Wyoming Native Plant Society

1603 Capitol Ave. #325
Cheyenne, WY 82001
307-634-9629

WYOMING NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY NEWS LETTER, Vol. 3 #2 March 1984

Treasurer’s Report ; The balance as of the last newsletter was $300.60. Deposits =
$88.00; Cost of newsletter 3(1) = $29,10; New balance « $359.50, New members
include William Reiners of Laramie and Tom Wolf of Ft. Collins. VW

Final EIS for the MX ; During the interval from the Draft EIS to the Final EIS
release in February, the U, S, Air Force made alternative agreements with the U. S.
Fish and Wildlife Service to avoid portions of the Colorado Butterfly Plant habitat.
A steel span bridge will be constructed over the only portion of the habitat they
intend to bisect. To monitor any decrease in number of individuals or the popula-
tion in general, the Air Force is possibly going to fund a study to assess the
vigor, status, and ecology of the species. Each of the comments that were sent in
for the Draft EIS from the three WNFS members were responded to by the Air Force
with the statement that they were going through Section 7 consultation under the
Endangered Species Act in conjunction with the preparation of a biological assess-
ment which will provide guidelines for protection of the F, E. Warren Air Force
Base populations. So now we are just in a holding pattern to see what they do
next . RWL

Note to Fellow Members of the Wyoming Native Plant Society : I have resigned my
position with "UP WITH PEOPLE!" so that I am now eligible (according to Bob Lichvar)
to join up with your outfit. Just as long as we agree that plants come before
people — and that native plants come before anything else at all. The Nature
Conservancy has hired me as a "protection planner" for this region. My job is to
take Lichvar' s data base and do something with it— specifically try to work with
federal land management planners towards integrating Natural Heritage Program data
into their planning process. Working with Lichvar, I will be assembling a ranked
list of plants and communities of concern. Then I will hit the road, trying to
reason with BLM and Forest Service planners, and trying to meet as many of you as
possible as I travel around the state. If I can be of help to you or to the
Society, please let me know how. You can be sure that I will be calling on you,
so let's make it mutual. Tom Wolf, Protection Planner, The Nature Conservancy,

419 S. Impala ffll, Fort Collins, CO 80521, (303)493-1407.

How Pristine Wyoming? — - During the summer of 1983, Bob Lichvar and I completed a
vegetation inventory of known and potential black-footed ferret habitat in Wyoming.
General locations of our study areas were the black-footed ferret colony west of
Meeteetse; Gillies Draw southeast of Meeteetse; Bull Elk Basin north of Powell;

Wasmer Flats between Evanston and Kemmerer; Horne Flats south of Medicine Bow;
Larsen's Ranch north of Wamsutter; Basin Ranch at the northern edge of the Wind
River Indian Reservation; and two prairie dog towns south of Laramie, This project
provided an opportunity to make detailed observations of many plant communities in
the western and southern portions of the state. It also opened our eyes to how
drastically the white man has disturbed Wyoming's rangelands in these areas. The
purpose of this article is not to criticize past land abuses, but to stress the
importance of identifying and protecting remnant presettlement communities before
they, too, are destroyed.

The grassy benches west of Meeteetse provide habitat for the black-footed ferret.
Historical overgrazing of this area has resulted in the dominance of prairie june-
grass (Koeleria macrantha ) , Similar disturbed grasslands are common in Washington,
Oregon, and Colorado's Piceance Basin. The presence of several species of wheat-
grass ( Agropyron spicatum . A, smithii , A, dasystachyum ) , which provide minimal
cover, indicates that presettlement vegetation was probably a wheatgrass grassland.

The 8 square mile Gillies Draw study area is characterized by highly dissected
topography and a complex mosaic of vegetation types. It has historically been used
as sheep range. The highly disturbed condition of the vegetation is evidenced by
the high percent cover and density of Gardner Saltbush ( Atriplex gardneri ) and
birdfoot sagewort ( Artemisia pedatifida ), the low percent cover of native grasses,
and the abundance of introduced, weedy species, such as cheatgrass ( Bromus tectorum ) ,
tansy mustard ( Descurainia pinnata ) , crested and intermediate wheatgrass ( Agropyron
cristatum , A. intermedium ) , and stickseed ( Lappula redowskii ) . Native vegetation
is thought to have been a Gardner saltbush/grads type, with the predominant species
being wheatgrasses (A. spicatum , A. dasystachyum) , needle-and-thread' ( St ip a comata) ,
and Indian ricegrass ( Qryzopsis hymenoides ) .

