INTRODUCTION 



The Bull River is a prominent drainage located in Sanders 

 County, northwestern Montana. Originating on the western slopes 

 of the Cabinet Mountains, the river flows south for approximately 

 27 river miles before feeding into Cabinet Gorge Reservoir. 



Northwestern Montana is strongly influenced by moist 

 maritime airmasses that move through from the Pacific Ocean. The 

 airmasses provide abundant rain- and snowfall, mild winter 

 temperatures, and generally humid cloudy conditions. These 

 conditions have allowed for the development of a forest complex 

 similar to adjacent northern Idaho. Following the habitat 

 classification of Pfister et al. (1977) , valley bottoms are 

 dominated by a Tsuga heterophylla / Clintonia unif lora (western 

 hemlock / queencup beadlily) , the moister Aralia nudicaulis (wild 

 sasparilla) phase, and Thuja plicata / Clintonia unif lora 

 (western red cedar / queencup beadlily) habitat types. Higher 

 slopes support a transitional Pseudotsuga menziesii / Linnaea 

 borealis (Douglas-fir / western twinf lower) habitat type. 



Numerous wildlife species, including grizzly and black bear, 

 deer, elk and mountain goat, are found in the Bull River valley. 

 The bottomland vegetation adjacent to the river has been altered 

 through various land use practices such as logging of the 

 dominant cedar and hemlock forests, conversion of wet meadows to 

 hay meadows, and invasion by non-native weedy species. Except 

 for wetland areas, limited amounts of native vegetation remain 

 intact. On the hillsides surrounding the valley there has been 

 some logging, and in places weedy species are a problem; however, 

 much of this area is still vegetatively intact. 



This report contains information on a rare plant inventory 

 conducted on 19-23 June and 24-28 July 1989 in portions of the 

 Bull River valley. These surveys emphasized the verification of 

 previously documented sensitive plant sites, and inventory of 

 previously unsurveyed locations that appfeared to contain suitable 

 habitat for such species. Additionally, a day and a half was 

 spent surveying U.S. Forest Service lands (Kootenai National 

 Forest) near Rock Creek, Marten Creek, and the mouth of the 

 Vermillion River for Satureja douglasii , a rare plant known to 

 occur on private lands on Rock Creek, but not yet known from U.S. 

 Forest lands in this vicinity. 



