20 



B. MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND RESPONSE: Little detailed 

 information exists regarding the response of 0. 

 rotundifolia to management practices such as grazing 

 and timber harvesting. Owing to its specialized 

 habitats and complex obligate interactions with soil 

 mycorrhizal fungi, it is not likely that the species 

 would respond favorably to such activities. Ecodata 

 studies recently established in Green Timber Basin and 

 along Beaver Creek will be useful in obtaining a more 

 detailed understanding of the species' response to 

 disturbance. 



C. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MAINTAINING VIABLE POPULATIONS: 

 The following recommendations are made to insure the 

 long-term persistence of viable populations of O. 

 rotundifolia on U.S. Forest Service lands in Montana: 



1. Protection of natural habitats which currently 

 support populations. Although afforded some 

 degree of protection by wilderness designation, 

 the two populations in the Bob Marshall Wilderness 

 Area should be considered in any proposed 

 recreational developments which may occur in the 

 vicinity of the known sites. Management plans 

 elsewhere on the Lewis & Clark National Forest 

 should take all other known populations into 

 consideration. 



2. Notification of U.S. Forest Service personnel of 

 locations on U.S.F.S. lands. To prevent 

 inadvertent impacts to known populations, all 

 appropriate personnel involved in planning should 

 be provided with detailed location information for 

 Q. rotundifolia . It is especially important that 

 Ranger District timber sale managers, engineers, 

 and range conservationists know the precise 

 locations, so that disturbance may be prevented. 



D. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER ASSESSMENT 



1. Further surveys in potential habitats. Further 

 field surveys may reveal the existence of 

 additional populations, especially in the Front 

 Range. Drainages in the Front Range which contain 

 seepage zones in Picea engelmannii forest types 

 are particularly likely to support additional 

 sites. Especially promising would be further 

 surveys in the North Fork Birch Creek drainage, 

 upstream from the known site. 



2. Establishment of monitoring studies to assess 

 population condition and status. In order to more 

 accurately determine the effects of habitat 

 alteration on populations of O. rotundifolia . 



