Sensitive plant species surveys, Butte District, Beaverhead and Madison Counties, Montana

216 Pages·1996·17.3 MB·English

by  Heidel, Bonnie L

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MONTANASTATELIBRARY
3 0864 0010 1656
SENSITIVE PLANT SPECIES SURVEYS
BUTTEDISTRICT,BEAVERHEADANDMADISONCOUNTIES,MONTANA
BUREAUOFLANDMANAGEMENT
By:
BonnieL.HeidelandJimVanderhorst
MontanaNaturalHeritageProgram
StateLibraryBuilding
P.O.Box201800
1515E.6thAvenue
Helena,MT 59620-1800
STATE DOCUMENTS COLLECTION
For:
AUG 1 V1997
BureauofLandManagement MONTANASTATELIBRARY
BillinPg.sO,.MBTox5396180070-6800 HELEN1A5,15MEO.N6TtAhNAAVE5.9620
Stanunalyx. tea
AgreementNo. 1422-E950-0006
TaskOrderNo.34
PI r/ic'/ DM
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February 1996
.".V
1996MontanaNaturalHeritageProgram
Thisdocumentshouldbecitedasfollows:
Heidel B L.andJ.Vanderhorst. 1996.SensitiveplantsurveysinBeaverheadandMadisoncounties,
'mT.UnpublishedreporttotheBureauofLandManagement.MontanaNaturalHeritage
Program,Helena.85pp.plusappendices.
EXECUTIVESUMMARY
Systematicsensitiveplantspeciessurveyswereconductedinthreestudyareasonlandsadministeredby
theBureauofLandManagement(BLM)intheButteDistrict,primarilyintheDillonResourceArea. A
totalofthirteensensitivespeciesweredocumentedin46newoccurrences. Theacquirednew
informationroundsoutthesensitivespeciesresourcebaselineintheDillonResourceArea,as
highlightedbelow:
RelativeabundancewasdocumentedfortwowatchspeciesthatarerelativelycommonintheBig
HoleandGrasshopperstudyareas,respectively: AstragalusplatytropisandTownsendianuttaUii
Significantnewinformationwascollectedfortwospecies,KochiaamericanaandOryzopsis
contracta,whichwerevirtuallyunknowninMontanabeforethisstudyandunknownfromBLM
lands.
Significantnewinformationwascollectedforsixsensitivespecies,twoofwliichare
recommendedforchangetowatchdesignation. Largestknownpopulationsofthefollowing
geographicallyrestrictedorgloballyraresensitivespeciesweredocumented,sheddinglighton
thehabitatrequirementsandcomplementarymanagementactionsintheGrasshopperStudy
Area: Astragalusscaphoides.Astragalusterminalis,Lesquerellapulchella,andLomatium
attenuatum. LargestknownpopulationsoftheperipheralspeciesStephanomeriaspinosawere
alsofoundintheUpperMadisonValleyStudyArea.
InformationwascollectedforErigeronlinearis, Lesquerellapulchella, andLomatium
attenuatumatnewpopulationorsubpopulationsitesfromsettingsofhuman-causeddisturbance,
sheddinglightonhabitatrequirementsandeffectsofdisturbance.
Finally,additionaldistributioninformationwascollectedonspeciesthatwereonceconsideredas
StateSpeciesofSpecialConcern,includingsomewhichremainontheWatchListbecauseof
theirlimiteddistribution.
Thisworkdocumentsthesensitivespeciesthatarepresentineachofthestudyareasinorderto
determinespeciesstatusandmanagementneedsandtodevelopalllevelsofmanagementplansonBLM
landsinandadjoiningtheseareas.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
WethankthefollowingBureauofLandManagementprofessionalsfortheirinterestandhelpful
discussions includingDonHeinze,SandyBrooks,BrianHockett,andSallySovey. Information
providedbyWalterFertigoftheWyomingNaturalDiversityDatabasegreatlyaidedinreviewing
rangewidespecies'status. UseoftheherbariaatMontanaStateUniversityandtheUniversityof
Montanaisgratefullyacknowledged. TheGISmapswereproducedbyCedronJones. Data
processingandreportproductionassistanceorencouragementweregratiouslyprovidedby
KatharineJurist,DebbieDover,MargaretBeerandCedronJones.
..
TABLEOFCONTENTS
Page
INTRODUCTION ^
I.
STUDYAREAS ^
II.
METHODS ^°
III.
