administration. The state-level administration is
accomplished through member conservation districts that contract NPS program funding for best
management practices with district cooperators. UACD administers the cost-sharing grants
making payments to landowners implementing projects. Further, UACD provides payroll,
accounting, and personnel management for conservation districts employing staff, including NPS
program watershed coordinators.

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2) Utah Division of Natural Resources- Rory Reynolds

The Watershed Restoration Initiative focuses on protecting and managing core values that are
important for our present and future quality of life: water quality and yield, wildlife, and
agriculture.

This is accomplished through a diverse group of state and federal agencies working together with
non-governmental organizations, industry, local elected officials and stakeholders. Locally led
teams identify conservation issues and develop plans to address local needs.

In fiscal year 2012 with support of $1.7 million from the Utah Legislature, the Watershed
Restoration Initiative has implemented over 150 rangeland and river restoration projects
involving over 98,095 acres of rangeland and 67 miles of stream restoration. For a full list of
WRI projects implemented go to: http://wri.utah.gov/WRI/Projects.aspx?display=Complete.
Through the partnership effort, funding from the Legislature has been successfully leveraged over
6 to 1 in on-the-ground projects.

The long-term results from this effort will be measured in the reduced cost of fighting wildfires,
reduced soil loss from erosion, improved water quality and yield, improved wildlife populations,
reduced risk of additional federal listing of species under the Endangered Species Act, improved
agricultural production, and resistance to invasive exotic plant species.

3) Utah Department of Agriculture and Food- Ray Loveless

The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food regularly collaborates with state and federal
partners to assist agricultural producers to maintain viable and productive agricultural lands and
to protect Utah’s natural resources. A strong partnership provides technical and financial
resource options to Utah’s agriculture producer while promoting agricultural sustainability. A
watershed approach is used to work cooperatively with private land owners to prepare
conservation plans that will solve resource problems. Funding options are available from
multiple state and federal programs.

Utah Conservation Commission (UCC)

The UCC is authorized under Title 4, Chapter 18 of the Utah Code. The act's Purpose Declaration
states that "The Legislature finds and declares that the soil and water resources of this state
constitute one of its basic assets and that the preservation of these resources requires planning and
programs to ensure the development and utilization of these resources and to protect them from
the adverse effects of wind and water erosion, sediment, and sediment related pollutants." With
this in mind, the Legislature created in 1937 this unique state government entity and it has been
active continually since, evolving to meet new environmental and social conditions. Today this
16 person board strives to protect the natural resources within the state.
Utah Certification of Environmental Stewardship (UCES)
Utah law (Title 4 Section 18, Utah Code) requires the Conservation Commission to develop the
Utah Certification of Environmental Stewardship (UCES), applicable to each agricultural sector.
It will help agricultural producers, of all sizes, evaluate their entire operation and make
management decisions that sustain agricultural viability, protect natural resources, support
environmentally responsible agricultural production practices, and promote positive public
opinion.

24
The UCES assesses storage, handling and application of fertilizer, pesticides, fuels, and
hazardous wastes. It also assesses grazing management, soil erosion, cropping and irrigation
systems, storage and application of manure, and other agricultural practices that may cause an
impact on natural resources.

A draft copy of the UCES workbook has been written and reviewed by agriculture producer
groups, environmental groups, and some State and Federal agencies. Comments have been
favorable while the workbook is still under review.

Once the workbook is complete, an agriculture producer must complete three comprehensive
steps: 1) document completion of education requirements, 2) complete a detailed workbook to
evaluate on-farm risk, and 3) participate in an on-farm inspection to verify program requirements
of state and federal environmental regulations. The certification will be for a 5-year term, with
renewal for an additional 5 years upon inspection.

Environmental Quality Section

The Utah Department of Agriculture has changed their organizational structure and there is no
longer an Environmental Quality Section. Upon mutual agreement, UDAF no longer receives
EPA Section 319 money from the Utah Department of Environmental Quality to provide
technical and administrative services. UDAF continues to play an important role in water quality
with representation on the Utah Water Quality Task Force, Nutrient Management Team, and
other committees as assigned.

Utah Grazing Improvement Program

The Utah Grazing Improvement Program (UGIP) is a broad-based program focused on rangeland
resource health. Its mission is to “improve the productivity, health and sustainability of our
rangelands and watersheds.” A keystone benefit is the reduction of NPS water pollution and the
protection and improvement of water quality and habitat components.

A staff of Grazing Coordinators, located in six regions throughout the state, offers the livestock
industry sound information and assistance regarding grazing issues. A main focus of the program
is to invest in and help facilitate improved resource management. Grants are provided for projects
that will enhance grazing management and rangeland resource health.

From 2006 to August 2012, over $8.1 million in UGIP funds have been obligated to 425 projects.
Over $20 million has been invested in the program when matching funds are included from
producers, NRCS (Natural Resource Conservation Service), BLM (Bureau of Land
Management), USFS (U.S. Forest Service), SITLA (State Institutional and Trust Lands
Administration), DWR (Division of Wildlife Resources), and other sources.

Most of the projects are focused on improving grazing management by increasing water
availability and building fences to manage the timing, duration and intensity of livestock grazing.
By summer 2013, we estimate that the program will have benefited 2.5 million acres.

UDAF/UGIP is currently working with partners on three large-scale projects in Rich, Carbon, and
Box Elder Counties that total over 1.5 million acres. We believe that investing human and
financial resources to create financial, social, and ecological wealth from the public and private
rangelands of Utah will elevate the lives of every citizen.

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Agriculture Resource Development Loan Program (ARDL)

Projects eligible for ARDL loans include animal waste management, water usage management
(irrigation systems), rangeland improvement, on farm energy projects, wind erosion control and
disaster mitigation and cleanup. Most of these projects have direct water quality protection or
water pollution reduction benefits.

In FY 2012 there were 50 loans totaling $2,219,208. That is down from the previous year when
UDAF administered 57 loans totaling $4,064,651. The vast majority of these (>90%) were for
irrigation water management which can reduce water pollution from leachates to groundwater,
percolation of dissolved salts from geologic materials, and reduction of erosion and irrigation
runoff.

The ARDL section is also working with the State Revolving Fund (SRF) under the Division of
Water Quality to underwrite and book loans to finance projects for eliminating or reducing
nonpoint source water pollution on privately owned lands. That program was recently expanded
to include grants as well as loans. The loans are now included in the ARDL program with some
modifications.

Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program

The State of Utah currently receives approximately $2 million from the Colorado River Basin
States Salinity Control Forum to reduce salt that enters the Colorado River, which has increased
significantly from the initial $350,000 received in 1997.

Historically, these funds have been allocated solely to improve irrigation practices. However, in
2009 the Forum allowed UDAF to test salt control measures on rangelands. UDAF has acquired
$500,000 for the purpose of testing the feasibility of using rangeland management methods for
salinity control. This project has the potential to provide ranchers with another funding source for
increasing production and protecting natural resources.

The irrigation projects installed through the salinity program are an economic benefit to
agriculture in eastern Utah. The new irrigation systems increase watering efficiency, decrease
water use, and improve crop production and uniformity.

Agriculture Sustainability Task Force

To better understand and address the role that agriculture plays in promoting Utah’s security,
economy, society, culture, and well-being, a Utah Agriculture Sustainability Task Force gathered
and analyzed data and information to make recommendations to promote the sustainability of all
types of agriculture. Eight major issues emerged:
1. Food Security
2. Invasive Species
3. Grazing Management
4. Immigration
5. Urban Agriculture
6. Agriculture Promotion and Profitability
7. Next Generation Farms
8. Irrigation Infrastructure

In order to address these issues, the Task Force developed a list of proposed actions that state,
local and federal governments and the private sector can implement. Ag sustainability and
protection of natural resources go hand-in-hand.
26

Resource Assessments

Utah’s local Conservation Districts are working in each County to prepare a county wide
Resource Assessment to identify local resource concerns. In preparation for that effort, each
county has prepared a list of priority resource concerns identified by the local work group, and
has submitted those to UDAF. Subsequently, UDAF has prepared a Statewide Resource
Assessment which identifies all County priorities. The Resource Assessments will be one tool
used to fund priority projects.

Information and Education

UDAF is willing to provide assistance to Utah agricultural groups, and fairly represent
agricultural interests at the many committee meetings staff are involved with. Some of those
committees include:

Utah Conservation Commission
Utah Association of Conservation Districts
Local Conservation Districts
Utah Water Quality Task Force
Utah Nutrient Core Team
Utah Animal Feed Operation Committee
Local Watershed Committees

UDAF works closely with Utah Legislators to make sure that agriculture is fairly considered in
any legislation that is considered. We also maintain an up-to-date website (www.ag.utah.gov)
that provides information to agriculture producers and the public.

4) Forestry, Fire and State Lands- Bill Zanotti

Forestry, Fire and State Lands received a grant from Department of Environmental Quality to
monitor timber harvesting on private and state lands within the State of Utah called the Forest
Water Quality Guideline (FWQG) Monitoring program. The overall goal of this grant is to
implement a forest water quality monitoring and evaluation program in conjunction with
demonstrated application of Utah’s Forest Water Quality Guidelines (FWQG) identified in Utah’s
State Non-Point Pollution Prevention Plan. Protocols for conducting FWQG’s monitoring have
been developed for use by FFSL’s service foresters.