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Bull Elk Basin is a blight on the face of the earth. Thousands of acres here
were disced (assumed during the 1930’s or 1940's) and exotic grass species intro-
duced, presumably to improve range production. This attempt at range improvement
was a miserable failure, intensified over the years by overgrazing by sheep.

Swales are dominated by blue grama ( Bouteloua gracilis ) , plains prickly pear
( Opuntia polyacantha ) , and birdfoot sagewort. Disced areas are predominantly bare
ground (61 %). Species present here include Gardner saltbush, crested wheatgrass,
cheatgrass, Russian wildrye (Elymus junceus ) , tall wheatgrass ( Agropyron elongatum ) ,
tansy mustard, stickseed, pepperweed ( Lepidlum densif lorum ) , and plains prickly
pear.

Wasmer Flats is dominated by an alkali sagebrush ( Artemisia long iloba ) /mixed
grass type. Predominant grasses are bottlebrush squirreltail ( Sitanion hystrix ) ,
western wheatgrass, Sandberg bluegrass ( Foa sandbergii ), and thlckspike wheatgrass.
The entire valley between Evanston and Kemraerer was sprayed sometime in the past,
presumably to increase grass cover and improve range production. Grassy openings
are now dominated primarily by bottlebrush squirreltail. Total live shrub density
is approximately 5000 shrubs/acre, with an additional 2700 dead stumps/acre, a
result of spraying of the area. Presettlement vegetation is believed to have been
a much more diverse mixture of native grasses and alkali sage than occurs now.

The Horne Flats study area is used for livestock grazing. Presettlement species
composition of the 4 vegetation types found here has consequently been altered, but
the area is not as severely disturbed as some of the other sites we surveyed. The
predominant vegetation type is thlckspike wheatgrass-threadleaf sedge ( Carex
f ilifolia ) . Cover and density values of species such as Hood’s phlox (Phlox
hoodii ) , birdfoot sagewort, and broom snakeweed ( Gutierrezia sarothrae ) indicate
overgrazing of the type.

Larsen's Ranch is dominated by two vegetation types, birdfoot sagewort /western
wheatgrass and sagebrush. The area has historically been overgrazed. Sixty one
percent of the ground cover in the sagewort/ wheatgrass type is hare ground.
Additional evidence of overgrazing is species composition, low mean total plant
cover, extremely low species diversity, and a high percentage cover by increaser
species. Presettlement vegetation is believed to have been a mixture of sagewort,
sagebrush, and native grasses of a much different species composition than is
present now.

Basin Ranch, like the Meeteetse site, is predominantly a prairie junegrass
grassland and preset tlement vegetation is believed to be similar to the Meeteetse
site. The area is grazed and sites suitable for agriculture have been converted
to hay fields.

The two prairie dog towns south of Laramie have also been overgrazed by domestic
livestock. They are dominated by a western wheatgrass-blue grama grassland.

Important species include broom snakeweed, winterfat ( Eurotia lanata ) , fringed
sage ( Artemisia frigida ) , Hood's phlox, and Gardner saltbush. Presettlement vege-
tation is presumed to be western wheatgrass.

The data we collected this summer indicate that at least parts of Wyoming are
not as pristine as most of us would prefer to believe. It’s time that people in
Wyoming realize that for its wide-open spaces and spectacular scenery, Wyoming has
been and continues losing its pristine plant communities and their intrinsic
biological values, EIC

Notes on some plants occurring in the Beartooths I : The Bear tooth Plateau in Park
County, Wyoming is certainly one of the most well collected alpine areas in the
state. A relatively steady stream of collectors have worked the Beartooth Plateau
since the opening of the Red Lodge-Cooke City Highway (Beartooth Hwy.) in the
1930’s, The Beartooth Plateau and environs harbor a number of rare, seldom col-
lected, and otherwise interesting plant species that are found only here or are
found here and in a few other alpine areas in the state. Since the WNPS annual
meeting will be held this year in the Beartooths, it might be worthwhile to discuss
beforehand the many rare and interesting plants that will be seen this summer.

