Comments: Typical R^ verecundus has deciduous sepals and 

 persistent petals. Plants from the Table Mountain site have 

 persistent sepals and lack petals (Lesica 1992) . The area is 

 subject to few direct human-caused disturbances. Hov/ever, 

 grazing by bighorn sheep in the area is intense, and this level 

 of grazing may be having an impact on the vegetation. Bighorn 

 sheep may be overusing this remote part of their range because of 

 intense ORV use of lower, more accessible areas (Lesica 1992) . 



DISCUSSION 



The Moose Town area has a great diversity of parent 

 materials and soils. Coarse-textured sandy soils derived from 

 granite of the Boulder Batholith occur on the northern periphery. 

 The majority of the upland areas have silty or loamy soils 

 derived from metasediments, including outcroppings of calcareous 

 parent material. These soils support Douglas-fir and lodgepole 

 pine forests, limber pine woodland, sagebrush and cinquefoil 

 steppe, and grasslands. The area also has a complex hydrologic 

 geology and supports a vast array of v/etland communities 

 including aspen groves, wet spruce forests, willow swamps, fens, 

 marshes and wet meadows. The diversity of plant communities and 

 the extent of the wetlands is exceptional. The area is also 

 important habitat for many species of wildlife including elk, 

 moose and bighorn sheep. 



Fives species of vascular plants listed as sensitive in U.S. 

 Forest Service Region One occur in the Moose Town area (Fig. 2) : 

 Arabis fecunda , Carex idahoa , Juncus hallii , Penstemon lemhiensis 

 and Thlaspi parvif lorum . Both A^ fecunda and P^ lemhiensis are 

 candidates for listing as threatened or endangered species by the 

 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and all but J^ hallii are endemic 

 to small areas of southwest Montana and adjacent Idaho and 

 Wyoming (Lesica and Shelly 1991) . In addition, Erigeron gracilis 

 and Haplopappus macronema ssp. linearis , two regional endemics ^ 

 that are MNHP species of special concern, are also found in this 

 area (Fig. 2,7) . 



The habitat diversity and number of rare plant species make 

 the Moose Town area the most outstanding biological area in the 

 Highland Mountains. Unfortunately, the area has suffered a great 

 deal of human-caused disturbance. It was the site of numerous 

 mines and prospects, and apparently a small community existed 

 there in the past. There are unreclaimed tailings heaps and mine 

 shafts as well as water diversion ditches and old cabins. 

 Probably more damaging are the numerous roads and 4-wheel drive 

 trails throughout much of the area. These roads and trails 

 continue to be used for recreation by residents of Butte and the 

 surrounding area. The area is grazed by livestock during July 

 and August, and some of the wetland and upland communities have 

 been degraded as a result. Finally, forests on the north and 



18 



