INTRODUCTION 



This report describes botanical surveys of select areas 

 on the Gallatin National Forest for sensitive plant species 

 and prospective sensitive plant species with pressing status 

 questions. A high priority was given to relocation of target 

 species which were known historically from the Forest but 

 which had not been collected or surveyed in recent years, 

 particularly those potentially affected by land use 

 activities. Surveys to determine the location and size of 

 rare plant populations represent initial steps in identifying 

 conservation priorities and developing protection strategies; 

 previous baseline surveys on the Gallatin National Forest 

 include studies by Mathews (1989) and Nixon (1993) . Secondary 

 goals were to inventory the general flora, and to organize the 

 Gallatin National Forest Herbarium and search it for records 

 of sensitive species. Fieldwork was centered in four areas of 

 the Forest: the Bridger Mountains, the Crazy Mountains, 

 Hyalite Canyon, and the upper Gallatin valley. 



Sensitive and watch species targets were identified using 

 the Sensitive Plant Field Guide (USDA Forest Service 1988, 

 with amendments as listed in Lesica and Shelly 1991) . 

 Prospective sensitive species were considered among the 

 Montana plant species of special concern list (Heidel and 

 Poole 1993) , taken to include all vascular plant taxa which 

 are "rare, endemic, disjunct, threatened, or endangered 

 throughout their range or in Montana, vulnerable to 

 extirpation from Montana, or in need of further research". 

 Sensitive and watch species, and Montana plant species of 

 special concern, will collectively be referred to as "target 

 species" in this report. 



THE STUDY AREAS 



1. Bridger Mountains 



This isolated range in the northern part of the Gallatin 

 National Forest, was formed by steep folding trending slightly 

 west of north (Alt and Hyndman 1986) . The range is capped by 

 Mesozoic sedimentary rocks, which lie on top of Paleozoic and 

 Precambrian formations. Madison limestone is exposed 

 extensively in the range. The spectacular cirque above Fairy 

 Lake is evidence of glaciation in the range. The mountains 

 rise from about 5,000 ft. at their western base in the 

 Gallatin Valley to just over 9,600 ft. on Sacagewea Peak. 



Vegetation types in the Bridgers which were surveyed 

 included riparian woodlands and thickets, sagebrush 

 grasslands, montane to alpine meadows, coniferous forests, and 

 rock outcrops. Habitat on the west side of the range is 

 somewhat warmer and dryer and the slopes are mostly 



