Sensitive plant species survey, Ashland District, Custer National Forest, Powder River and Rosebud Counties, Montana / by Bonnie L. Heidel and Hollis Marriott ; for Custer National Forest.

Abstract

Kansas. Susan Rinehart and Mike Munoz provided comments on draft copies of this report. This work was contracted by Custer National Forest with Montana Natural Heritage Program. State species of previously undetermined status 1 . Agastache foeniculum 59 2. Elatine americana 65 3. Evax prolifera 70 4. Geum canadense 77 5. Ipomopsis congesta var. pseudotypica 82 VI. DISCUSSION 90 VII. LITERATURE CITED 92 APPENDICES Appendix A -Preliminary list of sun'ey target species potentially occurring in Powder River and Rosebud counties. Appendix B -Ashland District areas surveyed for sensitive plant species.Appendix C -Element occurrence records and maps of species of special concern on the Ashland District.Appendix D-Preliminary list of vascular plants on the Ashland District.Appendix E -Color xeroxes of sensitive species and their habitats. STUDY AREACuster National Forest -Ashland District is located on the most rugged breaks and ridges between the Powder and Tongue River valleys, 5 miles east of Ashland and 42 miles west of Broadus, in Rosebud and Powder River counties. Its outline has an irregular "J" shape which curves inward along Otter Creek, extending about 41 miles north-south and up to 3 1 miles east-west ( Figure 1). The highly-dissected terrain drains in all directions, with the largest watercourses feeding into the Tongue River. Rolling uplands are broken by complex ridge systems, with particularly well-developed badlands topography at the southeast and west areas. The surface geology throughout is composed solely of the Tongue River Member of the Fort Union Formation, which consists of shallow marine sedimentary deposits from the Cretaceous and Tertiary Periods. Despite the uniform historical geology, the topography and stratigraphy are decidedly heterogeneous. The highly-dissected terrain is carved by water erosion. The horizontally-bedded outcrops include soft sandstones, silty sandstones, clayey shales and lignite. Areas with burnt lignite have baked and oxidized adjacent beds to produce brittle, erosion-resistant porcelainite (Warren 1959). Aster porteri Elyhordeum x moiitanse Elymus ambiguus Five more species collections are labeled with names that have no published synonymy in Kartesz (1994). They, too, warrant review and verification by taxonomic researchers. Anaphalis subalpina Astragalus hylophilus Lupinus pseudoparvi/Iorus Solidago concinna Tradescantia larimiensis species, collections were made and identifications finalized at the Rocky Mountain Herbarium, University of Wyoming (Laramie), or at Montana herbaria (Montana State University, andUniversity of Montana). Collections were also made of species for which the sighting represented a significant range extension based on distribution information in Dorn (1984). All specimens collected are deposited at Montana State University (MONT), with duplicates at the University of Montana (MONTU) and the U.S. Forest Service Regional Missoula Resource Center Herbarium (MRC). All vascular plants encountered at the appropriate mature phenological stage were id...

Botanical and vegetation survey of Carter County, Montana, Bureau of Land Management-administered lands / prepared by Jim Vanderhorst, Stephen V. Cooper, and Bonnie L. Heidel ; prepared for United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management.

“…Despite substrate differences, this stand on shale closely resembles in overall physiognomy and floristics those on the Custer National Forest which are on sandstone. It is also quite similar to stands sampled in northeastern and central Montana (Culwell et al 1986, Heidel 1996.…”

“…Prior to fieldwork in 1996 and 1997, the Biological Conservation Database was queried for the most current information on occurrences of plant species of special concern (Heidel 1996(Heidel , 1997 known from Carter County. The resulting lists of species became the primary study targets, with particular emphasis on Sensitive or Watch species as recognized by the BLM (USDI BLM 1996).…”

“…In the course of the study, any discovery of a Montana plant species not previously known from the county, or a native species not previously known from the state, represented potential additions to the study set. Studies conducted elsewhere in southeastern Montana were also used for reference in identifying species targets and habitat requirements Dueholm 1995, Heidel andMarriott 1996). We were also able to draw from the various works in the three-state area, including graduate theses, the Visher (1914) publication, and agency baseline studies, in considering other prospective plant species of special concern which might be found in Carter County.…”

“…tridentata / Pascopyrum smithii community confined to alluvial fans and terraces in southwestern Montana which has a remarkable floristic similarity to our ARTTSW / ELYLAN (PASSMI) plots. Heidel (1996) described an A. tridentata ssp. wyomingensis/Pascopyrum smithii type on upland breaks above the Missouri River in Fergus County (Heidel 1996).…”

“…Heidel (1996) described an A. tridentata ssp. wyomingensis/Pascopyrum smithii type on upland breaks above the Missouri River in Fergus County (Heidel 1996). However, our plots for this type in southeastern Montana have a much…”