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H. LAND OWNERSHIP 



All three known L. humi lis sites are located on 

 lands administered by Region 1 (Northern Region) 

 of the U.S. Forest Service, on the Bitterroot 

 National Forest. In addition, all known sites are 

 within the Selway-Bi tterroot Wilderness Area. The 

 East St. Joseph Peak (002) occurrence is just west 

 of the wilderness boundary, and there is a 

 possibility that a small number of plants may 

 occur outside the boundary on the east-facing 

 slope below the summit. 



II. ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS 



A. THREATS TO CURRENTLY KNOWN POPULATIONS: The most 

 imminent threat to the continued existence of L. 

 humi lis , at or near its present level of abundance, is 

 from recreational use of the hiking trail and summit 

 area on the St. Mary Peak (001) site. The trail (#116) 

 traverses the south-facing slope of St. Mary Peak 

 through the southeastern portion of the population; it 

 then ascends to the summit, in a series of switchbacks, 

 along the northeastern edge of the south subpopulation. 

 However, once the trail reaches an elevation of 2683 m. 

 (8800 ft.), which is the lowermost limit of the L. 

 humi lis population, it was noted that some off-trail 

 hiking directly to the summit is occurring. Such use 

 is possibly leading to impacts on the main portion of 

 this subpopulation. 



The East St. Joseph (002) and St. Joseph (003) Peak 

 sites occur in areas which are not currently accessible 

 via maintained trails. However, some occasional 

 recreational use undoubtedly occurs in these areas, 

 which might lead to some minor impacts on the 

 populations. Other impacts, via resource management, 

 are not known at this time. 



B. MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND RESPONSE: The degree to which 

 L. humi lis tolerates habitat disturbance is not known 



in detail. As discussed previously, it shows a 

 preference for more open microsites at the St. Mary 

 Peak (001) location, which suggests that it may be able 

 to colonize disturbed soil areas. However, the need 

 for protected sites for seed germination in the harsh 

 alpine environment may moderate this response. The 

 most direct impacts on the plants, through trampling, 

 may be leading to a decline in the size of the 

 population on St. Mary Peak (001). 