During the State FY-2012, the following tasks have been accomplished:

 Processed 6 notifications to conduct timber harvesting activities
 Conducted 4 post harvest inspections
 Conducted 5 pre/in progress inspections of timber harvesting activities
 Analysis findings in preparation for writing a report on the effectives of the FWQG’s

27
7. Federal Agency Contributions

The original MOUs between the Department of Environmental Quality and the Forest Service
and the Bureau of Land Management were executed in 1992. These MOUs have been reviewed
and were revised in 2009. The following entities are now part of the MOU: Forest Service,
Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Utah Department of Agriculture and Food,
Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, and DEQ – Division of Water Quality.

1) Natural Resource Conservation Service- Norm Evenstad

NRCS employees work in partnership with land users to conserve natural resources on private
lands. These employees are distributed among 26 field offices and 3 area offices that cover the
state of Utah. These offices are managed by District Conservationists. NRCS employees along
with Utah Association of Conservation District (UACD) employees report progress on activities
in the USDA-NRCS system, which is the basis for the following information.

Financial and technical assistance was provided to land owners, sponsors & managers in Utah
during FY2012 through the various USDA-NRCS programs. Work that directly benefited Non-
Point Source AFO/CAFO concerns in Utah included 4 CNMP plans applied and 12 CNMP plans
written in FY2012. Land with conservation applied to improve water quality totaled to 190,345
acres.

Non-Point Source/Water Quality related practices: The results shown in table H in the
appendices are for all conservation practices planned and applied during FY 2012. The practices
highlighted generally have relatively more water quality benefits compared to some practices that
are planned for another resource concern. A number of the practices listed may have indirect
water quality benefits, that as a whole, can show overall positive benefits for surface and ground
water quality.

NRCS Water Quality Initiative (WQI) 2012:
The NRCS National Water Quality Initiative (WQI)
established priority watersheds nationwide to help
farmers, ranchers and forest landowners improve water
quality and aquatic habitats in impaired streams. NRCS
offered producers an opportunity to implement
conservation and management practices through a systems
approach to control and trap nutrient and manure runoff.
Qualified producers received assistance for installing
conservation practices such as cover crops, filter strips
and terraces.

Three qualified areas (HUC-12 Watersheds) were selected
in Utah located in Cache and Summit Counties. A total of
$500,000 was made available through an application
process conducted under authority of the Environmental
Quality Incentives Program. Applications were approved
within the watersheds totaling $473,978.

The priority areas were selected through the help of local partnerships and state water quality
agencies. Partners sometimes offer financial assistance in addition to NRCS programs. Practices
planned with WQI 2012 assistance include: Waste Storage Facility, Pond Sealing/Lining,
Solid/Liquid Waste Separation Facility, Waste Transfer, Pumping Plant, Fence, Irrigation
Watershed areas selected for the Utah NRCS Water Quality
Initiative Funding – FY2012.
28
System, Sprinkler, Pumping Plant, Structure for Water Control, Irrigation Pipeline, Forage and
Biomass Planting, Obstruction Removal, Nutrient Management, Irrigation Water Management,
Integrated Pest Management.

NRCS will continue to coordinate with local and state agencies, conservation districts,
nongovernmental organizations and others to implement this initiative. This strategic approach
will leverage funds and provide streamlined assistance to help individual agricultural producers
take needed actions to reduce the flow of sediment, nutrients and other runoff into impaired
waterways. Plans are underway using the State Division of Water Quality’s strategy of rotating
planning/funding efforts by River Basin. The fiscal year 2013 WQI effort will be targeted for up
to three impaired HUC-12 watersheds within the Uinta Basin.

2) Forest Service- Greg Bevenger

The Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, manages National Forests
lands (NFS) across the country. All or a portion of six National Forests are in Utah. These public
lands are managed by staff at Forest Headquarters and Ranger District offices throughout the
State, with support from the Intermountain Regional Forester’s office in Ogden.
High-quality water is one of the most important natural resources coming from these NFS lands.
In addition to providing drinking water and other municipal needs, this water sustains populations
of fish and wildlife, affords recreation opportunities, and provides supplies to meet agricultural
and industrial needs throughout the State.
Non-point source pollution control is a key component of managing NFS lands for high-quality
water. Direct control is accomplished through two primary mechanisms:
 prescription, implementation, and monitoring of best management practices (BMPs) for a
myriad of land use and management activities1, and
 implementation of watershed improvement projects.

Additionally, direct non-point source pollution control may occur after wildfire if the burned area
emergency response (BAER) assessments prescribe the implementation of treatments designed to
mitigate fire effects. Indirectly, the Forest Service provides for non-point source pollution control
through sustaining or restoring watershed function and resilience so that NFS lands are resistant
to catastrophic events such as fire, insects and disease, and a changing climate.
In 2012 the Forest Service implemented a national best management practices program to provide
a standard set of core BMPs2 and a consistent means to track and document the use and
effectiveness of BMPS on NFS lands across the country. These core BMPs integrate individual
State and NFS regional BMPs under one umbrella. They are general and non-prescriptive and
will not change the substance of site-specific BMP prescriptions. Site-specific prescriptions will
continue to be based on State of Utah BMPs, the Intermountain Region Soil and Water
Conservation Practices (SWCP) handbook, Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP)
standard and guidelines specific to each of the six Forests, annual BMP monitoring information,
and professional judgment. The national forests in Utah, in addition to their long-standing use of
these resources, are now using these national core BMPs in project planning, design, and
implementation. Implementation and effectiveness monitoring by individual personnel and
interdisciplinary teams is a core part of Forest Service best management practices.

1 For example, motorized and non-motorized recreation, leasable and locatable minerals, range
management, timber management, special uses permitting, wildlife and fisheries habitat management 2 http://www.fs.fed.us/biology/resources/pubs/watershed/FS_National_Core_BMPs_April2012.pdf
29
In 2012 the Forest Service continued implementation of the Watershed Condition Framework3.
Forests within Utah began execution of integrated (essential) projects identified in priority
watershed restoration action plans written in 2011. These projects are specifically designed to
improve or maintain watershed health, including the reduction or elimination of non-point source
pollution. In addition to work in these priority watersheds, Forests completed watershed
improvement projects in non-priority watersheds. In total, 4,417 acres of NFS lands in Utah were
directly improved. Project types varied but included, among other things, road and trail
decommissioning and re-routing, gully control, spring and riparian area fencing, and stream
restoration. An additional 129,796 acres were treated to sustain or restore watershed function and
resilience. Again, project types varied, but included fuel reduction, aquatic habitat improvement,
invasive plant treatment, and forest and rangeland vegetation improvement.
The summer of 2012 was a very active wildfire season on NFS lands in Utah. Forest Service
BAER teams assessed these fires for potential effects on life and property, long-term soil
productivity, and water quality. These team’s recommended aerial mulching 5,439 acres, aerial
seeding 35,760 acres, invasive weed treatment on 6,780 acres, and storm proofing 145 miles of
road and trail. Some of these treatments were completed in the fall of 2012. The remainder will
be completed in the spring and summer of 2013.
3) Bureau of Land Management- Jeremy Jarnecke

In 2012, Utah BLM continued to implement a strong Healthy Lands and Watershed Restoration
program, focused on improving habitat, vegetation, and improving water quality by reducing
erosion from BLM lands. These efforts included many watershed improvement projects that will
contribute to improved land health and long term reduction of erosion, and sediment, which also
benefits the salinity program.

The following section lists work completed by the BLM Field Offices.

Moab Field Office

Stream and Lake Assessments:
The Moab Field Office assessed riparian conditions on 25 acres of lentic resources and 30 miles
of lotic resources following guidance in BLM Technical References 1737-15 and 1737-16
(Proper Functioning Condition). Each riparian reach was evaluated using an experienced
Interdisciplinary Team, and involved the grazing permittees and interested publics. Western
Watersheds, the Great Old Broads and Southern Utah Wilderness Association (SUWA) are
interested publics in several grazing allotments and have sent representatives to our PFC
assessments in the Ten Mile Wash ACEC.

3 http://www.fs.fed.us/publications/watershed/
30
ID team and interested publics getting ready for PFC assessment

Weed Treatments:
The Moab Field Office treated 50 acres on the Dolores River at Roberts Bottom for weeds
including Russian Knapweed and kochia located within a tamarisk treatment initiated in 2004.

Stream Treatments:
The Moab Field Office completed 5 miles of tamarisk removal and associated riparian restoration
treatments on the Colorado River and major tributaries, and 1 mile of treatments on the Dolores
River. This involved hand crews cutting tamarisk re-sprouts, applying herbicides to weeds
including kochia and Russian knapweed, planting native grasses, shrubs and trees and watering
these plantings most of the summer. These treatment sites still need several more years of
restoration work and maintenance, as secondary weeds move in and locally sourced native
species plantings are conducted. Several volunteer planting projects were conducted in the spring
in cooperation with the Dolores River Restoration Partnership and The Tamarisk Coalition.