Rare species that have been found in the state only on the Beartooth Plateau
are Phippsia algida , Draba glabella , Rumex acetosa , and Pedlcularis oederi . The
first three species were collected on the plateau first by F. Johnson in 1958-59
while Pedicularis oederi was first collected on the plateau by F. W. Pennell in
1938. These three circumpolar arctic-alpine species (the Rumex is probably a
widespread introduced weed) have highly disjunct distributions in the Canadian
and American Rockies. Both Phippsia algida and Draba glabella are found in the
Colorado Rockies. The Beartooth Plateau apparently represents the most southerly
station in Worth America of Pedicularis oederi and perhaps of Rumex acetosa ■ It
would not be unreasonable to expect all four of these species in suitable alpine
habitats in other parts of Wyoming. Suitable alpine habitats would appear to be
wet gravel with continuously percolating water for the Phippsia , wet or mesic tundra
for the Pedicularis and the Rumex, and mesic tundra with perhaps some sheep dung
for the Draba , since Draba glabella is purportedly strongly nitrophilous . These
habitats and the dung are certainly not wanting in other Wyoming alpine areas. It
is interesting to note that the Draba and the Rumex are known only from the original
collections and along with Phippsia , known from only a few sites, represent three of

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Wyoming's rarest plants. On the other hand, Pedicularls oederi is not uncommon on
the plateau.

Of those rare arctic-alpine species which are found on the Beartooth Plateau
and in a few other alpine areas in the state, we can first list the interesting
quartet Juncus biglumis , J. castaneus , J. triglumis , and Carex bipartita . All
four of these species are found in Colorado, and small populations recently have
been found in the Bighorns, but are seemingly lacking from all other ranges in the
state, except the Absarokas and the Medicine Bow. It should be noted that Juncus
biglumis and Carex bipartlta are both present in the Absarokas, but are "no shows"
in the Medicine Bow; while .J, castaneus and .J. triglumis are both found in the
Medicine Bow, they are absent from the Absarokas, Juncus biglumis was first
collected in the state from the Beartooth Plateau by F. J. Hermann in 1955, while

castaneus and J j. triglumis were both first collected from the plateau by P.

Johnson in 1959. Carex bipartita was first collected in the state from the plateau
by me in 1980. These four inconspicuous, but interesting members of the Beartooth
plantscape are plants of wet, poorly drained soil; all four species readily can be
seen growing together in a variety of wet sites right along the Beartooth Hwy.

Festuca baf f inensis , Senecio fuscatus , and Antennaria lanata constitute another
interesting group of arctic-alpine species (alpine only for A. lanata ) found on
the Beartooth Plateau and in a few other alpine areas in the state. Senecio fuscatus
and Antennaria lanata appear to be at the southernmost extensions of their Worth
American ranges on the Beartooth Plateau and in the Absarokas (A. lanata reaches
the Bighorns) and are found in the state only here. Festuca baf f inensis ranges
farther south to the Absarokas, the Wind Rivers, and into Colorado. Festuca
baf f inensis was first collected in the state from the plateau by C. L. Porter and
R. Rollins in 1951. Apparently, originally identified as Festuca brachyphylla , it
was later correctly identified as F. baffinensis by A. E. Porsild. Festuca
baf f inensis is a plant of well— drained soils and can be found on ridge tops in dry
meadow- f ellf ield habitats on the plateau, Senecio fuscatus , first collected by A.
Cronquist in 1955? and Antennaria lanata. first collected in the state by C, L.

Porter and R. Rollins on the plateau in 1951, are both plants of meeic to dry tundra
meadows on the plateau.

Finally, we should be aware of a group of rare and interesting arctic-alpine
species which has been found in the state only on the plateau and in the Wind
River Mtns, This group consists of Koenig la Islandica , Eriophorutn callitrlx ,

Carex misandra , and Parrya nudicaulis . The first three were first collected in
the state from the plateau again by P. Johnson in 1958-60 during his studies with
W. D. Billings of the vegetation of the plateau. R. Rollins and C. Munoz were
the first white men to collect Parrya nudicaulis from the plateau in 1939, This
interesting and showy member of the mustard family, which also occurs in Utah but
not in Colorado, is found atop Beartooth Butte, a sedimentary monadnock just west
of the plateau, in well-drained limestone rubble. Koenigia islandica , Eriophorum
callitrlx , and Carex misandra are all plants of poorly drained soils on the plateau.
All have very disjunct distribution patterns in the Rockies. Koenigia islandica ,
one of the most minute plants in Wyoming's vascular flora, is found in and along
streamlets and in open places in bogs on the plateau. This tiny annual occurs in
similar situations in Colorado. Apparently, Eriophorum callitrlx does not reach
Colorado and the southern terminous of its range in North America is evidently in
the Wind River Mtns, This conspicuous cotton sedge is found in the extensive
sedge bogs on the plateau, Carex misandra , a very graceful and attractive sedge,
can be seen growing on the plateau along the edges of bogs and on the better drained
hummocks within these bogs.

