SURVEY FOR SENSITIVE PLANT SPECIES 

 ON DOHERTY MOUNTAIN, JEFFERSON COUNTY 



Prepared by: Jim Vanderhorst 



Montana Natural Heritage Program 



State Library 



1515 East Sixth Avenue 



P.O. Box 201800 



Helena, Montana 59620-1800 



for: USDI Bureau of Land Management 

 Butte District 

 P.O. Box 3 3 88 

 Butte. Montana 59702-3388 



Prepared 



STATE DOCUMENTS COLLECTION 



JUN22 1994 



MONTANA STATE LIBRARY 



1515 E. 6th AVE. 

 HELENA, MONTANA 59620 



INTRODUCTION 



This report describes a survey of Bureau of Land 

 Management (BLM) holdings on Doherty Mountain . The purpose 

 of this study was to locate and survey populations of 

 potential sensitive or watch species as proposed by the Bureau 

 of Land Management in Montana (USDI Bureau of Land Management 

 1993) . These are taxa identified by the State Office of the 

 Bureau of Land Management as warranting sensitive or watch 

 designation based on global rarity, state rarity, and threats. 



Surveys to determine the location and size of populations 

 of rare species are being conducted on public lands throughout 

 the west as a result of the Federal Endangered Species Act of 

 1973 and subsequent Bureau of Land Management species 

 conservation initiatives. Surveys provide baselines needed 

 for the process of developing a list of sensitive plant 

 species which occur on BLM lands in Montana and for addressing 

 their conservation in the management planning process. 



THE STUDY AREA 



Doherty Mountain is a prominent landmark in Jefferson 

 County, Montana which is familiar to travelers on Interstate 

 90. The mountain can be seen to the north where the highway 

 crosses the steep pass between Three Forks and Whitehall. The 

 spectacular white cliffs are formed of Cambrian limestone 

 "wrapped around tight folds" (Alt and Hyndman 1986) . 

 Cottonwood Canyon lies between the Interstate and the 

 mountain; its ephemeral waters drain into the Boulder River. 

 BLM holdings in the vicinity include parts of ten sections 

 (map in Appendix 1) . The elevation of these lands ranges from 

 about 4,700 feet (about 1,430 meters) at the bottom of 

 Cottonwood Canyon to 6,395 feet (1,948 meters) at the top of 

 Doherty Mountain. 



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