d. PHYLOGENY AND SPECIATION: According to Rollins 

 (1984) Lesquerella klausii "...is not easily 

 confused with any other species of 

 Lesquerella . " Rollins (1984) further states 

 that on the basis of fruit characteristics, 

 "...the species falls in a borderline between 

 Lesquerella and Physaria . . . " However L. 

 klausii "...definitely falls into Lesquerella 

 rather than Physaria " (Rollins and Shaw, 

 1973; Rollins, 1984) . 



G. POPULATION ECOLOGY 



1. BIOLOGICAL INTERACTIONS 



a. COMPETITION: Lesquerella klausii occurs most 



frequently on open, sparsely vegetated 

 slopes, often in azonal soils. At about one- 

 third of the sites, the species has partially 

 colonized adjacent disturbed areas (usually 

 steep, unstable roadbanks) . Although the 

 density of L. klausii is often greater in 

 these disturbed areas, the majority of the 

 plants are still found in the adjacent native 

 habitat. These observations suggest that L. 

 klausii does not compete well in denser 

 vegetation, such as bunchgrass communities 

 and closed forest stands. Noxious weeds and 

 other exotics are localized threats (adapted 

 from Shelly 1988) . 



b. HERBIVORY: Lesquerella klausii habitat (steep, 



unstable, sparsely vegetated slopes) does not 

 lend itself to livestock grazing. However 

 grazing has been observed at a few sites 

 outside of the Big Belt Mountains. This 

 moderate level of grazing did not seem to 

 have seriously impacted the populations, but 

 heavy grazing might lead to a decline in the 

 size of the populations. Further research is 

 needed (adapted from Shelly 1988) . 



II. ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS 



A. THREATS TO CURRENTLY KNOWN POPULATIONS: Within the Big 

 Belt Mountains of the Helena National Forest, 

 Lesquerella klausii is potentially threatened by 

 mining, road maintenance and construction and aerial 

 herbicide application. 



Several sites (EOR#s 003, 006, 008, 010, Oil, 012, 016, 

 017, 025, and 026) may be threatened by future mining 



