stream terraces without substantial subirrigation often support 

 big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. tridentata) in southern 

 Beaverhead County. We believe that communities dominated by big 

 sagebrush, basin wildrye (Elymus cinereus) and western wheatgrass 

 {Agropyron smithii) were once common in southwest Montana, but 

 most of these bottomland habitats have been seriously degraded by 

 livestock grazing. Good condition examples of the Artemisia 

 tridentata tridentata /Elymus cinereus plant association are rare 

 in Montana. A good example of this plant community occurs on the 

 west side of Sage Creek in the Big Spring Gulch drainage. Public 

 lands along the bottom of the gulch should be managed to protect 

 this community if possible. 



Literature Cited 



Alt, D. and D. W. Hyndman. 1986. Roadside geology of Montana. 

 Mountain Press, Missoula, MT. 



Heidel, B. L. 1995. Montana plant species of special concern. 

 Montana Natural Heritage Program, Helena. 



Hermann, F. J. 1970. Manual of Carices of the Rocky Mountains 

 and Colorado Basin. USDA Forest Service Handbook No. 374. 

 Washington D.C. 



Hitchcock, C. L. and A. Cronquist. 1973. Flora of the Pacific 

 Northwest. University of Washington Press, Seattle. 



Kelso, S. 1987. Systematics and biogeography of the arctic and 

 boreal species of Primula. Ph.D. dissertation. University of 

 Alaska, Fairbanks. 



Lesica, P., G. Moore, K. M. Peterson and J. H. Rumely. 1984. 

 Vascular plants of limited distribution in Montana. Monograph 

 No. 2, Montana Academy of Sciences, Supplement to the Proceedings 

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Montana Native Plant Society. 1993. Guidelines for collection 

 of native plants. Kelseya 6(3): 4. 



National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. 1982. Monthly 

 normals of temperature, precipitation and heating and cooling 

 degree days. Montana, 1951-1980. National Climate Center, 

 Ashville, North Carolina. 



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