BOTANY RESULTS 



A total of eighteen Montana plant species of special concern are documented from Carter County, 

 nine of which are on BLM-administered lands. Most of the eighteen species are Great Plains species 

 at the western limits of their range. Three of them are species that live in this area of the Great Plains 

 and nowhere else in the world (regionally endemic). None are appropriate to consider as federally 

 threatened or endangered. 



A status review for each of the eighteen Carter County plant species of special concern is provided in 

 the pages which follow, including a description of the species, its geographical distribution, habitat, 

 species biology, and other comments. This includes a compilation of observations and data collected 

 in the course of the fieldwork, a review of statewide information, and a literature review. Statewide 

 distribution maps are provided with the status review, and species illustrations and photos are 

 included separately in the appendix. 



Seven of the nine species that are on BLM-administered land in Carter County are currently 

 recognized by the Montana State Office of ELM as sensitive or watch (USDI BLM 1996). Bur oak 

 {Quercus macrocarpa) is the only one of the seven species with sensitive status and the rest are 

 watch. Two of the seven species we recommend dropping because they are not likely to be found on 

 BLM lands or because they may increase under disturbance. Two more are recommended for 

 addition: the Visher's buckwheat {Eriogonum visheri) that was found on BLM land in 1997 

 represents the first occurrence of this regional endemic documented from Montana. It is recognized 

 by the BLM as a watch species in the rest of its range (North and South Dakota; USDI BLM 1 996), 

 and is likewise recommended for watch status in Montana. Another Great Plains endemic, double 

 bladderpod (Physaria brassicoides), was located on BLM land for the first time in 1997, and its 

 addition to the BLM Watch list is also recommended. 



Six other changes are recommended to the state list of species of special concern as a result of this 

 project. Most of them reflect that the species are more common than previously known. A list of the 

 eighteen Montana plant species of special concern and tallies of their records in the county and in the 

 state are presented in Table 5: Occurrences of Montana plant species of special concern in Carter 

 County, MT. 



A map that shows all locations in the County is provided in Figure 5: Sensitive plant locations in 

 Carter County, MT. The information that accompanies each point on BLM-administered land is 

 provided in Element Occurrence Records (Appendix B). For the sake of brevity, we refer to the 18 

 species as "sensitive" in this report to indicate that they are currently being tracked as Montana plant 

 species of special concern, whether or not they have BLM or U.S. Forest Service designation as 

 sensitive or watch species. 



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