IV. RESULTS ^^
A. BIGHOLESTUDYAREA
1 Astragalusplatytropis ^°
2. Kochiaamericana ^
3. Phacelialutea ^^
B. GRASSHOPPERSTUDYAREA
1 Astragalusscaphoides ^°
2. Astragalusterminalis '^
3. Erigeronlinearis ^^°
4. Lesquerellapulchella
^^
5. Loniatiumattenuatum
6. Oryzopsiscontracta 4^R°
7. Phaceliaincana -^^
8. Sphaeromeriaargentea -"
9. Taraxacumeriophorum "-
10. Townsendianuttallii ^^
C. UPPERMADISONRIVERVALLEY
1. Astragalusterminalis '^
2. Stephanomeriaspinosa '°
VI. DISCUSSION ^^
VII. LITERATURECITED ^^
APPENDICES
AppendixA. Preliminarylistoftargetspeciespotentiallyoccurringinthestudyareas.
AppendixB. SurveyroutesforBLMsensitiveplantspeciessearches.
AppendixC. ElementoccurrencerecordsandmapsofallStateSpeciesofSpecialConcerninthestudy
areas.
AppendixD. Colorxeroxesofsensitivespeciesandtheirhabitats.
TABLESANDFIGURES
Page
Table 1. Fieldworkschedule 10
Table2. Targetspeciesdocumentedinthestudyareas 13
Figure 1. ButteDistrictStudyAreas 4
Figure2. BigHoleStudyArea 5
Figure3. GrasshopperStudyArea 6
Figure4. UpperMadisonValleyStudyArea 7
Figure5. SageCreekStudyArea(treatedseparatelyfromthisreport) 8
Figure6. SensitiveplantspeciesintheButteDistrictStudyAreas 14
Figure7. Astragalusplatytropisillustration 17
Figure8. Astragalusplatytropisdistribution 18
Figure9. Kochiaamericanaillustration 24
Figure 10.Kochiaamericanadistribution 25
Figure11.Phacelialuteaillustration 2S
Figure 12.Astragalusscaphoidesillustration 30
Figure 13.Astragalusscaphoidesdistribution 31
Figure 14.Erigeronlinearisillustration 35
Figure 15.Erigeronlinearisdistribution 36
Figure 16.Lesquerellapulchellaspecimenxerox 39
Figure 17.Lesquerellapulchelladistribution 40
Figure 18.Lomatiumattenuatumillustration 45
Figure 19.Lomatiumattenuatumdistribution 46
Figure20. Oryzopsiscontractaillustration 50
Figure21.Oryzopsiscontractadistribution 51
Figure22.Phaceliaincanaillustration 54
Figure23.Phaceliaincanadistribution 55
Figure24.Sphaeromeriaargenteaillustration 58
Figure25.Sphaeromeriaargenteadistribution 59
Figure26. Taraxacumeriophorumillustration 63
Figure27. Taraxacumeriophorumdistribution 64
Figure28. Townsendianuttalliispecimenxerox 67
Figure29. Townsendianuttalliidistribution 68
Figure30.Astragalusterminalisillustration 72
Figure31.Astragalusterminalisdistribution 73
Figure32.Stephanomeriaspinosaillustration 77
Figure33.Stephanomeriaspinosadistribution 78

INTRODUCTION
Sensiti\'especiessurveyswereconductedatthelandscapelevelinthreeareasontheButteDistrictofthe
BureauofLandManagement(BLM)inBeaverhead,MadisonandSilverBowcounties,Montana. A
fourthareaoftheDillonResourceAreawassurveyedinconcertwiththisstudybutreportedseparately
(LesicaandVanderhorst 1995).
TheprimarypurposeofthestudywastofillcriticalgapsintheDillonResourceAreabotanicalbaseline
bytargetingkeylandscapeareasandsensitivespeciestargetsthathadnotyetbeensystematically
addressed. Thisstudyshouldprovideaframeworkfordeterminingwhichspeciesaretrulysensitive,the
habitatrequirementsofthosespecies,andinitialmanagementconsiderations. Priorityw-asplacedon
locatingandevaluatingthosevascularplantspeciesconsideredfordesignationassensitivebythe
MontanaStateOfficeoftheBureauofLandManagement(BureauofLandManagement1995). An
ancillarypurposewastocollectinformationonandtoreviewthestatusofotherMontanaStatePlant
SpeciesofSpecialConcernthatmaywarrantconsiderationbytheBLMasbeingsensitive(Heidel
1995).
