DISCUSSION 



Although these surveys did not reveal any populations of 

 rare plants which are immediately threatened, severe human- 

 caused impacts on the native flora were observed in some areas 

 and habitats on the Gallatin National Forest. Riparian zones, 

 in particular, are often degraded; they are restricted in area 

 and receive concentrated use by livestock and recreationists, 

 often resulting in trampled vegetation, bare ground, erosion, 

 and infestations of exotic and weedy taxa. Plant communities 

 over larger areas have also been impacted and homogenized by 

 heavy grazing, logging, and development of roads, dams and ski 

 slopes. Typically, large scale disturbances are concentrated 

 at lower and middle elevations, however, higher elevations are 

 increasingly impacted by recreation and in some cases the 

 alpine has been grazed by cattle with devastating effects on 

 the vegetation. 



The checkerboard landownership pattern in the Crazy 

 Mountains, with its effects on land use, access, and 

 regulation, has resulted in some of the most degraded habitats 

 observed among the study areas. Recreational impacts on 

 vegetation are particularly intense around easily accessed 

 lakes in the upper Big Timber Creek basin (e.g. Blue, Granite, 

 and Twin Lakes) , while grazing has resulted in severely 

 altered landscapes from the montane to the alpine along Sweet 

 Grass Creek. Management to reduce these pressures and to 

 reclaim the native vegetation in these areas should be 

 implemented. Preservation of large areas with intact native 

 floras, such as Sunlight Lake basin (already mostly on the 

 GNF) , should be a priority for land exchanges and acquisition 

 and for Wilderness designation. Examples of such pristine 

 habitats at lower elevations also need to be located and 

 preserved. 



Botanically, the Crazy Mountains are one of the least 

 explored ranges in Montana. Although few rare plants are 

 known from the range, further surveys are warranted, 

 especially considering the heavy use which some areas receive. 

 My survey in the range was extremely limited in scope, being 

 confined to some of the best traveled routes and targeting 

 historically reported species. The extremely wet, cold 

 growing season of 1993 also limited the project's 

 effectiveness by reducing accessibility and travel speed to 

 the range and by delaying plant development. A general 

 floristic inventory of the entire range, including the lower 

 elevations, would be useful as a first step in identifying 

 sensitive plants and habitats. Thesis work in the Flat Tops 

 and White River Plateau in Colorado (Vanderhorst 1993) 

 demonstrates the utility of this approach. Prior to floristic 

 survey of this area, four Colorado Plant Species of Special 

 Concern were known. In the course of two summers' fieldwork, 



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