State striving to 'rehabilitate' watersheds

VERNON, Tooele County — This is rugged country, where sagebrush and juniper trees dominate a landscape that's marked by rolling hills, a couple of homes and one-lane roads.

State wildlife officials are spending millions of dollars to preserve watersheds and rehabilitate native habitat in areas like this across Utah. So far, about 400,000 acres statewide have been treated and improved. The aim is to help keep endangered species, such as the sage grouse, off of the endangered-species list, improve watersheds and restore habitat.

Utah's efforts have been recognized by other states, which are now following its lead with similar restoration projects.

At first glance, the land here appears dry and unproductive. But state and federal officials, local cattle ranchers and conservationists say the dusty land is a top watershed area, and critical habitat for animals. They're working in several areas in the region to improve the land through a program known as the Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative.

The initiative is managed by the Utah Department of Natural Resources and Utah Partners for Conservation and Development (UPCD), which has members from more than 15 state and federal agencies. Close to $11 million has been spent on the Utah land restoration since the program's creation, and at least 920 projects have been completed or are under way, said Rory Reynolds, Watershed Program Director with the natural-resources department.

The projects range from tearing out swaths of juniper that have invaded sagebrush habitat to removing highly flammable and non-native cheat grass. This helps to stop soil erosion, create wildlife habitat, improve grazing conditions and ensure that runoff doesn't evaporate, said Reynolds.

It costs from $100 to $150 to rehabilitate an acre of land.

"You've got to do things now to ensure that our resources are available," he said.

During a tour this month of six rehabilitation sites near Vernon and the Rush Valley, Reynolds' work partner, A.J. Martinez, compared the projects to maintaining a house.

"If you don't maintain it, it will depreciate a lot," he said.

Maintenance and improvement were the goals five years ago, when the state first embarked on its initiative to improve watersheds.

In 2002, state leaders noticed that sagebrush and animals dependent on the desert plant were suffering as result of a seven-year drought. A campaign was started to restore and rehabilitate the sagebrush habitat. The effort then "morphed" into a project to improve watersheds — the Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative, said Ashley Green, habitat manager for the DWR's central region, and regional chairman of the UPCD.