High School volunteers after planting willows on Beaver Creek, near the Dolores River

Riparian Improvements:
The Moab Field Office completed several riparian protection projects. A local youth corps was
contracted to construct grazing exclosures at a 2 small spring sites and along 0.25 miles of the
Colorado River riparian corridor. BLM staff constructed 10 riparian protection fences in the Ten
Mile Wash ACEC to reduce trespass cattle situations in this ecologically important area.
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Riparian protection fencing in Ten Mile Wash ACEC

Grazing Exclosures on Moderately Saline Soils:
The Moab Field Office contracted with a local youth corps to construct 6 grazing exclosures on
moderately saline soils. These exclosures provide an important opportunity to compare the
impacts to soils and vegetation from grazing on sensitive soils. This is an ongoing project, with
18 exclosures built in the last several years. These 2-3 acre exclosures are located near long term
range study sites.

Grazing exclosure on Mancos Shale derived saline soils

Cedar City Field Office
Water Resource Inventory
The Cedar City Field Office (CCFO) inventoried 10 acres of lentic and 10 miles of lotic riparian
areas. Each riparian area was evaluated using an Interdisciplinary Team and appropriate
Technical References. These assessments are being utilized to support ongoing grazing permit
renewal, watershed level vegetative treatments and the ongoing Resource Management Plan. The
future vegetative treatments would include removal of pinyon and juniper within and adjacent to
riparian areas.

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Riparian Structures
The CCFO completed maintenance on approximately 45 existing riparian exclosures. Some of
these exclosures required major maintenance to ensure that livestock, wild horses and wildlife
were not negatively impacting riparian areas that have been excluded from grazing. The
completion of annual riparian exclosure maintenance ensures that progress toward the attainment
of the Standards and Guidelines occurs.

Monitoring
Quantitative monitoring was completed on 2.3 miles of stream within Birch Creek in 2012. A
recent riparian treatment occurred within the riparian zone to eliminate pinyon and juniper from
the system. Monitoring results will be compared to baseline data collected in 2009 (pre-
treatment) to determine success/failure of the treatment. The stream is an important Bonneville
cutthroat trout fishery. Upland treatments were completed adjacent to Birch Creek in 2010.
These areas were dominated by pinyon and juniper with very little herbaceous understory.
Pinyon and juniper were removed from these areas utilizing a bull hog machine. The area was
aerially seeded with a diverse composition of perennial grasses, forbs and shrubs. The upland
treatment was very successful.

Multiple Indicator Monitoring (MIM) – 2012

Uplands Adjacent to Birch Creek (Pre-Treatment)

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Uplands Adjacent to Birch Creek (Post Treatment) - 2011

Salt Lake Field Office
Water Resource Inventory

In August an ID Team in cooperation with the Utah Riparian Team conducted a Lentic Proper
Functioning Condition assessment on Birch Creek Reservoir (~30 acres), west of Woodruff, UT.
The reservoir was found to be in functioning condition.

Monitoring
Salt Lake Field Office (SFLO) completed Multiple Indicator Monitoring (MIM) on 7 stream sites
in Rich County. These sites are representative of conditions for approximately 10 miles of
stream. Steams monitored include Big Creek, Randolph Creek, South Fork Otter Creek, and
Middle Fork Otter Creek. The SLFO and members of the National Riparian Service Team
completed short-term monitoring of MIM on two sites along Duck Creek and the South Fork of
Sixmile Creek.

Throughout the summer water quality samples were collected on a number of streams that cross
BLM administered lands in north central Rich County. Big Creek, on the 303d list, was also
34
included in this sample. Data is given to the state DEQ to help them determine water quality on
years they are not actively monitoring in an area.

Riparian Improvement Projects
This fall a project was completed for Columbia spotted Frog (CSF) in a pond south of Ibapah,
Utah. SLFO staff worked with livestock permittees, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, and
the Utah Division of Water Rights to obtain water rights and fence off part of the pond and create
a water gap for livestock to help protect CSF habitat. Funding for this project was received
through WRI.

West Desert District Watershed Restoration Initiative Projects
The West Desert District Fuels team remains an active part of the Watershed Restoration
Initiative process. This year they worked on 6 projects in the Salt Lake Field Office to enhance
watershed health and minimize fire risk. Each was focused on preserving sagebrush habitat,
increasing water availability, and restoring native, perennial understory species by thinning
juniper and pinyon trees.

a. Crawford Mountain bullhog treatment- 1,016 acres
b. Crawford Mountain hand thinning- 254 acres
c. Stockton bullhog treatment phases 1 and 2- 2,429 acres
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d. Pole Creek bullhog treatment phase 3- 857 acres
e. Grouse Creek bullhog treatment phase 2-1,027 acres
f. Onaqui Mountain hand thinning- 254 acres

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM)

Escalante River Watershed Partnership (ERWP)

With the formation of the Escalante River Watershed Partnership in 2009 a ten year action plan
and a woody invasive control plan has been developed to address many issues that need attention.
The ten year action plan has seven targets that address topics such as water quality, fish habitat,
beaver reintroduction and woody invasive control. Some of these targets include projects that
serve to reduce non-point source (NPS) pollution. The ten year action plan was a year and half
endeavor before the Partnership finalized the document. Most work that has been done on
GSENM (and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area: GCNRA) has been woody invasive control
and active and passive restoration. Fish habitat improvement and beaver damage reduction
occurred on the Aquarius Plateau within the Dixie National Forest. Indicated below are
accomplishments that GSENM made that are relevant to NPS reduction.

Woody Invasive Control (165 acres/2.5 miles GSENM; 36 acres/1 miles GCNRA)
There were four project sites along the Escalante River slated for initial Russian olive removal.
All woody invasive control projects include elements of either passive or active revegetation with
native species, thereby providing NPS reduction through both bank stabilization and
restoration/enhancement of the riparian community and associated hydrologic, sediment trapping
and biogeochemical processes. The first site was upstream and downstream from the Death
Hollow confluence (27 acres). The second site was upstream from the confluence of Sand Creek
(19 acres). The third site was upstream from the confluence of Calf Creek, about 2 miles up (33
acres). The last site was at and downstream from the confluence of Boulder Creek (14 acres).

Initial treatments also occurred in the side tributaries of the Escalante River; Boulder and Deer
Creek (55 acres), North Creek (9 acres), and Pine Creek (8 acres).

Glen Canyon NRA also had a project site along the Escalante River in the Harris Wash area: they
treated 36 acres.

These acreages are equivalent to a total of 2.5 rivers miles treated within GSENM and 1 river
mile treated within GCNRA.

Re-treatment of previously treated areas also occurred within these side tributaries: Deer Creek,
Boulder Creek, Death Hollow, Main Canyon, North Creek, Pine Creek, Sand Creek, Calf Creek,
Phipps Canyon, Deer Canyon and at the Headwaters Demonstration site where the Escalante
River begins. This is a 45 acre project area that the ERWP uses for monitoring passive riparian
recovery and geomorphic changes after Russian olive removal, and other studies.

Restoration (10 acres)
At the confluence and downstream of Death Hollow is an area that is used by backpackers during
the warmer months. This site opened up quite a bit, after removing the woody invasives. During
October we received assistance from one of the youth corps who worked on Russian olive
removal to plant native plants at that site. These plants came from seeds or plant material that
was collected from the site or at least within the watershed. These plants grew for at least a year
in a nursery and were planted with the oversight of the Monument botanist. This 10 acre site is
36
small in comparison to the amount of removal work. We are finding that after one year the native
vegetation fills in these areas at a phenomenal rate. Active restoration work has occurred in those
areas that have been slow to fill in with native vegetation, have secondary weed invasions such as
Russian thistle, or they are dry due to upstream water diversions in the spring and summer
months. Sites below the Death Hollow confluence have a year round supply of water; in these
locations regrowth of native vegetation has been very successful.

Inventory
Alvey Wash is a major tributary of the Escalante River that is almost the same length as the
mainstem Escalante River. It doesn’t carry the same amount of water as the Escalante River and
is a more flashy system with most water flowing during the summer monsoon months. The
ERWP and GSENM had a crew of university interns from Utah State University inventory this
particular watershed of the Escalante. They inventoried 4,639 acres for Russian olive, tamarisk,
and herbaceous plants such as Hoary cress, Russian Knapweed, and perennial pepperweed. None
of the herbaceous species were found; a total of 351 acres of Russian olive and tamarisk
infestations were recorded. This information will help in planning the next two to three years’
treatment and restoration projects with associated NPS reduction benefits.

Watershed Improvement Projects

Approximately 1,150 acres were mechanically treated on Fivemile Mountain to improve soil and
vegetation conditions. The area was seeded and mechanically treated to remove dead and
decadent sagebrush with the purpose being to improve the vigor of the sagebrush and increase the
grass/forb composition in the treatment, which would result in more stable soils and a decrease in
erosion.

The GSENM completed a number of non-mechanical (hand thinning) vegetation improvement
projects as well including approximately 1,900 acres on Jenny Clay and Buckskin and 100 acres
in Calf Pasture and 60 acres on Eagle Sink. Pinyon and Juniper trees were cut and spread out
over the soil. This was done to lower soil erosion rates by increasing groundcover and improving
conditions for grass and shrub establishment.

Riparian Improvement Projects
The following lengths of streambank were stabilized by planting willows: Birch Creek (0.5 mile),
Dry Valley (300 yd), Henrieville Creek (0.25 mile) and Paria River (300 yd).

Three irrigation pipeline crossings of Henrieville Creek were stabilized with grade stabilization
structures. Streambanks were protected with rock walls and willow plantings.

