wetlands supporting Carex parryana ssp. idahoa 

 should adhere to the published standards and 

 guidelines. Livestock grazing on these mesic 

 sites should be light to moderate; full 

 utilization of graminoid vegetation by livestock 

 should be avoided. 



The 1997 guidelines for livestock grazing 

 management for the Butte District call for 

 monitoring of wetland and riparian area 

 conditions. Monitoring the abundance of Carex 

 parryana ssp. idahoa in those pastures in which it 

 occurs as a common component of the vegetation 

 could prove advantageous. The needed information 

 on grazing response for this rare plant can be 

 obtained in this way, and the response of C. 

 parryana ssp. idahoa should mirror the meadow 

 vegetation as a whole since it is considered a 

 highly palatable species with a growth form 

 similar to the sod-forming community dominants. 



2. RESEARCH NEEDS: Surveys for populations of Carex 

 parryana ssp. idahoa populations on private land 

 should be made to determine their size and extent. 

 The effects of livestock grazing and haying on 

 populations of C. parryana ssp. idahoa should be 

 determined. The optimum grazing regimes for 

 conservation of C. parryana ssp. idahoa should be 

 determined. 



3. STATUS RECOMMENDATIONS 



a. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Carex 



parryana ssp. idahoa is known only from a 

 small area of southwest Montana and southeast 

 Idaho. The plant is common in the headwaters 

 of Big Sheep Creek, locally common in the 

 Centennial Valley and rare elsewhere in 

 Montana. Carex parryana ssp. idahoa is known 

 from 32 sites in Montana, and many others 

 probably occur on private land. It occurs in 

 drier ecotonal zones around subirrigated wet 

 meadows associated with springs and low 

 gradient streams in high-elevation valleys, a 

 habitat that is uncommon throughout most of 

 the plant's range. Carex parryana ssp. 

 idahoa is palatable and subject to livestock 

 grazing throughout its range; its habitat is 

 usually preferred by cattle. Much of the 

 habitat on private land is mowed for hay. It 

 is reasonable to assume that Carex parryana 



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