flood plains, terraces, and fans, and extensive talus and 

 boulder fields mass-wasted from the steep cliffs. 



The dominant vegetation of the study area is grasslands 

 and shrublands, with limited areas of forest. A considerable 

 area is also occupied by mostly barren rock outcrops and 

 slides. Most of the drier grasslands are dominated by 

 Agropyron spicatum (bluebunch wheatgrass) , but other 

 graminoids common (or dominant) in certain situations include 

 Carex filifolia, Festuca idahoensis, Koeleria cristata, 

 Oryzopsis hymenoides, Stipa comata, and species of Poa . 

 Elymus cinereus (Great Basin wild rye) is dominant in some 

 bottomlands and may have been more common in the past as this 

 species is sensitive to grazing (Mueggler and Stewart 1980) . 

 Wet meadows, often alkaline, occupy a small area but are 

 f loristically unique, with dominants that include Deschampsia 

 cespitosa , Juncus balticus , Potentilla fruticosa and species 

 of Carex. Sagebrush steppe communities are most commonly 

 dominated by Artemisia tridentata or Artemisia nova, but low 

 sagebrush types dominated by A. arbuscula also occur. Scrub 

 or dwarf woodland communities dominated by Cercocarpus 

 ledifolius and/or Juniperus scopulorum are found on dryer, 

 rockier slopes. Species of Salix form thickets in riparian 

 zones, especially along Big Sheep Creek. Willows are mostly 

 absent along Muddy Creek, but within exclosures show some 

 signs of establishment (Hockett, pers. commun.). Cottonwoods 

 (Populus spp.) are also found along streams but rarely form 

 extensive woodlands. Closed canopy coniferous forests are 

 mostly confined to north facing slopes and are dominated by 

 Pseudotsuga menziesii (Douglas fir) . More open coniferous 

 woodlands dominated by Pinus flexilis (limber pine) occur on 

 rocky slopes. 



The flora of the Tendoys, and of southwest Montana in 

 general, is characterized by the presence of many species with 

 their centers of distribution in the Great Basin. These are 

 species which have a peripheral or disjunct distribution in 

 Montana, with their central distribution in southern Idaho, 

 western Wyoming and Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and eastern 

 Washington, Oregon, and California. Examples include many of 

 the target species which are discussed later in this report. 

 Most of these taxa have Montana distributions confined to the 

 southwestern part of the state. 