Two springs (Fourty-Mile Spring and Wilcox Spring) were fenced to keep cattle out, thereby
reducing erosion and resulting sediment load, and protecting riparian vegetation and associated
sediment trapping and biogeochemical processes. Approximately 0.5 miles of Steep Creek were
fenced to keep cattle out of a six-mile stream reach, with the same effects on NPS.

Stock pond/erosion control pond cleanout: seven ponds on Jack Riggs bench and four ponds on
Wiggle Rim were cleaned out, restoring their capacity to capture sediment.

Four miles of pipeline in Calf Pasture and four miles of pipeline in Coyote were replaced,
providing alternative water sources to keep cattle out of springs and riparian zones, with the same
effects on NPS as discussed above.

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Vernal Field Office

Pariette Wetlands
Pariette Wetlands are an oasis in the Uinta Basin of northeastern Utah. The system is a large
artificially-augmented wetland developed in 1972 to improve waterfowl production and provide
seasonal habitat for other wildlife species. It encompasses 9,033 acres, 2,529 of which are
classified wetlands or riparian and is the largest BLM wetland development in Utah. The wetland
contains diverse vegetation and wildlife in an arid climate. Elevated levels of Selenium (Se) have
been measured in the wetland and pose concern for wildlife using the wetlands.

Management of the Pariette wetlands is a long-term and multi-faceted endeavor. Major
components of this include facility operation and monitoring the wetland area for wildlife
management and salinity/water-quality control. In 2012, the BLM received $97,000 in salinity
funding. Management activities funded with these dollars include:

 A portion was used to match other funds and contribute to labor for a Pariette Wetland
Manager. A key purpose of this position is to maintain structures, manage pond water levels
and water controls, so that sedimentation/salinity controls operate effectively as designed.

 Completion of facility maintenance including clean-out and removal of sediment from the
water diversion structures, rebuilding dikes and invasive weed control.

 Collection of water quality sampling as part of our cooperative agreement for water quality
monitoring with Utah Division of Water Quality. Data collected included flow (cfs), specific
conductance (uS/cm), temperature (deg C), pH, dissolved oxygen (mg/l), and salinity (ppt).
Data were collected monthly and sent to the Utah Department of Environmental Quality,
Division of Water Quality, who will conduct ion & major constituent analyses, which will be
reported in the state water quality database.

Salinity program funding is being used to support a study through Utah State University
Uintah Basin Hydrology Faculty. These studies will be run in collaboration with USGS –
Denver, and Dept. of Geology, Kansas State University. USGS’s focus is on collecting
information that will enable USU to help land managers determine whether or not the salt and
associated contaminants in the Pariette Draw can be managed. USGS is collecting data to
refine USU’s knowledge about the role of rock weathering and soil formation in the transport
and storage of salt in the watershed and show how salt is cycled under irrigated and natural
conditions. KSU is focusing on using state-of-the-art spectroscopic techniques to assess the
mineralogy and Se sorption dynamics in upland soils and sediments. This framework will
provide temporal and spatial geochemical data for salt and associated contaminants.

The goal of these studies is to determine the processes responsible for regulating bioavailable
Se within the wetland, so as to predict, prevent, and mitigate the potentially toxic build-up of
bioavailable Se. We are in the second year of this five-year study. To date our research
efforts have involved sample collection and monitoring. This includes measurement of total
Se, as well as Se species in wetland soils, sediments, pore waters, and the water column. We
are also investigating the role that salinity and organic matter play in Se biogeochemistry.

Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative

Utah BLM is in its tenth year of a cooperative effort in implementing the statewide Utah
Watershed Restoration Initiative through its participation in the Utah Partners for Conservation
38
and Development. This is a multi-agency Federal, State, and private partnership treating lands of
various ownerships with an emphasis on watershed improvements and long-term habitat
restoration. Funds are contributed by partners, including non-governmental organizations and
wildlife groups. Projects are submitted and prioritized by regional teams prior to submittal for
final approval and funding by the statewide oversight team. BLM funds primarily come through
the Wildlife, Fuels, and Healthy Lands Initiative programs. Although the projects are being
conducted statewide, approximately 13 of these were located on BLM lands in the Colorado
Plateau Ecoregion and have significant potential long-term benefits; reducing runoff, erosion,
sedimentation and salinity to the Colorado River Basin. Additionally Moab BLM has entered
into an agreement with the Dolores River Restoration Partnership, which has multiple NGOs,
private, BLM, and other federal partners focusing efforts on the Dolores River.

Over 12,900 acres of BLM lands and 42.44 miles of stream corridor within the Colorado Plateau
were treated in 2012 under this program, although total treatment areas including other Federal,
State and private lands as part of the cooperative effort is well more than 2 to 3 times that
number. Treatments include riparian restoration, tamarisk and Russian olive removal, sagebrush
restoration (Dixie-harrow and seeding), removal of juniper through bullhog and hand thinning
methods, wildlife and rangeland seeding, cheatgrass treatment and reseeding degraded
rangelands, and other similar projects. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources website has
interactive maps and project descriptions at http://wildlife.utah.gov/WRI/

Table 7 below includes a partial list of projects to be completed by September 30, 2012. These
are interagency funded projects and funding for most projects is based on the state fiscal year and
so most of these were completed earlier this summer and new projects have been initiated after
July 1, but will not be reported until next year. More information can be found searching the
database utilizing the project number and various report features.

Table 7
Watershed Restoration Initiative Projects for 2012
WRI
#
Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative
Project Name
Acres/
miles
treated*
1606 Bitter Creek Restoration 1,224/8.7
1935 Dugout Creek Habitat Restoration 744/2.94
1940 Price Canyn Habitat Restoration 603/2.27
1944 Peters Point Phase I 1,498/3.95
2037 Airplane Springs Reseeding 2,100/6.15
1950 Seep Ridge 476/.60
1951 Seep Ridge Chaining 769/.35
1965 Anthro Big Wash 406/1.18
1973 Moon Ridge Bullhog 324
1989 Raven Ridge 501/1.94
2041 Trail Hollow Lop and Scatter 1152/7.72
2124 Trail Hollow West Lop and Scatter 982/2.61
*Column includes treatment acres and miles of stream improved.

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Studies and Research related to Watershed Condition and Water Quality

Soil-related Studies - BLM-USGS Partnership
There are a number of studies underway or recently completed that focus on wind/ water erosion
processes/ interactions and and delivery processes of salts & sediment to waterbodies in high
contribution geologic settings.

The USGS Canyonlands Research Station has several on-going research projects addressing
erosion and hydrologic processes in Utah. These research projects are designed to address two
significant issues in the region: land-use effects on erosion and sediment delivery and land-use
effects on dust erosion from low-lying deserts and subsequent deposition on mountain snowpack.

The USGS, in collaboration with the BLM, had two water erosion processes field studies
underway in 2012. Factory Butte, near Hanksville UT, is a popular recreational off-highway
vehicle (OHV) use area located on Mancos Shale substrates and there is concern that such
recreational activities are contributing significant levels of salinity to the Colorado River. The
USGS and BLM initiated a manipulative study 2007 evaluating the increase in hillslope erosion
due to OHV activity by establishing six paired hillslopes (OHV use/control) and running
motorcycles over one of each of the pairs in a manner consistent with the public’s use. We have
continued to apply treatments and monitor sediment produced by these treatments. The USGS is
also evaluating the importance of eolian processes in delivering sediments to fluvial systems.
Observations indicate that large amounts of sediment are being deposited in washes by wind and
subsequently entering the river system with the next flow event. If confirmed, this would
represent a new mechanism for delivery of sediment (including saline material) to the river
system. The USGS has installed a network of monitoring stations to document this phenomenon
on the Colorado Plateau using high precision GPS, photogrammetry, and time-lapse cameras.

Dust falling on snow increases albedo, causing an earlier snow melt and increased evapo-
transpirational water losses, resulting in a net decrease of Colorado River flows of 5% on
average. The USGS has several research projects evaluating how land-use activities on the
Colorado Plateau are potentially contributing to the dust fluxes. The USGS maintains a large
network of dust monitoring stations that span land-use, soil, and vegetation types. Additionally,
the contribution of roads and trails to the total dust flux is unknown. In 2012, the USGS initiated
a comprehensive study of this source, including monitoring and manipulations integrated with
GIS analyses. This study is designed to evaluate the contribution of roads to dust on snow in the
region, as well as provide guidance to managers on dust mitigation approaches.

Riparian Exclosure Monitoring -Brigham Young University/BLM Partnership
The Moab Field Office has coordinated with Dr. Richard Gill of Brigham Young University on
this project. Dr. Gill plans to collect soil and vegetation data within and adjacent to all the new
exclosures to document current conditions, and will monitor long term to better understand
grazing impacts to moderately saline soils. Monitoring by BLM range and watershed staff will
also continue over the long term.

4) National Park Service- Rebecca Weissinger

National Park Service Water Quality Activities, Fiscal Year 2012 (October 2011 –
September 2012)

The National Park Service units in Utah work closely with the Utah Division of Water Quality to
monitor water quality and mitigate non-point source impacts when noted. During fiscal year
40
2012 water quality in Utah National Parks was monitored at 23 sites, most of them on a monthly
basis (Table 8).

