collection, again from the vicinity of Lolo Hot 

 Springs, in 1951. In a note written to the 

 University of Montana Herbarium <P. Lesica et^ al . ; 

 Appendix A, p. 33) on 13 January 1986, Dr. Harvey 

 related the following: 



I had the advantage of talking to both llrs. Chase 

 and the aan who guided her on that trip on Mhich 

 the holotype of this species was collected. Their 

 inforiation Nas very general to wit - boggy 

 ■eadoN) Lolo Not Springs. Hy speciien caie froo 

 the north side of the road about 1000 yds. above 

 the SMiiiing pool in an area Mhich Mas destroyed 

 not iore than a few years later when so«e 

 construction Mas done nearby. 



Since this last collection, the Lolo Hot Springs 

 area has been extensively developed, and despite 

 intensive searching in the immediate area, 

 the taxon has not been relocated there. The Lolo 

 Hot Springs area has been searched by a number of 

 botanists, including Dr. C. Leo Hitchcock, Klaus 

 Lackschewi tz , Peter Lesica, and Dr. Thomas 

 Watson. Some of these searches also included the 

 meadow areas just south of the hot springs, and 

 areas in the nearby Lee Creek and E. Fork Lolo 

 Creek drainages (P. Lesica, pers. comm.). 

 Hitchcock et. al_- (1969) speculate about the 

 possible extinction of the taxon: "(a)ttempts to 

 recollect this plant have been unsuccessful, and 

 it is assumed that the "boggy meadow" in which it 

 was collected has been so altered that other 

 plants of this nature (if such ever existed) have 

 been destroyed." Thus, Tr isetum or thochaetum has 

 been listed by the U.S. Fish and UJildlife Service 

 (U.S. Department of Interior, 1985) as a C2* taxon 

 (Category 2 taxon which is possibly extinct). 



In 1985, the Montana Natural Heritage Program 

 (MTNHP) was contracted by the U.S. Fish and 

 Wildlife Service, with funds appropriated under 

 Section 15 of the Endangered Species Act, to 

 conduct a status survey of this taxon (Order No. 

 60181-2197-5). In July, 1986, field surveys were 

 conducted by the author, with assistance from 

 Ginger V. King, a volunteer for MTNHP. Areas 

 surveyed included the Lolo Hot Springs vicinity, 

 and meadow areas in four adjacent drainages: East 

 Fork Lolo Creek, West Fork Lolo Creek, Lee Creek, 

 and Granite Creek, all in Missoula County, 

 Montana. In addition, two areas in the Packer 

 Meadows vicinity, in adjacent Idaho County, Idaho, 

 were surveyed. Though not relocated near Lolo Hot 



