Moose Town. Groves of aspen ( Populus tremuloi des) occur 

 sporadically in the Moose Town area. 



The Highland Mountains have been greatly impacted by human 

 use. The area was the scene of a great deal of mining 

 exploration. There are numerous old mines and associated roads 

 in the Moose Town and Fish Creek areas. Concentrations of 

 precious metals are presumably associated with the contact zone 

 between the Belt sediments and the granite batholith. There is 

 an active mining operation near the head of Fish Creek. Wherever 

 steppe or meadows are the predominant vegetation, cattle grazing 

 is a common use of the land. Douglas fir composing much of the 

 forests are short and often deformed, but some areas of lodgepole 

 pine forest have been clearcut. In addition, some trees have 

 been harvested for firewood and lumber during the times when the 

 area was a more active mining district. The Highland Mountains- 

 Moffet Mountain-Moose Town area is a very productive wildlife 

 area. I observed large numbers of elk, moose, deer, bighorn 

 sheep and mountain goats. As a result, the area is heavily used 

 by hunters during the fall. There is a good deal of recreational 

 driving both on and off roads during the summer. The area is 

 undoubtedly used by snowmobilers during the v/inter. 



METHODS 



For the purpose of my study, the Highland Mountains are 

 defined as land administered by the U.S. Forest Service and 

 private inholdings above 6,000 ft south of Pipestone Pass and Hwy 

 10, west of the Jefferson River Valley, and east and north of the 

 Big Hole River Valley. I surveyed the Highland Mountains on June 

 25-July 6, 1992 and July 31-Auqust 3, 1992. I concentrated my 

 surveys in five areas (Fig. 1): (1) Moose Town/Burton Park - an 

 abundance of wetlands and outcrops of calcareous parent material, 

 (2) Fish Creek/Limekiln Mountain - numerous outcrops of 

 calcareous parent material, (3) Red Mountain/Table Mountain - 

 expansive alpine habitat, (4) Moffet Mountain - expanses of 

 sagebrush steppe and high elevation grasslands, and (5) Hells 

 Canyon Creek - coarse granitic soils and sagebrush steppe. I 

 conducted my surveys by hiking transects through each area, 

 inspecting typical habitat as well as unusual edaphic or 

 topographic features. I recorded all vascular plant species 

 observed and made representative collections of many species. I 

 completed Montana Natural Heritage Program (MNHP) "Plant Species 

 of Special Concern" forms for all species on the most recent MNHP 

 list, and I completed MNHP-modif ied ECODATA forms for 

 representative plant communities harboring species listed as 

 sensitive in Region One of the U.S. Forest Service (Lesica and 

 Shelly 1991) . 



Vascular plant nomenclature generally follows Hitchcock and 

 Cronquist (1973) . Nomenclature for willows follows Dorn (1984) . 



