stems with flowers in among the leaves (Munz 

 1946) . 



B. PRESENT LEGAL OR OTHER FORMAL STATUS 



1. FEDERAL STATUS 



a. U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE: None. 



b. U.S. FOREST SERVICE: Aquilecfia brevistvla is 

 currently included on the list of sensitive 

 plant species for Region 1 (Northern Region) 

 of the U.S. Forest Service. Agency- 

 objectives and policy in the 1984 Forest 

 Service Manual provide for the management and 

 protection of sensitive species (Section 

 2670.32). Under these guidelines, the U.S. 

 Forest Service is to "(a) void or minimize 

 impacts to species whose viability has been 

 identified as a concern" (2670.32.2). 



2. STATE: Prior to the 1991 field season, Aguilegia 

 brevistyla was listed by the Montana Natural 

 Heritage Program (Achuff 1991) as "critically 

 imperiled in the state" (state rank = SI) . With 

 the addition of seven new locations from 1991 

 field surveys by U.S. Forest Service and Montana 

 Natural Heritage Program personnel, the state rank 

 will be changed to S2, "imperiled because of 

 rarity. " 



It is recommended as "sensitive" (any species, 

 that is known from a limited number of populations 

 in Montana) by Lesica and Shelly (1991) . 



3. OTHER STATUS: Aquileaia brevistvla is listed as 

 "rare and threatened in Wyoming" by the Wyoming 

 Natural Diversity Data Base (Marriott 1991) . 

 Although restricted to the Black Hills region of 

 South Dakota, this species is locally common there 

 (Dave Ode 1991) . 



C. DESCRIPTION 



1. GENERAL NONTECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: The short- 



styled columbine grows from 8-32 inches in height. 

 The branched stems are fuzzy-hairy, and bear 

 short-stemmed, compound leaves, each composed of 

 three maple leaf-shaped leaflets. Flowers droop 

 on short stems at the upper nodes, each composed 

 of five petals and five sepals. The petal blades 

 are white and rounded at the tip, while the 



