The expertise and interest of all USFWS personnel with whom we worked is 



AcknOwlcd-KCniCntS gratefully acknowledged, along with the project support of the U.S. Fish and 



Wildlife Service (USFWS) - Upper Missouri/ Yellowstone River Ecosystem 

 Team and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Ecological Services Office in 

 Helena. We thank Steve Martin of Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge 

 whose interest and support catalyzed this project. Jim Stutzman - USFWS 

 Montana Wildlife Habitat Office lent initial project support in an agreement 

 between the Montana Partners for Wildlife Program and Montana Natural 

 Heritage Program. Refuge coordination and access were gratiously provided 

 by Mike Rabenberg (Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge), Steve Martin 

 (Benton Lake National Wildlife Rehige), Mike Hedrick, Bill Berg, Bill 

 Haglan, Everett Russell, and Matt DeRosier (Charles M. Russell National 

 Wildlife Refuge) and Daniel Gomez (Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife 

 Refuge); with able navigation and assistance provided by skippers Glen 

 Guenther and Jody Jones. The report was reviewed in draft form, and 

 comments and corrections were provided by Steve Martin, Bill Haglan, Tedd 

 Gutzke, Mike Rabenberg, and Jim McCoUum. 



This work also benefited from the time and skills of Montana Natural 

 Heritage (MTNHP) staff Jim Vanderhorst provided botanical expertise in 

 field inventory at one site. Scott Lee-Chadde digitized sampling locations 

 and contributed GIS map products. Steve Chadde and Cedron Jones 

 conducted the original work in years prior to this project that set up the 

 databases with RNA information, subsequently used to plan this inventory 

 and provide a framework for compiling new information. The Biological 

 Conservation Database and its linked series of datasets represent the contri- 

 butions of many MTNHP staff, as well as the work of biologists statewide. 



This project was funded under two, separate one-year work order and 

 challenge cost-share agreements between the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

 Program, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Ecological Services Office in 

 Helena, and the Montana Natural Heritage Program. 



