Manti-La Sal Happenings
USDA Forest Service | Manti-La Sal National Forest
USDA Forest Service image by Manti-La Sal National Forest
“Adopt the pace of Nature, her pace is patience” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Welcome to the Manti-La Sal National Forest Newsletter
The Look Back Special, Part 1!
In this month's newsletter, you'll find a visual 'look back' of 2024 including projects completed, stunning scenery, and highlights across the Manti-La Sal's departments that you likely haven't seen before. Buckle up, your backstage pass to this forest awaits!
Wildlife
Wildlife crews and all departments across the forest have had a productive year. As you scroll through new water guzzlers for wildlife have been an ongoing installation process across the Manti-La Sal National Forest. Water guzzlers ensure wildlife have drinking water through a natural catchment system and are valuable for species of interest in areas that lack water across the forest.
Check out the guzzler installation process! This guzzler will be utilized by Greater Sage Grouse and other wildlife, the biologists of the forest and a dozen or so forest staff help with installing the large apron system that funnels rain and snow run off into the 1,500-gallon holding tank. These guzzlers provide drinking water for wildlife in areas that are typically scarce on water
Old guzzlers on the forest are replaced with new, more resilient designs featuring an apron, holding tank, and better tank cover
New guzzlers on the forest attract goshawks, deer, bears, bobcats and more!
Wildlife Field Surveys, Monitoring, and Sightings
Surveys of 2024: Mexican Spotted Owl Surveys, Greater Sage Grouse Lek Counts, Golden Eagle Nest Territory Occupancy Monitoring, Northern Goshawk Monitoring, Three-toed, Woodpecker Surveys, IMBCR Monitoring (Migratory Birds), Na Bat Monitoring, Boreal Toad Monitoring, Rabbit Surveys, and of course general wildlife sightings during surveys are all part of the wildlife biologist experience
Wildlife technicians install pond levelers which combine a cage and flexible tube to allow beavers to keep their dams without flooding roads on the forest. We even enjoyed having Utah DWR relocate beavers to our forest to enjoy new habitat
Wildlife Staff and the Local Community
Wildlife staff provide education and outreach opportunities to the local community each year. In 2024, they provided: Special Needs Fishing Day, an Eagle Scout Presentation, USU Eastern Field Trip with Students from England, Presentations at Nephi High school, Nephi Junior High school, Manti High school, Gunnison High school, Ephraim Elementary, and presented at Conservation Days for approximately 500 4th grade students
South Zone Range and Hydrology
Range accomplishments included an internship program, spring surveys, stream inventory, alpine soil temperature logs, water level logs, range monitoring, beaver dam analogs, researching virtual cattle fencing with Utah State University, spring restoration, and valuable partnership work with the Bears Ears Partnership, Ancestral Lands Conservation Corp, Color Country Conservation Corp, and Grand Canyon Trust, and much more!
Reflections at Woodenshoe Canyon, Dark Canyon Wilderness
South Zone Recreation Highlights
In 2024, the Moab Ranger District achieved a rating of “60" for the Dark Canyon Wilderness Stewardship Performance rating, which put the Dark Canyon Wilderness into the category of being managed to standard for the first time ever. While the score occurred in 2024 it took lots of work to get us to that level, work included years of mitigating invasive species, maintaining trails, conducting campsite inventories, monitoring solitude and other aspects of wilderness management.
Interdisciplinary monitoring in the Wilderness with the Botany, Heritage and Recreation staff, avalanche monitoring, views from archaeological sites and a show of fall colors in the Abajo Mountains
During 2024, the South Zone Trail crew and a variety of volunteers and partners completed trail work and several trail bridges for the Whole Enchilada Trail in the La Sals. These bridges were built with REA funding from the permitted outfitter and guide fees. As a forest, we collect these fees and put them back into maintaining the infrastructure that the outfitters and guides use for operations, in this case, the trails and bridges. Labor for the bridges was provided by the USFS trail crew, SUWA volunteers and the Grand County Active Trails and Transportation trail crew. Additionally, the Tuerto connector trail in Bears Ears National Monument needed a complete rebuild. This work was accomplished with the USFS trail crew and both the Zuni and Acoma Ancestral Lands Corp trail crews.
Thank you to our trail crew, partners, and volunteers for making this a banner year for trail improvements
Gooseberry Guard Station remodel
Lots of great work occurred out In Bears Ears National Monument including wrapping up the Gooseberry Guard Station remodel and replacing the pasture fence at the site.
Porcupine Campground
With support of Canyonlands Natural History Association (CNHA) and funding through the Infrastructure Bill, we finished up work on the new Porcupine Campground, photo below was taken during the construction by William Otto using the USFS drone.
Special Uses
Easements, permits, leases, water transmission, agriculture, outfitting and guiding, recreation, telecommunication, research, photography, video productions, and granting road and utility rights-of-ways all fall within our Special Uses program. This year, our teams made sure to keep permit holders aware of requirements of their permits, with special attention to keeping structures on national forest lands up to standard requirements. Permitting for special uses across the forest allows public lands to be responsibly utilized in ways that further our understanding of historical uses, future forecasting, recreation, and access
Permitted sites across the forest are monitored for compliance
Bears Ears National Monument Planning
The Manti-La Sal National Forest has been developing a Bears Ears National Monument Plan with the BLM, the Bears Ears Commission, and with our state and local cooperating agencies. The management of this monument is unique in many ways, but notably, due to the rich cultural aspects of the area, the Bears Ears Commission of five tribal nations co-stewards the monument with all agencies and stakeholders. Throughout the year, many public meetings, public comments, and reviews of those comments have been the focus of the Bears Ears National Monument planning efforts to establish a cohesive management direction. Agencies anticipate that the Bears Ears National Monument will have a signed management plan in 2025.
Public Meetings during the public comment period for Bears Ears National Monument in 2024 were well attended and made possible by the BLM, Bears Ears Commission, and Manti-La Sal National Forest Service employees
Heritage
The Heritage Program is responsible for significant historic and cultural resources on public lands, ensuring that future generations can understand the human stories within the landscapes of our national forests and grasslands. This year, the Heritage program enjoyed having two interns, completed approximately 3,214 acres of surveys, updated 22 survey sites, and recorded 84 new sites. Approximately 15 new projects were cleared across the forest to ensure heritage sites were properly considered, collaborations with the NRCS, BLM, Utah DWR and many more made this year a busy one for this team.
The Heritage Program was managed to standard in 2024, and established Federal Preservation Programs, participated in outreach during the forest's annual Conservation Days, the Fremont Festival, CNHA Public Lands Day Celebration, Dine College Career Fair, USS Blanding STEAM Expo & Career Fairs, assisted with the Bears Ears Digital Cultural Heritage Initiative (photographic models of structures), and the Ethnobotanical Plant Monitoring Project
The State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and Regional Office Forest Service employees conducted field visits to existing structures within our Heritage Program including North Cottonwood Guard Station, the Great Basin Station & Alpine Cabin, and Stuart Guard Station
See you next month for part two!
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Come visit us!
Discover Manti-La Sal National Forest's diverse terrain- from mountains to scale, trails to explore, waters to fish, and abundant camping areas perfect for creating family traditions. Scenic byways and backways offer motorists stunning vista views.
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