Next time we will take a look at a number of rare or interesting non-arctic-
alpine plants that occur on or near the plateau and a few remaining arctic-alpine
one s , EFE

Annual Meeting : The annual meeting of the society is tentatively scheduled for
August 11-13, 1984, in the Beartooth Plateau area.

North Fork Well : The Draft EIS entitled North Fork Well concerning the proposed
exploratory oil well and oil field development in the North Fork Shoshone River
drainage has been published. This 88 page document may be obtained from the BLM
District Office, P. 0. Box 119, Worland, WY 82401. Your comments urging No Action,
Alternative 5, can be sent before April 16, 1984, to the above mentioned address.

The study area open to exploratory drilling and eventual development, should
marketable quantities of oil be found, encompasses 39,000 acres of extremely fragile,
rugged, and magnificent mountainous terrain of the Absarokas, ranging from 5,800-
10,200 ft, elev, in the Shoshone National Forest, 25 miles west of Cody. Since all
action alternatives (1-4) would allow development, should significant quanitities
of oil be found, and since the area's capacity to function as a harmonious, living,
healthy ecosystem would be seriously jeopardized or destroyed, should development
occur, it is strongly urged that Alternative 5, No Action, be adopted. It should
be pointed out that the type localities of two recently described Wyoming endemics,
Lomatium attennatum and Pensteaton abaarokensis , which are in the study area, also
would be jeopardized. EFE

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Some suggested scientific-natural areas for Wyoming :

SAWTOOTH PALSA

Location: one mile south of Sawtooth Mtn, on the Beartooth Plateau, Park County,
T57M R1Q4W Sec. 29 W%.

Natural Features: This treeless 40 acre site in the subalpine zone at 9700 ft.
consists of a paisa (a domed peat accumulation underlain with permafrost) and
thermokarst features (thaw depressions, etc.) surrounded by a sedge fen and wet
meadow. Paisa and thermokarst landforms are relatively common hundreds of miles
farther north in the zone of continuous permafrost, hut are exceedingly rare in
the conterminous United States. The paisa and thermokarst landforms in evidence at
this site are believed to be unique in the lower 48 states. The vascular plant
species comprising the vegetative cover of the paisa and surrounding wet areas
appear to be common species.

Ownership: U. S. Forest Service.

Management and Use Concerns; Although the site when visited in 1982 did not
display any untoward disturbances, peat mining, use by off road vehicles, and grazing
by cattle and sheep all pose potential threats to this unique area.

References and Comments; Collins, E. , 1982, Bogs and Fens in Wyoming, WNFSNL
2(3):3-4. Collins, E. , et al. , 1984, Description of the only Known Fen-Falsa in
the 48 Conterminous United States, Arctic and Alpine Research 16: — , The existence
in Wyoming of the only known paisa in the lower 48 states is remarkable. This
unique and highly significant natural area is in need of protection and should be
designated a Research Natural Area by the Forest Service. EFE
PREACHER ROCK BOG- SWAMP COMPLEX

Location: Immediately west of Preacher Rock at the head of Ranger Creek in the
Bighorn Mtns., Sheridan County, T54N R86W Sec 31 NW*i.

Natural Features: The 20-30 acre site in the montane zone at 8200 ft. consists
of willow-alder marsh, sedge fen, spruce-fir swamp forest, and Sphagnum bog.

Several species of Sphagnum and other mosses dominate, along with a number of rare
vascular species, Eriophorum chamissonis , Carex gynocrates , saxatills , and Juncus
regelli , in the interesting bog area. The swamp forest which grades into the
Sphagnum bog contains populations of Ledum glandulosum , one of only two stations in
the Bighorns, and Equisetum sylvaticum , the only known station in Wyoming outside
the Black Hills, While the willow-alder and sedge fen communities occurring on
the site are not unusual for Wyoming, the Sphagnum bog-swamp forest complex, with
its uncommon assemblage of species, certainly is. Only four or five Sphagnum bogs
are known to occur in the entire state.

Ownership: U. S, Forest Service,

Management and Use Concerns: The site is used by moose which I observed on the
two occasions that I visited the area and by cattle which were observed in 1983, a
dry year. Although perhaps not grazed by cattle during wet years, the site in 1983
was extensively trampled and closely cropped by cattle so that a number of the rare
bog species were not readily observable. Since it is likely that repeated heavy
use of the bog by cattle will cause its destruction, use by cattle should he
regulated .