Table 8. Water Quality monitoring sites in Utah National Parks in fiscal year 2011
Park Coop Sites Monitored
by NPS
Arches 1
Bryce Canyon 2
Capitol Reef 2
Canyonlands 19
Glen Canyon 3
Timpanogos Cave 2
Zion 4
Total 23
1Three sites on the Green River and Colorado River near their confluence in Canyonlands, and downstream
in the rapids of Cataract Canyon were monitored eight times in the 2012 river season. The site at Potash on
the Colorado River upstream of the park was monitored seven times, and the site upstream of the park at
Mineral Bottom on the Green River was monitored two times.

Northern Colorado Plateau Network Park Projects
Monthly monitoring of spring flow in the western part of Arches National Park has been ongoing
since early 2001.

There were historic low water flows on the Green and Colorado Rivers during the minimal 2012
snowmelt event, in contrast with the previous year’s record high flows. Canyonlands staff
completed eight water quality monitoring runs on the rivers from mid-April through mid-
November, 2012.

The National Park Service’s Southeast Utah Group Resource Stewardship and Science staff
continued planning and prioritizing for a funded riparian restoration project on the Green and
Colorado Rivers in Canyonlands. The project is funded through 2013-2015. Some restoration
efforts on these rivers is ongoing, including repeat invasive weed treatments, and maintenance
and watering of some cottonwood trees planted in the popular Spanish Bottom area.

Restoration efforts in other Southeast Utah Group riparian areas in 2012 included: Arches
National Park; removal of several substantial patches of tamarisk and Russian olive; treatment of
Russian olive in more extensive stretches of Courthouse Canyon; treatment of Russian knapweed
in Salt Wash; treatment of ripgut brome in Courthouse Canyon and treatment of dense Russian
thistle stands at wash-road intersections near Wolfe Ranch. Ripgut brome was treated in Salt
Creek in Canyonlands. Scattered tamarisk in the canyons and sidecanyons of Natural Bridges
National Monument were treated, and a few invasive herbaceous species were treated in canyons
within a few units of Hovenweep National Monument.

Integrated monitoring of riparian vegetation, shallow ground water and channel morphology was
continued in Arches, Zion and Capitol Reef in 2012. A brief summary of project objectives is
available on-line at:
http://science.nature.nps.gov/im/units/ncpn/Link_Library/Web_Briefs/Riparian_Brief_2012.pdf

A cooperative study with Utah Division of Water Quality to determine the source and degree of
bacterial contamination in the North Fork Virgin River continued upstream from Zion National
Park in 2012. Progress was made with agency coordination seeking a resolution to the E. coli
41
contamination problem. The National Park Service entered into an agreement with the Utah
Association of Conservation Districts to work with landowners and permitees on improving
irrigation practices to reduce return flow back to the river. Limited monitoring in 2012 showed
that the contamination is continuing similar to previous years. It was noted that E. coli levels
have increased over background by the time the water reaches the Narrows Trailhead sampling
station, indicating that the fecal loading was occurring throughout the irrigated reach.

In cooperation with EPA Region 8 the Park Service analyzed seven sites in Utah for waste
indicator compounds, pharmaceutical and personal care products, and pesticides. Sites include
Courthouse Boundary spring at Arches, Yellow Creek at Bryce Canyon, the Colorado River at
Canyonlands, the Fremont River at Capitol Reef, two locations in Middle Cave at Timpanogos
Cave, and North Creek at Zion.

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Water Quality Monitoring
During 2012, the Lake Powell Beach Monitoring Program at Glen Canyon National Recreation
Area (NRA) sampled Lake Powell for E. coli to protect public health. 429 samples were
collected from Lake Powell beaches. The National Park Service operates two state certified
laboratories for sample processing. Lake Powell sanitary water quality in 2012 remained very
good, with only one swimming closure event, related to cattle activity on the shoreline.

Monitoring of water quality parameters, nutrients, metals, and other constituents was conducted
at over twenty sites throughout Lake Powell, including major inflows, the dam, and the tail waters
in cooperation with the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center.

Other sites throughout the park including the Escalante River, Coyote Gulch, and a natural off-
channel impoundment, were monitored for water quality parameters and constituents.

Grazing Management
Grazing is managed on nearly a million acres of land within Glen Canyon NRA. The Park,
working closely with the Bureau of Land Management, has undertaken many water quality
pollution abatement activities associated with grazing.

Dreissenid Mussel Prevention
Zebra and quagga mussel prevention continued at Glen Canyon NRA. All vessels and equipment
brought to Lake Powell were screened for risk of spreading dreissenid mussels. Over 20,000
watercraft were sent to the decontamination station. Thirty-eight watercraft were found to be
harboring adult mussels and were decontaminated (including a desiccation period) prior to being
released. About 400 citations were issued to visitors who failed to comply with park regulations.

The dreissenid monitoring program was operational all year. The development of an in-house
PCR laboratory was completed. Over 500 plankton samples were collected lake-wide and
analyzed for early detection of dreissenid mussels in 2012. Thus far, no evidence of the presence
of mussels has been found and Lake Powell remains mussel free.

Riparian Restoration
Riparian restoration and invasive plant control efforts continued in 2012. Weeds, including
Russian olive, tamarisk, Ravenna grass, and others were removed from riparian areas. Glen
Canyon is organizing and participating in the new Escalante River Watershed Partnership, which
is focused on watershed level management of both public and private lands in the Escalante River
watershed.

42
Special Projects
 Glen Canyon continued work on an Off-Highway Vehicle Environmental Impact
Statement addressing public use on Glen Canyon’s many miles of backcountry roads.
 Two large studies on Lake Powell which began in 2010 were concluded in 2012 These
studies, conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey, complete
development of baseline data regarding hydrocarbon constituents and explore what
contaminates are being accumulated in the sediment deltas of the San Juan and Escalante
Rivers.
 A bonytail chub reintroduction project has been ongoing, including survey work done
with USGS to gather bathymetric data of natural impoundment introduction locations.
 A study of bank erosion on the Colorado River from Glen Canyon Dam to Lee’s Ferry
was continued in 2012. Time-lapse monitoring cameras monitor changes in beaches and
terraces along the river.

5) US Army Corps of Engineers- Scott Stoddard

The Rural Utah Environmental Infrastructure (Sec 595) Program- This program was authorized in
2004 and initially funded in 2005. The program assists rural communities in funding both
improvements, as well as new infrastructure, to provide clean, safe drinking water and wastewater
collection and treatment to Rural Utah communities on a cost-shared basis. At least one of our
Sec. 595 - Environmental Infrastructure Projects is considered an NPS project:

Construction is nearing completion on the Elwood wastewater treatment facility. This was after
water quality testing identified that septic lines were impacting water quality in the area that will
be serviced by the new facility.

The Corps of Engineers has also completed or is working on several other wastewater projects in
Rural Utah - Moroni, Cedar City/Iron County, Richmond & Mona (which along with Elwood is
still ongoing).
8. Federal Consistency Review and NPS Project Tours for FY-2012

During FY-2012, DEQ continued to use a combination of approaches to work collaboratively
with federal land management agencies and others to promote federal consistency with the state
NPS Pollution Management Program. As part of this program tours of projects implemented by
federal agencies are organized every year. The following is a summary of a tour that took place
in the Strawberry Valley and surrounding areas.

Utah Federal Consistency Review
Dixie National Forest
May 29th and 30th, 2012

Jim Bowcutt (UDEQ), Carl Adams (UDEQ), Scott Daly (UDEQ), Bill Goodman (USFS), Greg
Bevenger (USFS), Rich Jaros (USFS), Hope Woodward (USFS), Kevin Schulkowski (USFS),
Chris Butler (USFS), Veronica Magnuson(USFS)
May 29th (Day 1)
43
Wet Sandy- South East slope of Park Mountain
With high quality water becoming an increasingly scarce commodity in Southern Utah, the Forest
Service has become concerned with streams on Forest Service land being dewatered by local
irrigation companies and other water providers. Irrigation diversions are typically located within
Forest Service lands, and some permitted water users make unauthorized modifications to
channels to help increase the efficiency of those structures in capturing and diverting flow from
the streams.
The Wet Sandy site was an example of a water company making modifications to the stream
channel to divert more water through the irrigation conveyance system. In this instance the local
conservancy district had constructed a berm stretching 500 feet above the diversion structure to
channel the flow into the diversion. Before this modification the stream was more braided,
increasing maintenance of the diversion structure for the Water Conservancy District following
high flow events. As a result of these modifications the stream below the diversion structure was
completely dewatered at the time of the tour.

Water Conservancy Diversion Structure
44

Constructed Berm to Channelize Stream
The Forest Service has begun working with the water conservancy district to restore the
channelized section of stream to provide an overflow channel and possibly help stabilize the
system by installing weirs and rock veins in the channel. Construction should begin by the fall of
2012.
Cache Creek
The second site visited was Cache Creek. This is another example of diversion structures that
have been installed at the Forest Service boundary for the purpose of irrigation. While this site
was not on Forest Service Land, the Forest Service expressed concern that in the future people
will look to develop the streams higher up on Forest Service land before it enters groundwater by
seeping into the alluvial aquifer.

