Discussion 



In addition to their intrinsic value as elements of biodiversity, the Sensitive lady's slipper orchids 

 on the KNF have significant aesthetic and commercial value, and their preservation should be an 

 important conservation priority. Cypripedium calceolus var. parviflorum . in particular, has 

 potentially enormous commercial value as an ornamental and pharmaceutical. Commercial use 

 of this orchid will depend on scientific advances in cultivation from seed, a subject which is 

 receiving considerable attention (e.g. De Pau and Remphrey 1993). The potential high demand 

 for these rare plants is basis for special data security precautions and public education. 

 Maintenance of genetic diversity necessary for the species to persist and evolve, as well as for 

 commercial germplasm, will depend on prudent habitat conservation and protection of 

 populations from exploitation. 



As human population pressures continue to grow, remote occurrences of sensitive orchids on 

 public land, like those on the KNF, will become more important to the perpetuation and 

 evolution of their species. Much of the bottomland habitat which is potential habitat for sensitive 

 orchids in the Rocky Mountain Trench near Fortine is on private lands subject to subdivision and 

 increased residential use. At the same time, use of grazing allotments and recreation on public 

 lands is likely to increase. 



The most significant current threat to populations of the two sensitive Cypripedium species on 

 the KNF is probably cattle grazing. Large populations of sensitive orchids seem to be restricted 

 to areas protected by chance from cattle by windfall, heavy brush, and/or swampy soils. 

 Historical and current allotment usage may also be a factor in the distribution of these species. 

 All of the known populations of orchids are within open range allotments and are potentially 

 threatened by changes in current grazing patterns. Populations may be opened up to grazing by 

 adjacent logging and road building. Preservation of large populations of lady's slippers on the 

 KNF will probably require that cattle be kept out of the population areas. 



Few of the populations are given administrative protection and most lie in management areas 

 designated as suitable timberland (U.S. Forest Service 1987); two exceptions are Brimstone 

 Creek and Laughing Water Creek which lie just on the downstream edge of designated old 

 growth. Designation of the Jumbo Lake Basin as a Botanical Special Interest Area or Research 

 Natural Area has been suggested (Chadde 1989) and similar designation may be appropriate for 

 significant orchid populations at Brimstone, Laughing Water, and Magnesia Creeks. All three of 

 the sensitive orchids known on the KNF, Cypripedium calceolus var. parviflorum . C 

 passerinum . and Orchis rotundifolia . are present at each of these sites, with one or more in 

 significant numbers, and these areas have unique soils, geology, and floristic assemblages. 

 Further surveys of these areas are recommended before conservation area boundaries are 

 established, especially in the Jumbo Lake Basin where location discrepancies remain. 



Clustered lady's slipper, Cypripedium fasciculatum . has still not been found on the KNF. 

 Throughout its range, C\ fasciculatum is found in a variety of habitats (Elliman and Dalton 

 1995), including Thuja plicata and Pseudotsuga menziesii habitat types which are common on 

 the KNF. In 1995, 1 spent only a small amount of time looking for this species in the drainage of 

 Big Beaver Creek on the Cabinet Ranger District. The habitat on the lower south facing slopes 

 of this drainage and other east- west oriented drainages on the Cabinet District is similar to where 

 the species is known not far south on the Lolo National Forest near St. Regis. On the Lolo, 

 Cypripedium fasciculatum grows in Douglas fir/ninebark ( Pseudotsuga menziesii/Physocarpus 

 majyaceous) communities. In northwestern Montana, unlike more arid parts of the state, these 

 communities occur on southerly aspects (Pfister et al. 1977). The rare lady's slipper grows in 

 cool, shaded microsites with little ground cover, on these relatively warm, open slopes. It thus 

 seems, at this apparent northernmost extent of its range at this longitude, to require the best of all 

 conditions. In 1995, an extremely cool, wet growing season, flowers were scarce and often 



22 



