and local along Columbia River in southwestern 

 Washington and northwestern Oregon and south 

 in Willamette Valley of northwestern Oregon. 

 Within range of Mt. Hood National Forest, 



which borders Columbia River along northern 

 boundaries of Hood River and Multnomah Coun- 

 ties, northwestern Oregon. 



RARE AND LOCAL CONIFERS 



Thirty-five of the 96 species of conifers native 

 in continental United States, more than one- 

 third, are trees of rare or local distribution, 

 according to a recent compilation (Little 1975a) . 

 That publication, which contains further infor- 

 mation not repeated here, summarizes distri- 

 bution of each species on a map and cites 

 the public forests, parks, and other preserves. 

 Fortunately, only 2 coniferous species local in 

 Florida, both outside National Forests, were 

 proposed as endangered. However, 2 varieties 

 (or 2 species) of cypress (Cupressus) on Na- 

 tional Forests were so listed. 



Twenty-six of these species and additional 

 varieties of rare and local conifers are native 

 within one or more National Forests. Several 

 have their natural distribution almost entirely 

 within the National Forests or also other public 

 preserves nearby and merit mention. Thus, 

 further information should be available to local 

 foresters and other land managers. 



Two coniferous species of limited occurrence 

 at high altitudes in the southern Appalachians 

 are mostly within the National Forests. Fraser 

 fir, Abies fraseri (Pursh) Poir., common locally, 

 is within these 4 National Forests : Jefferson in 

 Virginia, Pisgah and Nantahala in North Caro- 

 lina, and Cherokee in Tennessee. Carolina hem- 

 lock, Tsuga caroliniana Engelm., is local and 

 scattered, chiefly within the same 4 National 

 Forests, and also Chattahoochee in South Caro- 

 lina and Georgia. 



The other rare conifers chiefly confined to 

 National Forests are western and mostly in 

 California, the home of many local or endemic 

 plant species. Two pines occupy relatively small 

 areas. Foxtail pine, Pinus balfouriana Grev. & 

 Balf., is local near a timeberline within Klam- 

 ath, Shasta, Trinity, and Mendocino National 

 Forests in northern California and within Inyo 

 and Sequoia, also 2 National Parks, in southern 

 Sierra Nevada. Washoe pine, Pinus washoensis 

 Mason & Stockwell, is very rare and restricted. 

 It was discovered at Mt. Rose, Toiyabe National 

 Forest, Washoe County, western Nevada, and 

 named in 1945. Later it was found at a few 

 areas in mountains of northeastern California, 

 including Toiyabe, Modoc, and Plumas National 

 Forests. 



Four other rare conifers of California, each 

 in a different genus, may be noted. Bristlecone 

 fir, Abies bracteata, D. Don, also called Santa 

 Lucia fir, is confined to Santa Lucia Mountains 

 within the Monterey Ranger District, Los Padres 

 National Forest, Monterey County and extreme 

 northwestern San Luis Obispo County. (See 

 cover photograph.) This unique fir, isolated 

 from all related species, has been placed in a 

 separate subgenus because of great differences 

 from other true firs of the world. The entire 

 natural range of this most restricted of all firs 

 consists of scattered areas within a strip about 

 60 miles long and 13 miles wide. 



Brewer spruce, Picea breweriana S. Wats., is 

 mostly within 5 National Forests: Six Rivers, 

 Klamath, and Trinity in California and Sis- 

 kiyou and Rouge River in Oregon. Bigcone 

 Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga macrocarpa (Vasey) 

 Mayr, is mainly within these 4 National Forests 

 of southern California: Los Padres, Angeles, 

 San Bernardino, and Cleveland. Giant sequoia, 

 Sequoiadendron giganteum (Lindl.) Buchholz 

 (Sequoia gigantea Lindl.), is local in 70 groves 

 along California's Sierra Nevada for 270 miles. 

 These scattered groves are 99 percent publicly 

 owned within Eldorado, Stanislaus, Sierra, and 

 Sequoia National Forests, 3 National Parks, 

 and 3 State preserves. 



Cypresses (genus Cupressus) are the rarest 

 group of native conifers, totaling 7 species fur- 

 ther divided into 12 taxonomic groups or taxa 

 (Little 1970a), 8 of these within National For- 

 ests. Detailed maps have been published by Grif- 

 fin and Critchfield (1972). Cuyamaca cypress, 

 Cupressus arizonica var. stephensonii (C. B. 

 Wolf) Little (C stephensonii C. B. Wolf) is 

 the rarest of the named cypresses and proposed 

 as threatened. It is known from a single grove 

 less than 1 mile long in Cuyamaca Mountains, 

 San Diego County, southern California, within 

 the Cleveland National Forest and Cuyamacha 

 Rancho State Park. A nearby grove now dead 

 has been noted (Griffin and Critchfield 1972, 

 map 28). Recently recorded also from northern 

 Baja Calif., Mexico (Moran 1977). 



Piute cypress, Cupressus arizonica var. neva- 

 densis (Abrams) Little (C . nevadensis Abrams), 

 is rare and has been proposed as threatened. It 



