METHODS 



State lands of Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and 

 Parks, Region Five were assessed for the potential occurrence 

 of MPSSC as listed by Heidel and Poole (1993) . A total of 

 twenty-two sites were visited by Jim Vanderhorst (twenty sites) 

 on August 30-September 3, 1993 and by Bonnie Heidel (two sites, 

 Deadman Basin State Park and Selkirk Fishing Access Site) on 

 September 8, 1993. They included thirteen Fishing Access 

 Sites, two Trout Hatcheries, and seven State Parks (Table 1) . 

 Region Five lands which were not included in this study include 

 two Wildlife Management Areas and an additional twenty-five 

 Fishing Access Sites. 



Before fieldwork, the Montana Natural Heritage Program 

 Biological Conservation Database (BCD) was queried for all 

 occurrences of MPSSC in the six counties included in Region 

 Five, producing almost two hundred element occurrence records 

 for sixty-eight MPSSC in the six-county area (Table 2) . None 

 of the records had been documented on Montana Fish, Wildlife, 

 and Parks lands though some were based on collections in 

 proximity to state lands, with vague locality information. 

 Many of the sixty-eight MPSCC are alpine species, and the 

 potential for them to occur at the low elevations covered by 

 this project is remote, so the working target list excluded 

 alpine species (Table 3) . Most project area target species are 

 known only from Carbon and/or Big Horn Counties, a reflection 

 of the high degree of endemism centered in the Pryor Mountains 

 and Big Horn Canyon areas. Lesica and Shelley (1991) and other 

 field guides were consulted to determine the ecological niches 

 of these species to further narrow the list of targets. 



Due to the late season dates and paucity of background 

 information on the sites, only preliminary surveys could be 

 conducted. The preliminary surveys, or "rapid ecological 

 assessment", involved subjective classification of a site's 

 habitat and dominant vegetation, and assessment of the its 

 suitability for hosting MPSSC. In addition, systematic 

 searches were conducted in appropriate habitats for those few 

 MPSSC which could be easily identified in late summer. In the 

 sole instance when a MPSSC was found at a site, a complete 

 survey of that population was conducted and data were taken on 

 population numbers and boundaries, dominant and associated 

 species, and edaphic site attributes. 



This report presents a synopsis for each of the sites 

 visited which describes the dominant native and introduced 

 vegetation, assesses the potential for occurrences of MPSSC, 

 and makes recommendations of weed control strategies which 

 minimize the impacts on the native flora. Both common and 

 scientific plant names are used, in keeping with Dorn (1984) . 

 Other floras and guides consulted include Dorn (1988) , 

 Hitchcock and Cronquist (1973), Welsh et. al. (1987), and 

 Whitson et. al. (1987). 



