INTRODUCTION 



Passage of the Federal Endangered Species Act of 197 3 and 

 subsequent recognition of the value of conserving biotic 

 diversity (Wilson 1988) have resulted in many government agencies 

 becoming active in species conservation. Surveys to determine 

 the location and size of populations of rare species are being 

 conducted on public lands throughout the west. These surveys are 

 necessary in any species conservation program; however, knowing 

 the location and size of populations at any one point in time is 

 only the first step in a long-term protection strategy. (Sutter 

 1986) . Understanding the population dynamics of long-lived 

 perennials is especially difficult because noticeable changes 

 usually occur slowly, and important growth-limiting population- 

 level events, such as bouts of recruitment or catastrophic 

 mortality may occur only at infrequent intervals (Braughman and 

 Murphy 1990) . Thus, long-term monitoring of growth, fecundity, 

 recruitment and mortality is essential for understanding the 

 condition and trends of plant populations, particularly long- 

 lived, slow-growing species. 



Shoshonea (Shoshonea pulvinata Evert & Constance) is a long- 

 lived, mat-forming perennial in the Carrot Family (Apiaceae) . 

 This recently described species (Evert and Constance 1982) 

 comprises a monotypic genus endemic to the Beartooth and Pryor 

 mountain ranges of Carbon County, Montana and the Absaroka and 

 Owl Creek ranges of Park and Fremont counties, Wyoming (Lesica 

 and Shelly 1988) . In Montana, shoshonea is generally restricted 

 to shallow, calcareous soils of exposed limestone outcrops, rims, 

 ridgetops and talus slopes at 6,800-7,800 ft (Lesica and Shelly 

 1988) . In Montana, there are no apparent, immediate threats to 

 populations of shoshonea. However, the species is threatened in 

 the Beartooth Mountains by potential mining or oil and gas 

 development and, in the Pryor Mountains, by grazing of wild 

 horses. The species is ranked as G2G3/S1 (globally threatened, 

 state endangered) by the Montana Natural Heritage Program and is 

 considered sensitive in Montana (Lesica and Shelly 1991) . 

 Shoshonea is listed as sensitive by Region One of the U.S. Forest 

 Service (Lesica and Shelly 1991) and is a candidate for listing 

 as a threatened or endangered species by the U.S. Fish and 

 Wildlife Service (USDI-FWS 1990) . 



The purpose of this study is to learn details of the life 

 history of Shoshonea pulvinata by following mapped individuals 

 for many consecutive years. In addition, results of the 

 monitoring can be used to detect overall population trends at 

 these sites. Permanent monitoring transects were established at 

 three sites in 1991 (Lesica and Achuff 1991) . Here I report the 

 results of the first two years of the study. 



