Table 1. — Comparison of precipitation data from Missoula Airport Station and Pattee Canyon 

 climatological station (source: National Weather Service Climatological Data) 



Precipitation amount 

 1976 1977 1978 



Missoula Pattee Missoula Pattee Missoula Pattee 



Month Airport Canyon Airport Canyon Airport Canyon 



Inches (millimeters)- 



Jan. 



0.90 



1.03 



0.66 



0.80 



1.15 



1.46 





(22.9) 



(26.2) 



(16.8) 



(20.3) 



(29.2) 



(37.1) 



Feb. 



1.04 



1.47 



.18 



.06 



.66 



1.49 





(26.4) 



(37.3) 



(4.6) 



(1.5) 



(16.8) 



(37.8) 



Mar. 



.40 



.65 



.98 



1.50 



.67 



1.16 





(10.2) 



(16.5) 



(24.9) 



(38.1) 



(17.0) 



(29.5) 



Apr. 



.94 



2.02 



.08 



.14 



1.08 







(23.9) 



(51.3) 



(2.0) 



(3.6) 



(27.4) 





May 



.79 



1.36 



2.13 



3.42 



1.98 







(20.1) 



(34.5) 



(54.1) 



(86.9) 



(50.3) • 





June 



1.52 



3.19 



.66 



1.08 



.77 







(38.6) 



(81 .0) 



(16.8) 



(27.4) 



(19.6) 





July 



1.20 



1.50 



.72 



.94 



.57 







(30.5) 



(38.1) 



(18.3) 



(23.9) 



(14.5) 





Aug. 



.88 



1.45 



1.28 



1.33 



1.11 







(22.4) 



(36.8) 



(32.5) 



(33.8) 



(28.2) 





Sept. 



.58 



.85 



1.67 



1.92 



1.78 







(14.7) 



(21.6) 



(42.4) 



(48.8) 



(45.2) 





Oct. 



.33 



.49 



.72 



1.01 



.01 







(8.4) 



(12.4) 



(18.3) 



(25.7) 



(.3) 





Nov. 



.22 



.63 ., 



1.02 



1.58 



1.00 







(5.6) 



(16.0) 



(25.9) 



(40.1) 



(25.4) 





Dec. 



.25 



.33 



2.88 



4.16 



.99 







(6.4) 



(8.4) • 



. (73.2) 



(105.7) 



(25.1) 





Total 



9.04 



14.96 



12.97 



17.93 



11.75 







(229.9) 



(380.2) 



(329.7) 



(455.7) 



(298.7) 





Schuler's 1968 vegetation study in Pattee Canyon in- 

 cluded some stands within and near the area subsequent- 

 ly burned in 1977. His original field data for these 

 stands, as well as examination of pre-1977 aerial 

 photographs and the fire-killed forest (fig. 2) indicate 

 that much of the prebum forest was composed of dense, 

 stagnating, pole-sized Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga men- 

 ziesii). Western larch (Larix occidentalis), ponderosa pine 

 (Pinus ponderosa), and above 4,600 feet (1 402 m), 

 lodgepole pine {Pinus contorta) were also present. The 

 north slopes of Pattee Canyon have been roaded and 

 subjected to selective logging thoughout the 1890-1960 

 period on both Federal and private lands (fig. 1). 



The general vegetation pattern of Pattee Canyon 

 demonstrates a trend toward increasingly more mesic 

 species as one proceeds up the canyon. Slope exposure is 

 an added influence, with more mesic species occurring on 

 the north-facing slopes of the canyon. 



A description of prefire vegetation was also obtained 

 from observation of unburned stands adjacent to the 

 burned area. One such stand (ravine stand 7) is in a 

 relatively dry ravine with no established creek bed nor 

 sign of annual overland flow. A dense overstory was 

 composed of about 50 percent Douglas-fir, 40 percent 



3 



Figure 2. — Fire-killed stand of dense pole- 

 sized trees in Pattee Canyon. This stand had 

 been predominantly Douglas-fir. 