Irrigation Diversion on Cache Creek
45
Mammoth Basin (Day2)
In the Dixie National Forest there has been a large effort to decommission and re-route roads
located in environmentally sensitive areas. This has helped decrease erosion and sediment loads
into local waterbodies and improve habitat. While some recreationists appreciated the road
closures, others felt as though the closures limited their access. The road decommissioning
projects had been a bit of a political battle in some areas but the Forest Service has been able to
work with local governments to help put the public’s concerns at ease.
Dead and Porcupine Lakes
Dead and Porcupine Lakes were very popular destinations for ATV owners. They would often
drive their ATVs right up to the edge of the lake, and often times into the lake and fish off of
them. This causes large erosional issues along the edge of the lake. To remedy this the Forest
Service installed a gate across the road that still made the short walk down to the lakes handicap
accessible. As a result much of the vegetation around the lakes has been able to recover, and
erosion is no longer an issue.

Access Gate to Dead & Porcupine Lakes

46

Recovering Vegetation at Dead Lake
John L Flat
John L Flat was another road decommissioning project adjacent to the Dead and Porcupine Lake
projects. Previously the “road” traveled through the meadow area above the lakes. There were
obvious erosional problems, the ATV activity disturbed wildlife, and scarred the wet meadows
present in the drainage. The decommissioned road was ripped, reseeded and covered with
coconut fiber netting in areas prone to erosion.

John L Flat Road Decommissioning
47

John L Flat Road Decommissioning
Another project was visited in the Mammoth Basin which consisted of approximately 1 mile of
decommissioned road that is currently in the restoration phase.
Bridge Fire
Forest Fires can be a significant source of nonpoint source pollution if remediation is not
performed properly and promptly. The Bridge Fire was started by lightning and was allowed to
burn to accomplish forest health objectives. As a result of this burn much of the understory was
depleted, and soil was prone to erosion during the summer monsoon season. In an attempt to
reduce erosion from the fire the Forest Service hired a contractor to come in and replant conifers,
and perform contour falling. Contour falling is where the burned trees are cut down and laid
perpendicular to the slope of the hill. By doing this overland flow is slowed, and much of the soil
is able to be stabilized on the mountain.
48

Erosion resulting from the Bridge Fire at Ingram Hollow

Hillside where replanting and contour falling was implemented

49
2012 EPA Project Tour
September 10th-13th
Location:
Jordan River, Uinta Basin, San Pitch, and Middle Sevier Watersheds

Participants:
Gary Kleeman (Environmental Protection Agency), Jim Bowcutt, Carl Adams, Scott Daly (Utah
Division of Water Quality), Lars Christensen (UACD), Justin Robinson (Utah Division of
Wildlife Resources), Gary Wieser, Lynn Koyle, Alan Saltzman, Jay Olsen (local Conservation
Districts), Jim Percy, Melissa Hendrickson (US Forest Service), Bart Powakee (Ute Indian Tribe)

Wallsburg Watershed
The Wallsburg Watershed is one of the major contributing watersheds to Deer Creek
Reservoir which is currently impaired due to excess levels of phosphorus. Recently
various agencies worked together to complete a Coordinated Resource Management Plan
(CRMP) for the Wallsburg Watershed. This plan will begin implementing this plan in
the fall of 2012. The implementation of this plan will include stabilizing several miles of
stream bank, fencing animals off of the main stem of Main Creek, as well as projects to
improve grazing and irrigation efficiency. On our tour we visited two sites. Site #1 was a
reach where eroding banks will be stabilized, and animals will be removed from the
riparian corridor. At site #2 the river had been channelized. This reach of the river will
be restored to develop a flood plain and allow the river to gain more sinuosity, and an
improved pool/riffle count. Various agencies have dedicated funding to the
implementation of this plan including the Natural Resource Conservation Service, The
Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, and the
Utah Division of Water Quality. A large majority of the 2014 Section 319 funding will
also be used in this watershed.

Site #1 Proposed Stream Restoration Site Site #2: Proposed Floodplain Restoration Site

Strawberry/ East Daniels Grazing Project
Currently the State of Utah is working with the Forest Service to complete a grazing
management project at the top of the Strawberry River Watershed. This purpose of this
project is to construct a fence along the upper reaches of the watershed that will reduce
the amount of grazing that takes place within the Strawberry River Drainage. Currently
several miles of fencing has been installed. Much of the fence is constructed using lodge
pole Pines, but there are also other sections that are constructed using a standard T-post
and barbed wire design. The section the Forest Service is currently working on is very
50
difficult to access, and requires that workers carry all supplies long distances to complete
the work. It is anticipated that this project will be completed by September of 2013.

Completed Fence in the Upper Strawberry/ East Daniels Watershed

Strawberry River Restoration Project
Work has been taking place on the Strawberry River since 2008. The Strawberry River is
the major tributary to Strawberry Reservoir, which is listed for High phosphorus levels.
Currently several miles of the river have already been restored, and the last reach of the
river in need of restoration will be completed using 319 funding in 2013. Since the
initiation of this project the Division of Wildlife Resources has documented increased
numbers of fish in the restored reaches. They also have evidence showing that the project
has resulted in decreased phosphorus and Total Suspended Solids (TSS) concentrations in
the river. More information regarding this project can be found online at
https://sites.google.com/site/strawberryriverdatabase/home.

Reach of the Strawberry River Restoration Project Completed in July 2012

Duchesne River Projects
According to the 2013 Section 319 PIP five projects are scheduled to take place on the
Duchesne River using Section 319 Funding. These projects consist of four stream bank
stabilization projects, as well as an animal feedlot project. These projects will be funded
mainly Water Quality Initiative funding from the NRCS, but will also include funding
from section 319 grants and nonpoint source funding. The local watershed coordinator
anticipates that work will continue in this reach of the river, and will begin working with
neighboring landowners to implement additional projects.
51
In addition to the river restoration projects the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources will
also be working together with the Division of Water Quality to fly and take photographs
of a large reach of the Duchesne to help identify where work will be needed. They said
that this will be similar to an SVAP, and can also be used when the watershed plan is
revised. Aggie Air from Utah State University will be used to gather the images.

Proposed Restoration Project on Duchesne River Animal Feedlot on the Duchesne River

Cart Creek Watershed and Surrounding Areas
There are various issues that the forest service has been trying to address in the Cart
Creek Watershed, and the Uinta mountains. During this tour the Forest Service stopped
at two sites to highlight the larger issues they are currently working on.
Fish passage has been an issue for some time in the Uinta Basin. The Forest Service has
installed culverts that are more conducive to fish passage, and less conducive to erosion.
These culverts have step structures inside the culvert to allow fish to pass during high
flows. They have also installed large amounts of rip-rap above and below the culverts to
reduce erosion that often occurs in these locations.

The use of ATVs is very popular in the Cart Creek Watershed. Unfortunately, many of
the people recreating in this area regularly travel off of approved trails. This has caused
many erosional issues throughout the watershed. To help reduce the erosion caused by
these ATVs many of these unauthorized roads will be decommissioned. The State will
be using 319 funds to assist with the road decommissioning to protect the watershed.

Forest Service Culvert Unauthorized ATV Usage

52
Pot Creek/ Matt Warner Watershed
Due to high phosphorus concentrations in Pot Creek and Matt Warner Reservoirs large
blue green algal blooms have been observed in the reservoir. Several NPS projects have
been implemented in the Pot Creek watershed including fencing of cattle from the
reservoirs and improving culverts on tributaries to the reservoir. The local watershed
coordinator has also identified several other projects that will be implemented in the fall
of 2012 to help reduce phosphorus concentrations. The Local Conservation District has
conducted soil sampling to determine if soil erosion in the tributaries and on the
shorelines of the reservoirs are contributing to the phosphorus loading. The samples
identified very high concentrations of phosphorus in the soil samples gathered.

To help reduce erosion in proximity to the reservoir the local watershed coordinator will
be working with the DWR to slope and reseed eroding banks on Matt Warner Reservoir.
Mass erosion has also been occurring at the reservoir overflow during spring runoff
events. Both these sites will be treated in the fall of 2012.

Eroding Banks on Matt Warner Res. Fencing at Matt Warner Res.

Blue Green Algae at Matt Warner Res. Erosion at Matt Warner Res. Outlet

Additional work has also been done around Calder Reservoir. This includes road
decommissioning and placement of gravel and grates to reduce the amount of sediment
entering into the reservoir from large storm events.

53
Road Decommissioning at Calder Reservoir Gravel and Grate at Calder Reservoir

San Pitch Watershed
Over the past few years many projects have been installed in the San Pitch Watershed,
specifically the upper reaches of the San Pitch River outside of Fairview. During the tour
three sites were visited, all of which were stream bank stabilization projects. The first
project had been implemented several years previously, and has served as a
demonstration project for many of the other landowners in the area. This project has
responded well to the treatments, and the Division of Wildlife Resources reported
increased numbers of trout in the reach. Unfortunately, many of the trout in the river died
due to erosion resulting from forest fires which occurred during the summer months.
Even during the visit in the late summer the water was very cloudy and laden with a
heavy sediment load.

The two other projects visited were still in various stages of implementation. One project
had already done the earth work, installed rock barbs and planted willows. They had
seeded the sloped banks, but due to the dry conditions no seed was able to grow.
The other project visited took a different approach. The engineer that created the design
focused mainly on the corners that were heavily eroded, and used large amounts of rock.
The fence was partially installed, and no willows had been planted. The land owner was
on site, and was very pleased with the way the project was going to date.

