Botanical Features 



The Kootenai River drainage contains six percent of the 

 state's botanical natural feature sites that received a final 

 value rating of either Class I or Class II. Of the 19 sites 

 inventoried within this drainage, seven (37 percent) are proposed 

 U.S. Forest Service Research Natural Areas (RNAs). 



An outstanding example of a RNA is the Lower Ross Creek area, 

 which is located south of Troy along Highway 56. This site covers 

 about 839 acres and includes a population of old-growth western 

 red cedar -- one of the few remaining stands that survived fires 

 that ravaged these forests at the turn of the century. 



Another outstanding site in this area is an isolated piece of 

 palouse prairie grassland that contains the last surviving 

 breeding population of Columbian sharp-tailed grouse ( Ty m panuchus 

 p hasianellu s colu mbianus) west of the Continental Divide. Once 

 inhabiting the northern desert and intermountain grassland valleys 

 west of the Rocky Mountains, the Columbian sharp-tailed grouse was 

 extirpated in Oregon and California by the late 1960s. 

 Distributions in Washington, Idaho, and Colorado are drastically 

 reduced from previous ranges. Fortunately for the Tobacco Valley 

 population, the Nature Conservancy is presently acquiring the last 

 remaining stands of native palouse prairie grasslands, which 

 support sharp-tailed grouse dancing and nesting grounds. This area 

 also contains a high-quality example of a bunchgrass community 

 dominated by needlegrass ( Stipa comata ) and rough fescue ( Festuca 

 ^c_abr e_l ]^) . Also found within these grasslands is the largest 

 known population of Spalding's catchfly ( Silene spaldingii ) -- a 

 candidate for listing as a threatened species by the U.S. Fish and 

 Wildlife Service. 



Just north of Libby is a proposed U.S. Forest Service RNA 

 called Hoskins Lake. This 450-acre site is a good eicample of a 

 typical mixed-coniferous forest type found in northwestern 

 Montana. The canopy is dominated by mature Douglas fir and 

 western larch, and includes grand fir, western white pine and 

 lodgepole pine. Also within the RNA are two connected lakes that 

 are surrounded by marsh vegetation and wetlands. 



Within this drainage are five other plant species listed for 

 protection by the Montana Rare Plants Project (MRPP). The rock 

 ledges above Yaak River Falls is the site of a population of 

 Geyer's biscuitroot ( Lomatiu m geyeri ), currently listed as rare by 

 the MRPP. Close to this area, along the Yaak River Gorge, is a 

 near pristine forest community of old-growth western hemlock, 

 Douglas fir and Ponderosa pine. 



The northern bastard-toadflax ( Geocaulon lividum) is a Pacific 

 slope species that grows in Montana's mesic spruce forests, 

 including two sites in the Kootenai River drainage -- one at Loon 

 Lake and one near Pete Creek. 



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