3. REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY: Unknown. 



G. POPULATION ECOLOGY 



1. BIOLOGICAL INTERACTIONS 



a. COMPETITION: This low-growing species is crowded out except 

 under sparse vegetation. 



b. HERBIVORY: None known. 



H. LAND OWNERSHIP: The two Carter County occurrences of this 



species are on public land: Medicine Rocks State Park (EG #002) 

 and Custer National Forest (EG #003). The Dawson County _ 

 occurrence seems to be on private land, though the location is 

 not precisely known and there is State School Land in the 

 vicinity. It may or may not be on the same tract leased for the 

 radio tower. 



I. ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS 



1. THREATS TO CURRENTLY KNOWN POPULATIONS: There are no known 

 current threats. The habitat supporting Moss phlox is very 

 vulnerable to invasion by leafy spurge ( Euphorbia esula) , 

 but there are no known on-site encroachments of the weed 

 known from the vicinty at this time. 



2. MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND RESPONSE: Wildfire passed through 

 the Medicine Rocks State Park population (EG #002) the year 

 before it was first found there. Plants observed were 

 vigorous, and it was thought that the affect of the 

 particular fire event was neutral if not positive. 



J. SUMMARY: Moss phlox ( Phlox andicola ) is a watch species on the 



Big Dry and Powder Riveer Resource Areas of the BLM. Despite the 

 extensive sandstone outcrops along the northern end of the study 

 area, it could not be found there and may be restricted to the 

 younger formations on a few upland buttes as found just outside 

 of McCone County near Mount Antelope. 



