Montana. One species that flowers in May and 

 June, and is likely to also occur at this site is 

 Cypripedium passerinum (sparrow ' s-egg lady's- 

 slipper) . Another possible associate is 

 Antennaria pulcherrima (showy pussytoes) . Both of 

 these species are on the U.S. Forest Service 

 Region 1 Sensitive Plant List. 



The site is on low-angle slopes (0-3%), at 5,640 

 feet in elevation. Other sites within Montana 

 have slopes that range from 0-10%, and elevations 

 that range from 4,560 to 5,920 feet. 



F. POPULATION DEMOGRAPHY AND BIOLOGY 



1. REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY: Although Orchis 

 rotundifolia is rhizomatous, it is apparently 

 short-lived and depends upon seed production to 

 maintain population sizes (Luer, 1975) . 



2. POPULATION SIZE AND CONDITION: The Ear Mountain 

 population contains approximately 800 plants. 

 Other populations in Montana range in size from 

 100 to 3,000+ plants. The average population size 

 is approximately 760. The total number of plants 

 observed in Montana to date is approximately 

 13,000-15,000. Luer (1975) has found that 

 population sizes for this species generally 

 fluctuate from year to year. 



II. ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS 



A. THREATS TO THE POPULATION: Currently there appear to be 

 no threats to this population of Orchis rotundifolia . 

 However, any activity that might alter the water regime 

 or overstory at the site would be likely to affect this 

 population. 



B. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MAINTAINING VIABLE POPULATIONS: 

 The following recommendations are made to insure the 

 long-term persistence of the O. rotundifol ia population 

 on the Ear Mountain Outstanding Natural Area: 



1. Protection of this representative population 



should be a priority. Monitoring studies would 

 increase information on the long term 'viability 

 and stability of this population. The grazing 

 allotment is currently held by The Nature 

 Conservancy. The allotment is for 15 horses from 

 July 5-September 5 (39 AUMs) on this piece of land 

 (945 acres) . It is currently not grazed to 



