Field Investigations of Sensitive Plant Taxa Occurring on the Priest Lake Ranger District, Kaniksu National Forest, Idaho Panhandle National Forests
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FIELD INVESTIGATIONS OF SENSITIVE PLANT TAXA OCCURRING ON THE PRIEST LAKE RANGER DISTRICT, KANIKSU NATIONAL FOREST, IDAHO PANHANDLE NATIONAL FORESTS. by Robert J. Bursik Conservation Data Center Nongame/Endangered Wildlife Program February 1992 Idaho Department of Fish and Game 600 South Walnut, P.O. Box 25 Boise, Idaho 83707 Jerry M. Conley, Director Cooperative Challenge Cost-share Project Idaho Panhandle National Forests Idaho Department of Fish and Game ABSTRACT Field investigation for Region One Forest Service sensitive plant species on the Priest Lake Ranger District of the Kaniksu National Forest were carried out June through October 1991 by the Idaho Conservation Data Center (CDC) of Idaho Fish and Game. Funding for this project was provided by Idaho Fish and Game and the Idaho Panhandle National Forests to survey habitats on the Priest Lake Ranger District for sensitive plant populations. This report concerns two Challenge Cost-share projects, one of which provided funds for a general survey of the Priest Lake Ranger District for all Region One Forest Service sensitive and watch plant species. The other Challenge Cost-share project provided funds for a survey of the Priest Lake Ranger District specifically for Maianthemum dilatatum (false lily-of-the-valley), a Region One watch species previously documented on lands controlled by the Idaho Department of Lands on the east side of Priest Lake, but which had not previously been documented on USFS lands in Region One. No populations of false lily-of-the-valley were located during field surveys. Indeed, the population of false lily-of-the-valley from Indian Lake on the east side of Priest Lake could not be relocated. The status of this species in northern Idaho remains uncertain until a documented location can be found. Populations of 23 Region One Forest Service sensitive species were located during 1991 or were previously documented on the Priest Lake Ranger District. Taxonomy, identification, distribution, abundance, habitat relationships, and management suggestions are discussed for each species. Recommendations concerning the conservation status for each species in Idaho and in Region One are also made. Two species currently on the Region One FS sensitive list are recommended for removal from the list in this report. Five species known to occur on the Kaniksu National Forest are nominated for Region One sensitive status in this document, and two Region One watch species are recommended to be moved from the watch to the sensitive list due to documentation of these taxa on the Priest Lake Ranger District during 1991. Finally two species currently on the Region One sensitive list should be moved from the sensitive list to the watch list as they are not currently known from Region One USFS lands. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .............................................. i TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................... ii LIST OF APPENDICES .................................... iv INTRODUCTION .......................................... 1 RESULTS ............................................... 2 SENSITIVE VASCULAR FLORA .............................. 3 Arnica alpina var. tomentosa ..................... 5 Blechnum spicant ................................. 8 Carex buxbaumii .................................. 13 Carex flava ...................................... 19 Carex leptalea ................................... 24 Carex paupercula ................................. 28 Cicuta bulbifera ................................. 33 Dryopteris cristata .............................. 39 Epilobium palustre ............................... 43 Gaultheria hispidula ............................. 47 Hypericum majus .................................. 52 Lycopodium inundatum ............................. 56 Maianthemum dilatatum ............................ 61 Muhlenbergia racemosa ............................ 65 Rhynchospora alba ................................ 69 Romanzoffia sitchensis ........................... 73 Rubus pubescens .................................. 76 Rubus spectabilis ................................ 81 Salix pedicellaris ............................... 86 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS cont. Sanicula marilandica ............................. 90 Scheuchzeria palustris ........................... 95 Scirpus hudsonianus ............................. 100 Scirpus subterminalis ........................... 105 Streptopus streptopoides ........................ 109 Tellima grandiflora ............................. 113 Thelypteris phegopteris ......................... 117 Trientalis arctica .............................. 