Little Creek Boundary Fence
Project ID: 25 Status: Completed Fiscal Year: 2007 Submitted By:N/A | Project Manager: Miles Hanberg PM Agency: Utah Division of Wildlife Resources PM Office: Northeastern Region Lead: Utah Division of Wildlife Resources WRI Region: Northeastern |
Description: Construct fence on Book Cliffs drainage divide near the head of West Willow Creek to prevent cattle trespass on DWR and Ute Tribal lands. | |
Location: Head of West Willow Creek near Roadless Area trailhead, Book Cliffs Mountains. T19S. R20E. Sections 16, 17, 18 | |
Project Need
Need For Project:
The south boundary of the Little Creek WMA in West Willow Creek is unfenced. The BLM livestock permittee on the South Book Cliffs is in trespass throughout the summer. Cattle cross from BLM and SITLA land to Ute Tribe land and then on down the canyon on to DWR land. Grand County has a livestock “fence out” law making trespass enforcement virtually impossible from a legal standpoint. Trespass livestock grazing is impacting riparian and stream recovery and retarding rangeland recovery from past grazing abuse. The trespass abuse has increased substantially over the past two years until cattle were deep into DWR land for virtually the entire summer in 2004.
Objectives:
Project Location/Timing Justification (Why Here? Why Now?):
None
Relation To Management Plan:
The DWR WMA management plan calls for rest from cattle grazing to facilitate riparian vegetation recovery. Colorado Cutthroat trout are planned for release into the watershed in the near future. Grazing impacts will impact the success of this management effort.
Fire / Fuels:
Water Quality/Quantity:
Compliance:
1 Archaeologist, Need arch. (Entered in old database 1/24/05), May 24 2010 / 2 PMArchaeology, None entered in old database. -data entry tech, May 24 2010 / 6 NEPA, None entered in old database. -data entry tech, May 24 2010
Methods:
Approximately 3-6 miles of livestock fence will be constructed at the Moab BLM / SITLA / Ute Tribe Trust land boundary at the drainage divide above Steer Gulch. The fence will be constructed to facilitate bison, elk and other big game movements with minimal damage. The fence will also be built to withstand snow loads and help discourage vandalism. Terrain and legal and political boundaries will all be utilized to reduce costs and take advantage of natural barriers and land features. Fencing would be completed in the summer of 2005 using the Ute Tribe fencing crew. A property boundary survey may be necessary in some areas. Construction will be completed by the Ute Tribe fence crew with DWR providing materials.
Monitoring:
Partners:
Future Management:
No
Sustainable Uses of Natural Resources:
| Budget | WRI/DWR | Other | Budget Total | In-Kind | Grand Total |
| $90,000.00 | $0.00 | $90,000.00 | $50,000.00 | $140,000.00 |
| Item | Description | WRI | Other | In-Kind | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equipment and/or Seed Transport | Materials acquisition and transport. | $5,000.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | 2006 |
| Materials and Supplies | Fence Supplies | $75,000.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | 2006 |
| Contractual Services | Fence Construction-Ute Tribe Fencing Crew | $0.00 | $0.00 | $50,000.00 | 2006 |
| Contractual Services | Helicopter Materials Transport | $10,000.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | 2006 |
| Funding | WRI/DWR | Other | Funding Total | In-Kind | Grand Total |
| $10,140.00 | $0.00 | $10,140.00 | $50,000.00 | $60,140.00 |
| Source | Phase | Description | Amount | Other | In-Kind | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internal Conservation Permit | C360 | $70.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | 2007 | |
| Ute Tribe | $0.00 | $0.00 | $50,000.00 | 2006 | ||
| Habitat Council Account | 174 | $70.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | 2007 | |
| Habitat Council Account | $10,000.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | 2014 |
Species
| Species | "N" Rank | HIG/F Rank | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Bison | N4 | R2 | ||||
| ||||||
| Bighorn Sheep | N4 | R2 | ||||
| ||||||
| Elk | R2 | |||||
| ||||||
| Mule Deer | R1 | |||||
| ||||||
Habitats
| Habitat |
|---|
Project Comments
Completion
Start Date:
06/23/2014
End Date:
06/26/2014
FY Implemented:
2014
Final Methods:
An existing pipe fence was improved and modified near the Bogart Trailhead at the head of Sego Canyon. Parts of a 900 foot fence segment required some repairs and modification to keep cattle from passing north through the fence. Pipe was purchased to make the necessary repairs to an area where a two track road intersected the fence and at the end of the fence segment where it approaches the canyon edge. This completes the portion of work that UDWR is able to do.
Project Narrative:
The boundary fence has been in the works for many years. The intent was to place a fence near the Book Cliffs divide area to keep cattle from traveling north from Thompson/Sego Canyons into Tribal lands and ultimately UDWR lands. UDWR constructed a fence segment in West Willow Creek and ultimately prevented cattle from entering its lands. However, cattle still entered tribal lands. UDWR continued to work with the Ute Tribe to complete the fence. The Ute Tribe wanted the fence to be built along the surveyed boundary line between BLM and the Tribe. However terrain and topography make this option not feasible. After a few years of working with the Tribe, the lead from the Tribe felt that the 900 feet of fence near the Bogart/Sego Trailhead would be sufficient to control cattle. The Tribe initiated a bid for the fence and bid prices were much too high. At that time, UDWR decided to complete the needed work on this fence segment.Any future fencing needs to be coordinated between the Ute Tribe and the Moab BLM. Cattle may also be using portions of Thompson Canyon to enter Tribal lands. Those entities will need to coordinate to determine fencing locations and needs.
Future Management:
UDWR will continue to monitor the integrity of this fence segment to ensure it is functional and complete necessary maintenance. The construction of the fence, however should require very minimal maintenance for many years.
Map Features
| ID | Feature Category | Action | Treatement/Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 281 | Fence | Modification | Other |
Project Map
