NATURAL AREAS AJND REGIONS 



213 



highest weather station from which 

 records are available is Yellowstone 

 Park, 7733 ft. which shows a mean annual 

 air temperature of 31.4, an annual pre- 

 cipitation of 24.5 in. and an average 

 snowfall of 178 in. 



The alpine conditions may be studied 

 on the following National Forests: 



In different places within these forest 

 areas are smaller units of considerable 

 interest for study of characteristic flora 

 and fauna under natural conditions. 

 The Yellowstone and Glacier National 

 Parks offer a great variety of typical 

 conditions from low prairie to alpine and 

 glaciers with a great variety of lakes and 

 streams. These two parks contain typi- 

 cal forests of western yellow pine, 

 Douglas fir, Engelmann spruce, white- 

 bark pine, limber pine, lodgepole pine 

 and juniper. The fauna within these 

 two parks is rich, embracing many 

 species of bear, goat, sheep, elk, moose, 

 and fur-bearing mammals, as well as 

 birds, and fishes. 6 



The future may demand the preserva- 

 tion of additional natural areas within 

 Montana and northern Idaho. Areas 

 are desirable for the study of the hydro- 

 phytic and mesophytic forests of western 

 white pine, western red cedar, western 

 hemlock and grand fir in Idaho. For 

 this purpose three areas are listed in 

 northern Idaho in the Priest Lake region, 

 one of which, the Roosevelt Grove of 

 Giant cedar, has already been preserved. 

 The other two represent some of the best 

 and oldest stands of the rapidly vanish- 

 ing western white pine and associates. 



In addition to these three areas which 

 lie outside the National Parks another 

 area of western white pine occurs in the 

 Capt. Mullan park near Coeur d'Alene 



5 For Glacier National Park, see: Wild Animals of 

 Glacier National Park; U. S. Department of the 

 Interior, National Park Service (1918); and Flora of 

 Glacier National Park; Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 22: 

 Pt. 5 (1921). 



and a mesophytic formation is repre- 

 sented by the Heyburn park on Coeur 

 d'Alene Lake. The Rocky Mountain 

 National Monument near Helena should 

 also prove valuable. Some action will 

 be needed to have this last one preserved. 



The area near Anaconda where the 

 trees and vegetation for many miles 

 around have been killed by smelter 

 fumes is listed; also an area in western 

 yellow pine representative of the Black 

 Hills type in the Ouster National Forest 

 in southeastern Montana. 



The region generally is rich in al- 

 pine and subalpine conditions. These 

 abound within the two national parks. 

 There are listed a few places at high 

 elevations lying in the Clearwater Na- 

 tional Forest along the Lolo trail be- 

 cause it is doubtful whether similar 

 areas can be found within the parks. 

 These are flat alpine meadows like the 

 one near Cook Mountain. The old 

 mountain hemlock stands and the 

 heavy burns of 1910 and 1919 may also 

 be studied along the Lolo Trail and near 

 Cook Mountain in the Clearwater 

 National Forest. Alpine larch occurs 

 on the Kootenai-Priest River Divide in 

 northern Idaho. Alpine larch occurs 

 also within Glacier National Park but 

 mountain hemlock may be seen to best 

 advantage and best development along 

 the Bitterroot Divide and the Clear- 

 water Mountains in Idaho. 



In Carbon County, Montana, are 

 typical high altitude forests, timberline 

 conditions, glacial lakes and glaciers. 

 One of these glaciers has numerous grass- 

 hoppers imbedded in the ice. Elevations 

 5000 to 10,000 ft., precipitous. 



The burned areas near Cook Mountain 

 and the older burns near Upper Priest 

 Lake, will probably remain undisturbed 

 for many years, and the alpine areas will 

 remain in a natural state indefinitely. 



NATURAL AREAS 



Roosevelt Grove of Giant Red Cedar 



^[Coniferous Forests, Northwestern. In 

 Bonner Co., northern Idaho, within 

 Kaniksu National Forest. About 100 