Completed San Pitch Project San Pitch Project One Year Post Implementation

54
San Pitch Project during Implementation

Middle Sevier River Watershed
The majority of the tour in the Middle Sevier Watershed took place in Marysvale just
outside of Richfield where several river restoration projects have taken place on the main
stem of the Sevier River. The tour visited two locations. The first location had been
implemented in the spring of 2012. The project consisted of a fairly large reach, and used
rock structures to divert water from banks that had been eroded. This project was unique
because the banks had not been sloped as far back as other projects. However, this
seemed to be very effective since the cattle that had been in the area stayed off the bank
due to the steep slope. However, the slope had been decreased just enough for willows to
grow and stabilize the soil.
The second location was a project that had been implemented two years ago. This project
was coming along very well, and the rock structures seemed to be doing a good job of
stabilizing the banks and allowing sediment to drop out behind them. In both projects
visited it was pointed out that more willows should be planted. The local watershed
coordinator stated that they are currently working with the DWR to bring in volunteers to
plant more willows.

Middle Sevier- First Project Location Middle Sevier-Second Project Location

55
9. APPENDICIES

Figure 1 Project Location Map

56
TABLE A- COMPLETED AND ACTIVE 319 PROJECTS (SEE FIGURE 1)

TABLE B- 319 FINAL PROJECT REPORTS SUBMITTED IN FY-2012
Project Title Total
NPS
Award
Date
Received
FY-07 Jordan River Watershed Council Capacity Building $35,350 2/16/12
FY-07 Rich County Watershed Coordinator $30,000 2/6/2012
FY-07 Middle Sevier Watershed TMDL Implementation $105,210 5/11/2012
FY-07 West Colorado Watershed Improvement Project $70,000 1/3/2012
FY-08Upper Bear River WS TMDL Implementation Project $30,000 6/6/2012
FY-08 Middle Sevier Watershed TMDL Implementation $137,085 5/11/2012
57

TABLE C- SUMMARY OF ACTIVE UTAH 319(H) GRANTS FY-12
Project Title Total NPS Award Grant Status
Oil & Gas Sediment
Erosion FY-07
$6,000 Project Complete Awaiting
Final Report
San Pitch River Watershed
TMDL Implementation FY-
07
$153,000 Project Complete Awaiting
Final Report
Alta Fen Rehab FY-07 $13,500 Project complete awaiting
final report
Upper Sevier River
Watershed TMDL
Implementation FY-07
$155,000 Project Complete Awaiting
Final Report
Upper Bear River WS
TMDL Implementation FY-
08
$30,000 Project Complete Awaiting
Final Report
Middle Bear River TMDL
Implementation FY-08
$32,100 Ongoing
Lower Bear River TMDL
Implementation FY-08
$212,500 Ongoing
Strawberry River/ East
Daniels FY-08
$61,600 Ongoing
San Pitch River WS TMDL
Implementation FY-08
$118,000 Ongoing
Middle Sevier River WS
TMDL Implementation FY-
08
$137,085 Ongoing
West Colorado River
Watershed Improvement
Project FY-08
$70,000 Project complete awaiting
final report
Matt Warner, Calder
Reservoir/ Pot Creek FY-08
$64,800 Ongoing
Scofield Reservoir Riparian
Revegetation FY-08
$35,500 Project Complete awaiting
final report
Local Watershed
Coordinators Support FY-
08
$400,000 Project Complete Awaiting
Final Report
USU Extension NPS I&E
Outreach FY-09
$33,500 Project complete awaiting
final report
Lower Bear River WS
TMDL Implementation FY-
09
$84,000 Ongoing
Upper Bear River WS
TMDL Implementation FY-
09
$110,140 Ongoing
Middle Sevier River WS $60,000 Ongoing
58
TMDL Implementation FY-
09
Upper Sevier River WS
TMDL Implementation FY-
09
$122,790 Ongoing
West Colorado River WS
TMDL Implementation FY-
09
$70,000 Ongoing
Forest Water Quality
Guidelines Monitoring FY-
09
$33,870 Ongoing
Jordan River Ecosystem
Restoration FY-09
$96,000 Ongoing
Local Watershed
Coordinator Support FY-09
$509,100 Project complete awaiting
final report
Matt Warner/Pot Creek
Road Rehabilitation FY-10

$63,600

Ongoing
USU NPS I & E Outreach
FY-10
$37,000

Project complete awaiting
final report
Lower Bear R TMDL Impl.
FY-10
$80,000

Ongoing
Middle Bear R TMDL Impl
FY-10
$100,000

Ongoing
Upper Bear R TMDL Impl
FY-10
$70,000

Ongoing
West Colorado River
Watershed Improvement
FY-10
$45,000

Ongoing
USU Septic System Ed.
Enhancement FY-10
$51,100

Ongoing
Utah Watershed
Coordinating Council FY-
10
$30,000

Ongoing
Upper Bear Riparian
Restoration FY-10
$15,600

Ongoing
East Canyon Stream
Restoration - Phase IV FY-
10
$50,000

Ongoing
Mud Ck/Scofield Riparian
Restoration FY-10
$50,000

Project complete awaiting
final report
Salt Lake County Stream
Guide FY-10
$31,100

Ongoing
Jordan River Council
Capacity - I&E FY-10
$41,600

Project Complete Awaiting
Final Report
TMDL Local Watershed
Coordinators FY-10
$400,000

Project Complete Awaiting
Final Report
59
Utah NPS Program -
Management Review FY-10
$66,582

Ongoing
Utah Watershed
Coordinating council FY-11
$10,000 Ongoing
USU Volunteer Monitoring
and I&E FY-11
$102,500 Ongoing
Utah Watershed
Coordinating council FY-11
$340,000 Ongoing
East Canyon Restoration
FY-11
$380,421 Ongoing
Utah Watershed
Coordinating council FY-12
$10,000 Ongoing
USU Volunteer Monitoring
and I&E FY-12
$102,500 Ongoing
East Canyon Restoration
FY-12
$283,070 Ongoing
Upper Weber TMDL
Implementation FY-12
$95,230 Ongoing

TABLE D- APPROVED TMDLS
Water Body Date Approved
Chalk Creek 12/23/1997
Otter Creek 12/23/1997
Little Bear River 5/23/2000
Mantua Reservoir 5/23/2000
East Canyon Creek 9/1/2000
East Canyon Reservoir 9/1/2000
Kents Lake 9/1/2000
LaBaron Reservoir 9/1/2000
Minersville Reservoir 9/1/2000
Puffer Lake 9/1/2000
Scofield Reservoir 9/1/2000
Onion Creek (near Moab) 7/25/2002
Cottonwood Wash 9/9/2002
Deer Creek Reservoir 9/9/2002
Hyrum Reservoir 9/9/2002
Little Cottonwood Creek 9/9/2002
Lower Bear River 9/9/2002
Malad River 9/9/2002
Mill Creek (near Moab) 9/9/2002
Spring Creek 9/9/2002
60
Forsyth Reservoir 9/27/2002
Johnson Valley Reservoir 9/27/2002
Lower Fremont River 9/27/2002
Mill Meadow Reservoir 9/27/2002
UM Creek 9/27/2002
Upper Fremont River 9/27/2012
Deep Creek 10/9/2002
Uinta River 10/9/2002
Pineview Reservoir 12/9/2002
Browne Lake 2/19/2003
San Pitch River 11/18/2003
Newton Creek 6/24/2004
Panguitch Lake 6/24/2004
West Colorado 8/4/2004
Silver Creek 8/4/2004
Upper Sevier River 8/4/2004
Lower and Middle Sevier
River 9/17/2004
Lower Colorado River 9/20/2004
Upper Bear River 8/4/2006
Echo Creek 8/4/2006
Soldier Creek 8/4/2006
East Fork Sevier River 8/4/2006
Koosharem Reservoir 8/4/2006
Lower Box Creek Reservoir 8/4/2006
Otter Creek Reservoir 8/4/2006
Thistle Creek 7/9/2007
Strawberry Reservoir 7/9/2007
Matt Warner Reservoir 7/9/2007
Calder Reservoir 7/9/2007
Lower Duchesne River 7/9/2007
Lake Fork River 7/9/2007
Brough Reservoir 8/22/2008
Steinaker Reservoir 8/22/2008
Red Fleet Reservoir 8/22/2008
Newcastle Reservoir 8/22/2008
Cutler Reservoir 2/23/2010
Middle Bear River 2/23/2010
61
Pariette Draw 9/28/2010
Emigration Creek 7/18/2012
Jordan River Phase I Awaiting EPA
Approval
Ashley Creek Awaiting EPA
Approval

TABLE E- WATERSHED PLANS
Watershed Date Approved
Middle and Lower
Sevier October-10
San Pitch January-06
Upper Sevier June-04
Virgin River February-06
Paria River 2006
Escalante River 2006
Strawberry Watershed April-04
Wallsburg CRMP October-12
Duchesne River
Nearing
Completion
Upper Green
Nearing
Completion
Lower green
Nearing
Completion
Strawberry River
Watershed
Nearing
Completion

