B. Present legal or other formal status 

 1. Federal 



A. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: none 



D, 



B. 



U.S. Forest Service: 



none 



Bureau of Land Management: none 



2. State: In Montana, Wilcox's panic grass had a state rank 

 of "SI", meaning that it was critically imperilled within the 

 state. This was based on a single collection record from Fort 

 Keogh Experiment Station that had only recently been 

 recognized as a part of the state flora (Heidel in progress) . 

 The present study has provided basis for changing its state 

 rank to "S3S4", indicating that it may still be vulnerable or 

 potentially secure in the state but no longer warrants 

 tracking as a species of special concern. 



Geographical distribution 



1. Species range: Manitoba to 

 Alberta, south to Illinois, 

 Kansas, Colorado and New 

 Mexico. 



2. Montana distribution: 

 First collected in Montana in 

 the Fort Keogh Agricultural 

 Station in Custer County. 



3 . Occurrence in the study 

 area: Documented from five 

 sites in the Ekalaka Hills and 

 five sites in the Long Pines, 

 in addition to the North Cave 

 Hills in South Dakota. More 

 Montana populations are likely 

 to exist in the Long Pines, the 

 Ekalaka Hills, and probably on 

 the Chalk Buttes. 



Habitat 



1. Associated vegetation: The species occurs within a wide 

 variety of settings. It appears to be an infrequent component 

 of mixed-grass prairies on hillsides, and butte and ridge 

 tops, with a minimal amount of bare ground. Sometimes this 

 grades into a little bluestem prairie. Grasses consist of 

 Bouteloua gracilis , Koeleria macrantha , Stipa comata , and 



2045. Panicum wilcoxianum Vasey 



Wilcox Panicum 



32 



