Specifications include, but are not limited to: The Dixie National Forest (DNF) is proposing to carry out large, landscape-level vegetation treatments as part of the ongoing efforts to confront the wildfire crisis, protect communities, and improve resilience on the Pine Valley Ranger District (Confronting the Wildfire Crisis: A Strategy for Protecting Communities and Improving Resilience in America’s Forests) around the community of Pine Valley, in Washington County, Utah. The area of potential effect (APE) of the Red Pond (802 acres), 8 Mile Bench (1,013 acres), Hyatt Springs (478 acres) of FY25 WCSL Treatment Units covers a total of 1,764 acres. An inventory report, GIS data entry, and data entry into the Heritage NRM Mobile Database will be required for this survey. By increasing fuels treatments over time, promoting community readiness, and supporting postfire recovery and restoration, the aim is to reduce the exposure of infrastructure and natural resources to uncharacteristic wildfires. The proposed vegetation treatments will mitigate wildfire risks to St. George and neighboring communities, especially in the wildland-urban interface. The goal is to create and maintain healthy, fire-adapted landscapes that minimize risks to communities both during and after wildfires. This would be accomplished using a wide range of tools, both mechanical and non-mechanical, and over the course of multiple years. Proposed vegetation treatments include mechanical and hand cutting/thinning. Proposed activities related to vegetation treatments include the creation of staging areas and piling areas, using existing system roads and trails, road maintenance, heavy equipment, vehicle travel, and skidding trees/vegetation cross-country. Heavy equipment will use a range of machinery, including bulldozers, excavators, masticators, hot saws, feller bunchers, skidders, delimbers/processors, loaders, forwarders, tractors, etc. Hand tools include the use of chainsaws, Pulaski’s, shovels, rogue hoes, etc. Both pile burning and broadcast-prescribed burning will occur after the mechanical and non-mechanical phases have been implemented. Seeding will also occur after implementation including removal of the above-ground vegetation and may include shallow tilling.
