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<br />MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY <br /> <br />l <br />~ <br /> <br />o <br />o <br />/-.. <br />o <br /> <br />MANAGEMENT mSTORY <br /> <br />The majority of the Greater Sagers Wash watershed is part of a much larger area in <br />southeast Utah, known as the Cisco Desert, that was heavily overgrazed by cattle and sheep <br />from the 1880's until the 1930's. In 1934 the Taylor Grazing Act was passed and as a result <br />the numbersiof cattle and sheep grazing the area were reduced significantly. With the reduction <br />in livestock numbers, range conditions improved and continue to improve as more intensive <br />livestock management is implemented. However, loss of top soil due to overgrazing of the area <br />during the: early years has resulted in reduced productivity of some soils in the watershed area. <br />AcceleratCd erosion has resulted from excessive runoff which is occurring from unstable soils <br />with sparSe vegetative cover. This runoff has resulted in the formation of rills and gullies, some <br />over fifteen feet deep. Other uses occurring within the Greater Sagers Wash watershed that may <br />contrib'ute to accelerated erosion include oil and gas production, road building, and OHV use. <br />Natural geologic erosion, most closely related to the Badlands and rock outcrops, occurs <br />extens,ively throughout the Greater Sagers Wash Watershed and is a significant contributor to <br />sedinlent and salt yields from the watershed. <br /> <br />Efforts to restabilize the watershed have occurred since the first stockwater pond was <br />constructed in the 1880's. Since then ranchers and federal agencies have constructed numerous <br />impoundments designed to provide water for livestock. The impoundments also provided short <br />term sediment storage. A large number of stockwater ponds are in use around the watershed <br />today, Projects specifically designed to control erosion, sediment, and salt were initiated in the <br />1950's with the construction of the "Cisco Pits and Contour Furrows" in the lower section of <br />the Greater Sagers Wash watershed. The project was conducted in cooperation with Utah State <br />University and several scientific papers are available regarding various aspects of the project. <br /> <br />With the passing of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of 1974 (Public Law <br />93-320) and subsequent public laws, the Department of the Interior was mandated to implement <br />salinity (salt) control action in the Colorado River Basin. In 1985 the Greater Sagers Wash <br />Watershed was identified as one of the major salt producing watersheds in the Moab District. <br />Approximately 60 percent of the Greater Sagers Wash Watershed is characterized by highly <br />saline Mancos Shale-derived soils with sparse vegetative cover, high rates of erosion, and high <br />peak flows. In 1985 a project was initiated in the upper Sagers Wash watershed in an effort to <br />determine the potential for various earthen structures to decrease sediment and salt yield to the <br />Colorado River. Between 1985 and 1990 twelve earthen structures including detention dams, <br />retention dams, and water spreaders were constructed. In 1990 the Bureau of Land Management <br />and the Bureau of Reclamation began a cooperative research study in an effort to detennine the <br />effects of the earthen structures on runoff and salt yield to the Colorado River. <br /> <br />iv <br />