References and Comment: Collins, E. , 1982, Bogs and Fens in Wyoming, WNPSNL
2 (3): 3-4. Evert, E. , 1982 Field Work, WNPSNL 2 (3): 1-2. The presence in the
Bighorn Mtns. of one of the few known Sphagnum bogs in the state should be
recognized and this unusual natural area should be afforded the protection that
it deserves. EFE
DUG0UT GULCH

Location: seven miles south of Beulah in the Black Hills, Crook County, T52N
R60W Secs. 30 and 31.

Natural Features: Dugout Gulch has one of the highest concentrations of eastern
deciduous and boreal forest species and plant communities in the Black Hills.

Some species found here are: Rub us pubescens , Asclepias ovallfolia , Lonicera dloiea ,
Polygala verticillata , Aster oblongif olius , Polys tichum lonchitis , Halenia def lexa ,
Qxalis stricta, Po lygala senega , Stipa spartea , Botrychium virginianum , Carex
retrorsa , Festuca subulata , Maianthemum canadense , and Geum canadense , The plant
communities include Ostrya vlrg inlana , Quercus macrocarpa , Betula papyrifera ,

U Imus americana and Corylus cornuta ■ Some or most of these species can be found
in other areas in the Black Hills, but no other canyon in the Black Hills of
Wyoming has all of these species in one place as does Dugout Gulch.

Ownership: U. S, Forest Service and Homestake Management and Use Concerns.

References and Comments: Memo from Barry Johnston to Spearfish District, U. S.
Forest Service, 1982. R, Lichvar letter to Spearfish District, U. S, Forest
Service, 1982. The significance of Dugout Gulch is as follows: 1) in Wyoming no
other known site has all these unique communities and species, 2) chances of finding
such a canyon in the South Dakota Black Hills to match this site is low, and 3)
the western and southern extension of the species located here in conjunction with
the western flora makes this a highly unusual site regionally.

Management and Use Concerns: An old primitive road does exist in the Gulch and
cattle are known to graze in the bottoms. A new logging road is being proposed
by the Forest Service which our society has opposed before without getting a
satisfactory answer. Our interest in the Gulch is to have no further roads devel-
oped and have this site designated as a Research Natural Area. KWh

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Botanical Novelties : Edward L. Greene was born in Rhode Island in 1843. Twelve
years later his family moved to Illinois and shortly after to Wisconsin. There he
was tutored informally by a Swedish naturalist Thure Kumlien. As a youngster Greene
was independent and opinionated which carried through to his botanical years. He
moved to Denver on April 8, 1870 , and immediately began botanizing in the area.

On June 20, 1872, he jumped off the train at the Colorado-Wyoming line south of
Cheyenne for his first botanizing in Wyoming. He returned on July 1-3 for more
botanizing on Sherman Hill. His "Rambles of a Botanist in Wyoming Territory” in
the American Naturalist of 1874 are almost the only early discriptions of vegetation
for the Cheyenne area. He described many new species including Machaeranthera
linearis , Grindeiia subalpina , Phlox alyssif olla , Fo lemon i urn occi dentale , and
Sorb us scopulina . Most were described in his own journals of Pittonia and Leaflets
of Botanical Observation and Criticism . He is remembered by Chrysothamnus greenel
and others. He left his herbarium to Notre Dame University with the stipulation
that anyone using it would have to travel to that institution. No loans are
possible.

Charles Christopher Parry was born in England in 1823 and came to America in
1832. In 1873 he was a member of the Jones Expedition which went from Green River
to Yellowstone Park by way of the Owl Creek Mountains and the Shoshone River.

Almost all collecting In the Owl Creeks and Absarokas except for the last 10 years
or so was done by Parry on the 1873 expedition. A number of new species were
discovered on the expedition including Stan ley a tomentosa , Aquilegia jonesii , and
Townsendia condensata . He is remembered by Primula parryi, Campanula parryi, and
Townsendia parryi . A report of the expedition was provided by W. A. Jones in 1875
published by the government.

N. H. Winchell and A. B. Donaldson accompanied the Custer Expedition into the
Black Hills in 1874 and made a fair collection of plants, A report of the expedi-
tion was provided by W. Ludlow in 1875 published by the government. RDD

VW - Virginia Wheeler
RWL ” Robert W. Lichvar
EIC = Ellen I. Collins
EFE - E. F. Evert
RDD ~ Robert D. Dorn