Sensitivespeciesprovidepotentialpharmaceutical,agriculturalandgeneticresources. Theyarealso
indicatorsofspecialhabitatsandhabitatconditions,therebyaugmentingtheunderstandingandcapacity
tomanagethelandscapeanditsprocesses. Safeguardingvulnerablemembersofthefloraandfaunais
instrumentalinmaintainingthecomplementofnativespeciesthatareadaptedtosouthwesternMontaiia,
aswellasinmaintainingtheecosystemstowhichtheybelong.
Thisworkdoesnotrepresentexhaustivedocumentationofallsensitiveplantlocations,butdoesconsist
ofsystematicsearchestodocumentthefullcomplementofsensitivespeciesinthestudyareas. Itbuilds
uponthebodyofinformationgarneredfrombotanicalsurveysfortheBLMtodetemiinethestatusof
rareplantspeciesintheButteDistrict,toidentifyconservationpriorities,tointegratethepracticesand
benefitsofsensitivespeciesmanagementinBureauplanningandoperations(Willoughbyetal. 1992),
andtoprovideabaselineforreferenceatalllevelsofDistrictplanningandoperations,fromthatofthe
individualprojecttothosewhichspantheDistrictorResourceArea.
STUDYAREAS
Thisstudywasdesignedtofillmajorgeographicgapsinthepictureofbotanicaldiversityatthe
southendoftheButteDistrict,withparticularemphasisontheDillonResourceArea. Thethree
studyareaswereidentifiedusingavailablebiologicalinformationandalsobyconsultationwith
BureauofLandManagementpersonnelintheDillonandHeadwatersResourceAreas. These
areashadnotpreviouslybeensystematicallysurveyedforsensitiveplantspeciesbutwere
consideredashavinghighpotentialforsensitiveplantspecies. Areasinclude:theBigHole
StudyAreawestofTwinBridges,theGrasshopperStudyAreawestofDillon,andtheUpper
MadisonValleystudyareasouthofEnnis(Figure 1). AfourthareaaroundSageCreekwas
surveyedduringthesametimeandreportedseparately(LesicaandVanderhorst 1995). Allareas
arelocatedmainlywithinBeaverheadCounty,butalsotoalesserextentinMadisonCountyand
inacomerofSilverBowCounty.
ThethreeBLMstudyareastreatedinthisreportareinlowelevationsettingsofintennontane
valleysorfoothills,andtheyconstitutethelargestshareofpubliclandinthesesettings. Theyare
administerednotasdiscretemanagementunitsbutasallotmentsandotherprojectunits. The
namesusedtorefertotheseparatestudyareasarestrictlyforthepurposeofdistinguishingthem
inthisreport.
Climateofallthreeareasissemi-arid. TheclosestweatherstationsareinDillonat5218ft.,and
inEnnisat4953ft. MeanmonthlytemperaturesinDillonforJanuaryandJulyare20.2°Fand
66.4°F,respectively;meanannualprecipitationis9.6inches(NOAA 1982). Meanmonthly
temperaturesinEnnisforJanuaryandJulyare22.6°Fand64.7°F,respectively;meanannual
precipitationis 11.5inches(NOAA 1982). Atbothstations,MayandJunearethewettest
months.
Thestudyareasarewithinanareaofthestatepossessinganexceptionallydi\'ersefloraand
relativelyhighlevelsofvascularplantendemism(Lesicaetal. 1984). Theendemicspeciesare
referredtoaseitherstateendemicsfoundonlyinsouthwesternMontana,orasregionalendemics
foundalsoinimmediatelyadjoiningareasofneighboringstates. Therestofthesouthwestern
Montanafloraismadeupofmanyspecieswithbiogeographicaffinitiesthatincludethecommon
NorthernRockyMountainandtheGreatPlainselements,aswellasGreatBasin,Southern
RockyMountain,SnakeRiverPlain,andColumbiaPlateauspecies. Manyarearidclimate
speciesfavoredbythecombinationofsoil,climate,andlocationfeaturesuniquetoMontana.
Thus,thepresenceofspecieswhichareatthemarginsoftheirrangesisalsohigh,andthe
majorityoftheMontanaSpeciesofSpecialConcernfromthisareaaremadeupoftaxawliichare
peripheralinthestate.
Allofthethreepresentstudyareaunitsareknowntoharborsensitivespecies,buttheyhadnot
previouslybeensystematicallysurveyed. Botanicalstatussurveystudiesconductedinornear
thefourstudyareashaveprovidedsingle-speciesbaselines,includingsur\'eystorArabisfecunda
(Lesica1985, 1993,Schassberger1988, \990)Astragalusscaphoides{Lesica\984),Lesquerella