Even in the most severe kill areas, however, some young plants 

 up to 12 inches (30 cm) high were not affected (fig. 4). Partial 

 kill of large plants was common (fig. 5), with increased fre- 

 quency bordering normally exposed areas, protected areas, and 

 areas ascending from valley or canyon bottoms. It was typical 

 for mountain big sagebrush to be killed in canyon bottoms, but 

 not injured at all on adjacent normally exposed or partially ex- 

 posed slopes. Of the areas we visited, mountain big sagebrush 

 {Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyam) was the only big sagebrush 

 observed to be injured. Basin or valley big sagebrush {Artemisia 

 tridentata ssp. tridentata) occurs at lower elevations and ap- 

 parently was not damaged as extensively. This appeared to be 

 generally true from survey reports although familiarity with the 



subspecies is not universal enough to make this generalization. 

 Juniperus communis, a procumbent shrub (fig. 6), was injured 

 virtually everywhere it occurred over the southeastern portion 

 of the Challis National Forest. The foliage on the entire to up- 

 per portions of plants had turned brown, but it did not appear 

 that the plants were entirely killed. On the Targhee National 

 Forest in southeastern Idaho, huckleberry ( Kccc/>7/wm spp.), 

 which grows under a canopy of lodgepole pine, was damaged 

 over large areas. Characteristically the upper 6 to 12 inches (15 

 to 30 cm) of plants were dead and leafless. Snowberry {Sym- 

 phoricarpos spp.) damage on the southern Sawtooth National 

 Forest (fig. 7) in Idaho was similar to that of Vaccinium. 

 Spotty to intense winter injury of Ceanothus sp. was present 

 almost everywhere the plant occurred (fig. 8). 



Figure 4.— Meadow with winter-killed sage- 

 brush. Note patch of unaffected young sage- 

 brush plants in center of photo, east of 

 Oakley, Idaho, Sawtooth National Forest. 



4 



