Yet the identification of priority features among the plant associations is preliminary at best. We 

 highlight the bur oak plant associations {Quercus macrocarpa/Carex inops and Quercus 

 macrocarpa/Symphoricarpos occidentalis) as having high state significance, with more work needed 

 between states to determine rangewide status and to identify the best sites. The other most 

 structurally- and compositionally distinct forest and woodland types on BLM lands in the county are 

 the Pinus ponderosa/Juniperus communis p. a. and the Juniperus scopulorum/Oryzopsis micrantha 

 p.a., respectively. The most uncommon woodland type in the county on BLM lands is the Populus 

 deltoides/Symphoricarpos occidentalis p.a., and it is the most threatened rangewide due to habitat 

 decline. 



Not all of the sensitive species and uncommon plant associations in the county are best-represented 

 on BLM lands. For example, one of the highest concentrations of sensitive species in Carter County 

 is semi-protected in Medicine Rocks State Park, with seven sensitive species. 



Few, if any, communities/plant associations on BLM-administered land in the county can be said to 

 be "rare" across their range. Yet stands of common plant communities making up shrublands and 

 grasslands, especially those that constitute the most productive of common types (Pascopyrum 

 smithii (Elymus lanceolatus), Pascopyrum smithii - Bouteloua gracilis - Carex filifolia and P. 

 smithii - Nasella viridula) in good to excellent condition, are in fact relatively uncommon. Our 

 survey found examples of high quality sites for most but not all of the common vegetation types. 

 Identification of such sites can serve as rangeland baseline references used to interpret the results of 

 land management decisions, as well as home for a host of native wildlife and plants. Indeed, the best 

 opportunities for identifying some of these types in the state should be found where they are most 

 extensive on the BLM-administered lands of Carter County. 



The individual communities and species of Carter County may not be globally imperiled, but they 

 collectively contribute to high Great Plains diversity and biological integrity. We have described 

 vegetation types rather than whole landscapes, but note that there are extensive areas of BLM- 

 administered land where the gradient from dry -to-wet habitat is intact, and where an array of slopes, 

 aspects, and sometimes substrates is represented. The BLM lands make up the core of the largest 

 unbroken blocks of plains in the county, a rangeland resource of increasing importance. 



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