121 Vaccinium oxycoccos ............................. 125 DISCUSSION AND OVERALL RECOMMENDATIONS ............... 129 REFERENCES ........................................... 133 iii LIST OF APPENDICES APPENDIX 1 ... Line drawings of Sensitive Plant Species of the Priest Lake Ranger District. APPENDIX 2 ... Mapped locations of Sensitive Plant populations on the Priest Lake Ranger District. APPENDIX 3 ... Selected wetlands with high concentrations of Sensitive plant populations and a list of wetland plant communities occurring in each wetland on the Priest Lake and Bonners Ferry Ranger Districts. iv INTRODUCTION The National Forest Management Act and Forest Service policy require that Forest Service land be managed to maintain populations of all existing native animal and plant species at or above the minimum viable population level. A minimum viable population consists of the number of individuals, adequately distributed throughout their range, necessary to perpetuate the existence of the species in natural, genetically stable, self- sustaining populations. The Forest Service, along with other Federal and State agencies, has recognized the need for special planning considerations in order to protect the flora and fauna on lands in public ownership. Species recognized by the Forest Service as needing such considerations are those that (1) are designated under the Endangered Species Act as endangered or threatened, (2) are under consideration for such designation, or (3) appear on a regional Forest Service Sensitive Species list. This report constitutes a summary of findings of two Challenge Cost-share projects on the Priest Lake Ranger District of the Kaniksu National Forest. This project is a cooperative effort between the Idaho Department of Fish and Game's Conservation Data Center and the Idaho Panhandle National Forests through the Challenge Cost-share Program. Two previous Challenge Cost-share projects on the Priest Lake Ranger District focused on Sensitive Plant Species of wetland habitats (Caicco 1987; 1988). The primary objectives of this investigation were to: 1) Survey habitats on the Priest Lake RD for rare plant taxa, concentrating on moist, forested habitats likely to support false lily-of-the-valley and other Sensitive Species of these habitats. 2) Determine the distribution, habitat and population levels for sensitive taxa encountered. 3) Assess population trends and threats to existing populations and make management recommendations to the Regional Forester and Idaho Panhandle NFs based on these assessments. 1 RESULTS Between June and October, 1991, I surveyed numerous habitats on the Priest Lake Ranger District, including a wide range of forested habitats. Special attention was given to surveying old- growth and riparian habitats, however, many second growth forests were also visited. Also, a broad variety of wetland habitats were surveyed to reconfirm Sensitive Plant population locations previously documented and to search for new populations of Sensitive Species in previously surveyed wetlands as well as in some previously unsurveyed wetlands. Populations of 23 plant taxa of concern (including Region One FS Sensitive and Watch Species, and species currently nominated for Region One Sensitive status) were located during these field surveys. Several notable collections were made during 1991, including the rediscovery of Rubus spectabilis (salmonberry), a coastal disjunct species previously known from a turn-of-the-century collection by Piper from "Priest Lake", which was recently thought to be extirpated from Idaho. In fact, five populations of salmonberry were documented during 1991. Several populations of Rubus pubescens (swamp red blackberry), which was previously known from only one site in Idaho, MacArthur Lake, south of Bonners Ferry, were found in the Priest Lake RD. Additionally a population of Scirpus hudsonianus (Hudson's Bay bulrush) was located in Cow Creek Fen, near the Selkirk crest on the Bonners Ferry RD, Kaniksu NF. Hudson's bay bulrush was previously known from only one site in the Pacific Northwest (Glacier National Park). This species is described in detail in this report, as well, although no populations of Hudson's Bay bulrush were found on the Priest Lake RD. 2 SENSITIVE VASCULAR FLORA Prior to 1991, 24 Region One Forest Service Sensitive Plant Species were thought to occur on the Priest Lake RD. Twenty of these species as well as five additional species known from the Priest Lake Ranger District are recommended to be kept on or are nominated for inclusion on the Region One Sensitive Plant List for 1992. Each of the five species nominated for sensitive status are treated in detail in this document. Additionally, two Region One Watch Species (Rubus pubescens, dwarf red blackberry, and Rubus spectabilis, salmonberry) were documented on the Priest Lake RD during 1991 and should be upgraded from Watch Species to Sensitive Species