62
TABLE F- STATE NPS FUNDS ALLOCATED IN 2012
Watershed Project Project Grant
Sponsor Description Award
Sevier Private Landowner Stream Restoration $53,446
Bear DNR, FFSL Conservation Easement $50,000
West Colorado DNR, DOGM Mine land reclamation - Whiskey Creek $5,000
Statewide USU Onsite Training Center $112,260
Cedar-Beaver USGS Newcastle Hg Project $55,950
Weber Snyderville Basin Project Implementation $150,000
Moab Private Landowner Animal Feeding Operation $36,591
West Colorado Private Landowner Fremont R stream bank stabilization $41,862
Statewide DWQ Mercury take back $6,000
Statewide DWQ Watershed Coordinators $30,000
Upper Sevier Private Landowner Stream bank $49,275
Middle Sevier Private Landowner Stream Bank $17,720
Middle Sevier Private Landowner Stream Bank $14,268
Jordan DWQ Jordan River OM budget $90,000
Bear DWQ Lower Bear Source ID $50,000
Statewide DWQ Ecological benefits study $45,000
Statewide DWQ Economic costs study $45,000
Weber DWQ Rockport/Echo model $90,000
Statewide USU Septic / Onsite I&E $23,514
Jordan SLC Corp. Design of wetland $18,000
Statewide DWQ Reserve for onsite grants and ARDL $16,114
Total $1,000,000

TABLE G- ADDITIONAL FUNDING CURRENTLY ALLOCATED IN
CONJUNCTION WITH SECTION 319 FUNDING IN FY-2012.
Funding Source Amount
Utah State NPS Funding $887,036
ARRA $8,341
Watershed Restoration Initiative $61,208
Environmental Quality Incentive Program
(EQIP) $1,157,896
CERCLA $1,500,000
Central Weber Sewer Improvement District $71,250
Grazing Improvement Program $85,029
BLM $608,000
Mitigation funds $307,500
Salt Lake County $2,178,141
Utah Partners for Conservation $570,000
South Valley Water Reclamation Facility $738,000

63
TABLE H- SUMMARY CONSERVATION PRACTICES- NRCS FISCAL YEAR
2012
Summary Conservation Practices - NRCS Fiscal Year 2012 Planned Applied Planned
Count
Applied
Count
Access Control (472) (ac) 271 627 2 8
Access Road (560) (ft) 4,745 3,712 4 4
Agriculture Energy Management Plan, Headquarters - Written (122) (no) 1 1
Anaerobic Digester (366) (no) 1 1
Apply nutrients no more than 30 days prior to planned planting date
(WQL05) (ac) 303 17
Brush Management (314) (ac) 52,013 18,477 236 80
Combustion System Improvement (372) (no) 9 9
Composting Facility (317) (no) 1 1
Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan - Applied (103) (no) 1 1
Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan - Written (102) (no) 4 4
Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan (100) (no) 8 3 8 3
Conservation Cover (327) (ac) 43,836 49,518 782 1,095
Conservation Crop Rotation (328) (ac) 3,766 17,690 61 181
Continuous cover crops (SQL02) (ac) 0 1
Cover Crop (340) (ac) 45 49 5 2
Critical Area Planting (342) (ac) 19 7 3 2
Dam, Diversion (348) (no) 1 1
Dike (356) (ft) 5,532 2
Diversion (362) (ft) 2,811 447 3 2
Dust Control on Unpaved Roads and Surfaces (373) (sq ft) 41,088 354,942 1 1
Enhancement - Energy Management (EEM) (ac) 101 1
Enhancement - Grazing Management (EGM) (ac) 1,058 1
Enhancement - Habitat Management (EHM) (ac) 324 2
Enhancement - Pest Management (EPM) (ac) 324 2
Enhancement - Soil Management (ESM) (ac) 324 2
Fence (382) (ft) 389,721 219,825 154 98
Filter Strip (393) (ac) 2 1
Firebreak (394) (ft) 32,000 4,600 6 1
Forage and Biomass Planting (512) (ac) 662 716 40 32
Forage Harvest Management (511) (ac) 4,434 1,997 87 75
Forest Management Plan - Written (106) (no) 1 2 1 2
Forest Stand Improvement (666) (ac) 319 112 6 10
GPS, targeted spray application (SmartSprayer), or other chemical
application electronic control tec (AIR07) (ac) 803 53
Grade Stabilization Structure (410) (no) 27 6 10 4
Grazing Management Plan - Written (110) (no) 1 1
Grazing management to improve wildlife habitat (ANM09) (ac) 1,773 10
Harvest hay in a manner that allows wildlife to flush and escape
(ANM10) (ac) 2,935 375 175 17
Heavy Use Area Protection (561) (ac) 1 4
Herbaceous Weed Control (315) (ac) 4,559 518 150 13
High level Integrated Pest Management to reduce pesticide
environmental risk (WQL13) (ac) 803 53
Incorporate native grasses and/or legumes into 15% or more of the
forage base (ANM03) (ac) 1 1
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) (595) (ac) 53,943 26,027 469 365
Irrigation Ditch Lining (428) (ft) 17,142 9,494 17 12
64
Irrigation Field Ditch (388) (ft) 1,000 1
Irrigation Land Leveling (464) (ac) 463 382 28 31
Irrigation Pipeline (430) (ft) 557,097 290,587 530 297
Irrigation Regulating Reservoir (552) (no) 2 2
Irrigation Reservoir (436) (ac-ft) 134 113 11 10
Irrigation System, Microirrigation (441) (ac) 159 76 27 12
Irrigation System, Sprinkler (442) (ac) 14,974 13,320 502 444
Irrigation System, Surface and Subsurface (443) (ac) 3,359 333 29 19
Irrigation Water Conveyance (430) (ft) 3,240 1,757 4 6
Irrigation Water Conveyance, Ditch and Canal Lining, Plain Concrete
(428A) (ft) 5,807 9
Irrigation Water Conveyance, Pipeline, High-Pressure, Underground,
Plastic (430DD) (ft) 11,615 104,765 17 123
Irrigation Water Conveyance, Pipeline, Low-Pressure, Underground,
Plastic (430EE) (ft) 11,772 2,846 16 7
Irrigation Water Conveyance, Pipeline, Nonreinforced Concrete (430CC)
(ft) 41 1
Irrigation Water Conveyance, Pipeline, Steel (430FF) (ft) 40 2
Irrigation Water Management (449) (ac) 18,933 11,356 812 522
Land Clearing (460) (ac) 129 4
Land Smoothing (466) (ac) 39 2
Leave standing grain crops un-harvested to benefit wildlife (ANM34) (ac) 299 13
Livestock Pipeline (516) (ft) 498,383 248,658 113 64
Monitor key grazing areas to improve grazing management (PLT02) (ac) 28,621 82 44 3
Monitoring and Evaluation (799) (no)
Mulching (484) (ac) 9 3 3 3
Nitrification inhibitors or urease inhibitors (AIR08) (ac) 1,765 65
Nutrient Management (590) (ac) 9,904 6,505 396 286
Nutrient Management Plan - Written (104) (no) 2 2
Obstruction Removal (500) (ac) 148 48 11 4
Patch-burning to enhance wildlife habitat (ANM11) (ac) 2,528 10
Plant Tissue Testsing and Analysis to Improve Nitrogen Management
(WQL04) (ac) 372 20
Pond (378) (no) 21 6 14 6
Pond Sealing or Lining, Bentonite Sealant (521C) (no) 3 2 3 3
Pond Sealing or Lining, Compacted Clay Treatment (521D) (no) 8 4 8 4
Pond Sealing or Lining, Flexible Membrane (521A) (no) 6 3 6 3
Pond Sealing or Lining, Soil Dispersant (521B) (no) 1 1
Prescribed Burning (338) (ac) 100 2,296 19 30
Prescribed Grazing (528) (ac) 458,283 223,712 827 395
Prescribed Grazing (528A) (ac) 11 1
Pumping Plant (533) (no) 142 171 115 89
Range Planting (550) (ac) 16,364 9,521 80 63
Regional weather networks for irrigation scheduling (WQT04) (ac) 620 21
Renewable Energy System (716) (no) 1 12 1 8
Residue and Tillage Management, Mulch Till (345) (ac) 712 1,722 24 13
Residue and Tillage Management, No-Till/Strip Till/Direct Seed (329)
(ac) 5,376 877 52 14
Residue Management, Seasonal (344) (ac) 2,568 32
Restoration and Management of Rare and Declining Habitats (643) (ac) 228 4
Retrofit watering facility for wildlife escape (ANM18) (no) 35 2 23 2
65
Riparian Herbaceous Cover (390) (ac) 240 0 14 1
Rotation of supplement and feeding areas (WQL03) (ac) 44,015 71
Seasonal High Tunnel System for Crops (798) (sq ft) 46,273 47,560 23 27
Solid/Liquid Waste Separation Facility (632) (no) 10 1 10 1
Split applications of nitrogen based on a PSNT (WQL25) (ac) 303 17
Split nitrogen applications 50% after crop/pasture emergence/green up
(WQL07) (ac) 317 39 32 1
Spoil Spreading (572) (ac)
Spring Development (574) (no) 1,578 6 8 5
Stewardship Payment (SP) (ac) 1 2
Stream Habitat Improvement and Management (395) (ac) 5 14 2 1
Streambank and Shoreline Protection (580) (ft) 16,845 13,805 27 19
Structure for Water Control (587) (no) 556 581 227 222