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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 



A botanical survey covering special status plant species and plant communities was conducted in 

 the Ruby Range on lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The results 

 contribute to the body of baseline information on biodiversity features of the Dillon Resource 

 Area and of the state. 



Despite being one of Montana's smaller and more arid ranges, the Ruby Range supports 

 appreciable ecological diversity. Twenty plant associations were documented, including five 

 which were not previously known from BLM lands. None are recognized as or recommended 

 for BLM special status designation, but we note that they represent the most extensive and 

 diverse timbered lands in the Resource Area, and that they include one or more stands which 

 may be the best examples of the Pinus flexilis/Festuca idahoenis p. a. in southwestern Montana. 



Survey of four special status plant species was conducted to recommend that two species be 

 dropped from BLM special status designation. One of the two remaining species, Lomatium 

 attenuatum, may be globally imperiled and is in need of further local and rangewide status 

 survey. 



In light of the ecology and botany results, the highest botanical diversity documented in the Ruby 

 Range study area rests in the collective landscape and floristic diversity. 



DEDICATION 



This report is dedicated to Mr. Don Heinze, an inspirational and avid seeker of botanical 

 knowledge. 



