Squaw Rock a Proposed Montana State Natural Area
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University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 1983 Squaw Rock a proposed Montana State Natural Area Janet L. Illgner The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Illgner, Janet L., "Squaw Rock a proposed Montana State Natural Area" (1983). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 5952. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/5952 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SQUAW ROCK, A PROPOSED MONTANA STATE NATURAL AREA by Janet L. Illgner B.S., University of Nebraska (Omaha), 1975 Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA 1977 Approved by: Chairman, Board of Examiners Dean, Graduate School / UMI Number: EP36753 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMT O isM rtM bn PublHUwtg UMI EP36753 Published by ProQuest LLC (2013). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQ æ sf ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 - 1346 ABSTRACT Illgner, Janet L., M.A., December, 1977 Botany Squaw Rock: A Proposed Montana State Natural Area Director: James R. Habecji^/^. In 1974, the Montana Natural Areas Act was enacted by the Montana State Legislature. This stimulated interest in setting aside representative, natural ecosystems throughout Montana. A detailed interpretation of the Natural Areas Act is presented, including earlier legis lative history of this act; progress in implementing this natural area legislation, since 1974, is also reviewed. The objective of this investigation centers around the development of an approach to be followed in compre hensively describing the ecological features and values of nominated state natural areas. One such nominated area. Squaw Rock, located in Granite County in the upper Rock Creek drainage (T7N-R16W, Section 16) was the recipient of detailed study during the summers of 1976 and 1977. Utilizing the special knowledge and expertise of pro fessional scientists and resource managers familiar with Squaw Rock and the surrounding areas, extracting information from past research reports, and spending many days examining and measuring the proposed Squaw Rock Natural Area's biotic features, a natural area description was developed. Emphasis has been placed on the zoologie, geologic, aquatic and botanic character istics of Squaw Rock. Detailed maps of vegetation (habitat types), geology and soils were prepared. Suggestions for site management are presented and di scussed. 11 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This thesis has required time and cooperation from many individuals. It is my pleasure to acknowledge them. I would like to thank Dr. J.R. Habeck, my committee chairman, for his help and patience, especially during the last few weeks of thesis preparation. I am indebted to Dr. Stephen Arno for his constant support, encouragement and advice. I would also like to extend my thanks to Dr. Sherman Preece and Dr. Riley McClelland, the other members of my commi ttee. The study was financially supported in part by the Department of State Lands and the Graduate School of the University of Montana. David Ondov designed the computer program for analy zing the field data, and Kathy Davis Sneck spent a day with me studying the fire history of the study site. I would like to thank my fellow graduate students at the University of Montana Botany Department for their advice and encouragement. A warm thank you to the people of Rock Creek; Earlene and Lawrence E llio tt, the Bob Neal family, Cathy, and Larry and Barbara Clark for, the hospitality shown me during my stay in their valley. i i i 1 V Finally, a very special thank you to Laurel Hilary Pye, my colleague and cohort, who lived with me for the summer in the one-room USFS cabin, and to Alan K. Johnson, who shared the joys and sorrows of my work, keeping faith until the end. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT.............................................................................................................i i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................viii LIST OF FIGURES...........................................................................................ix LIST OF PLATES..................................................................................................x Chapter I. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................. I II. REVIEW OF THE LEGISLATIVE HISTORY ......................... 5 The Montana Natural Areas Act of 1974 . 5 History of the Montana State Natural Areas A c t ..............................................................................7 II I . STUDY AREA.......................................................................................16 Location .....................................................................................16 General Site Description ........................................... 16 C l i m a t e.....................................................................................21 IV. METHODS...........................................................................................25 Literature Search and Review ........................................ 25 Field Procedures..................................................................27 Data A n a ly s i s.......................................................................29 V. RESULTS...........................................................................................31 G e o lo g y.....................................................................................31 S o i l s ..........................................................................................37 V 1 Chapter Page Grassland and Shrub!and Types ............................. 46 Habitat Types .............................................................. 47 Effects of G razing ..................................................... 54 F o r e s t s ................................................................................. 56 Habitat Types .............................................................. 57 Disturbances ................................................................... 65 Aquatic Features .......................................................... 70 Water Qua 1 i t y .............................................................. 71 F i s h e r i e s........................................................................ 72 W i l d l i f e .................................................................................. 73 Mammals............................................................................. 74 B i r d s .................................................................................. 76 The Rock Creek Bighorn Sheep............................. 77 VI. MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS ................................................. 82 Management Zones .............................................................. 84 Management Practices ..................................................... 85 VII. SUMMARY...................................................................................... 92 REFERENCES CITED ...................................................................................... 94 APPENDIX A ................................................................................................... 98 APPENDIX B .........................................................................................................103 APPENDIX C .........................................................................................................104 APPENDIX D .........................................................................................................109 APPENDIX E ..........................................................................................................Ill V 1 1 Page APPENDIX F ...........................................................................................................118 APPENDIX G ...........................................................................................................120 APPENDIX H ...........................................................................................................123 APPENDIX I ...........................................................................................................130 APPENDIX J ...........................................................................................................131 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Climato iogica1 Data for the Philipsburg Ranger Station .....................................................................