11 



Vegetation patterning in the Alpine is controlled primarily 

 by winter snow depth-exposure and summer moisture. The vegetation 

 types noted here can be arranged along these gradients. The 

 vegetation in the deepest, latest-melting snowbeds that are often 

 in hollows is dominated by Carex nigricans . In slightly shallower 

 snowbeds, often forming a ring around the Carex nigricans 

 vegetation, is a vegetation type dominated by Antennaria lanata . 



Areas with moderate snow depths are characterized by a heath 

 tundra dominated by Phyllodoce glandulif lora but also commonly 

 containing Vaccinium scoparium and Cassiope mertensiana . The most 

 exposed sites, which typically have very little snow cover in the 

 winter, contain the Dryas octopetala - Salix reticulata ssp. 

 nivalis vegetation type. Also characteristic of these sites are 

 Kobresia myosuroides and Carex nardina communities. 



On some sites, a graminoid tundra occurs with Festuca ovina , 

 Carex spp. (especially Carex phaeocephala ) , Poa cusickii and Poa 

 pattersonii most common. 



SUMMARY 



The Goat Flat Proposed Research Natural Area is located 

 southwest of Anaconda in the Anaconda Range along the Continental 

 Divide on the Deerlodge National Forest. Altitudes range from 

 about 8200 ft along the shore of Storm Lake to 9989 ft at the top 

 of Little Rainbow Mountain. 



Topographically, the area is mountainous and includes gently 

 sloping terrain southeast of Storm Lake, steep mountain slopes 

 rising above the lake basin to a number of peaks, and two small, 

 high-altitude plateaus including Goat Flat and the northeastern 

 portion of the area. Active, frost-patterned, polygonal ground 

 and solifluction terraces occur in portions of Goat Flat itself. 

 The bedrock geology includes both sedimentary and igneous rocks. 



The vascular flora of the Goat Flat Proposed Research 

 Natural Area currently consists of 190 species. Ten of these 

 species are considered Species of Special Concern by the Montana 

 Natural Heritage Program and five are Sensitive within Region 1 

 of the U.S. Forest Service. 



The occurrence of Antennaria densif olia in the Goat Flat 

 Proposed Research Natural Area is a disjunction of ca . 1850 km 

 from the main part of its range in Canada and is the only site 

 known for this species in Montana or the U.S. 



Saussurea weberi occurs from Colorado north to southwestern 

 Montana with the Montana population being disjunct from 

 westcentral Wyoming (Dorn 1988) . The population at Goat Flat is 

 the only known occurrence in Montana. 



