si te Basic Record 

 MOUTH OF QUARTZ HILL GULCH 



From Dewey, take Hwy 43 west 0.25 mile to the Quartz Hill Gulch turnoff. Site starts at turnoff 

 and extends up Quartz Hill Gulch ca. 1.3 miles. 



Cercocarpus ledifol ius/Agropyron spicatum and Pinus f lexi I is/Cercocarpus ledifolius communities 

 on limestone derived soils. Much bare soil and coarse fragment material is exposed on the 

 ground surface. The most biologically significant feature of the site is the presence of 

 thousands of Arabis fecunda plants scattered about in patches within the site. 



COUNTY: Beaverhead 



USGS QUADRANGLE: DEWEY 



TOWNSHIP-RANGE: 001S010W SECTION: 08 

 QUARTER/ADDITIONAL SECTIONS: E2,5SE4, 17NW4NE4 



BOUNDING RECTANGLE: S: 454622N N: 454637N E: 1125200W W: 1125155W 



BOUNDARY JUSTIFICATION: Includes large populations of Arabis fecunda and occurrences of the Pinus 

 f lexi lis/Cercocarpus ledifolius community type. 



APPROXIMATE ACREAGE: 400.00 



GENERAL RATING: 1 



A G2 element is present. 



BIODIVERSITY SIGNIFICANCE: B2 



One of the best examples of a low elevation Arabis fecunda (G2/S2) population. 



OTHER VALUES: V2 



Heavily-used winter forage area for deer and elk. 



PROTECTION URGENCY: P2 



Cattle will likely degrade the lower and mid slopes of this site unless the site is protected 

 from them. 



MANAGEMENT URGENCY: M2 



Fence all or portions of the site to assist in regulating cattle use. Remove any Centaurea 

 maculosa plants that may encroach on site. 



CONSERVATION INTENT: Recoimend establishment of a BLM ACEC. 



PROTECTION COMMENTS: 



LAND USE: Although the site is mostly steep slopes with low forage volumes, the abundant cattle in the 

 flatter areas do periodically move onto the slopes causing considerable soil damage. These 

 cattle impacts are exacerbated by deer use in winter. The soils present on the slopes are very 

 erosive, so even rare access by cattle can have significant impacts. A graveyard is within the 

 site boundaries. 



NATURAL HAZARDS: None known. 



EXOTICS: Centaurea maculosa is currently limited to scattered individuals along the Big Hole River. 



OFF-SITE LAND USES: 



INFORMATION NEEDS: 



MANAGEMENT NEEDS: Consider protecting the site from cattle use via fencing. Restrict Arabis 

 fecunda monitoring/observation activities to defined trails. Random human 

 movement in the vicinity of the Arabis fecunda "cage" appears to be causing 

 significant soil disturbance in that area. 



MANAGEMENT COMMENTS: 



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