TIPS FOR IDENTIFYING WHERE TO GET MORE UTE LADIES’-TRESSES INFORMATION? The white flowering stalks catch one’s eyes, Natural Heritage Program UTE LADIES’-TRESSES but in the leafy or dormant stages go unnoticed. 1515 East 6th Avenue, Helena, MT 59601 Habitat: Wet meadows or swales in valleys. Montana’s source for information on plants, Plants: Perennial, 5-20 inches tall. animals, and biological communities. A program diluvialis Flowers: Many, tubular, white flowers spiral on of the Natural Resource Information System the upper stem, like ‘braided hair.’ at the Montana State Library operated under a contract by the University of Montana.

Two side sepals Website: mtnhp.org often spread apart. Montana Field Guide: fieldguide.mt.gov MTNHP Botanist: Andrea Pipp 406-444-3019 Lip petal noticeably points Natural Resources Conservation Service downward; wavy. The NRCS provides America’s farmers, ranchers, and forestland owners with financial and technical Leaves: Long and narrow, becoming smaller assistance to voluntarily use conservation practices towards the upper stem. to achieve focused natural resource outcomes, Best Time to Survey: Late July - August. helping the environment and our working lands! Look-alikes: Differ in size, shape, & NRCS Service Center Offices arrangement of petals, sepals, & leaves. Beaverhead County - Dillon, MT 406-683-3800 Hooded Ladies’-tresses - Broadwater County - Townsend, MT 406-266-4253 Rein- & Bog-orchids - Piperia & Platanthera species Jefferson County - Whitehall, MT 406-287-3215 Gallatin County - Bozeman, MT 406-522-4000 Search on Montana Field Guide: Madison County - Sheridan, MT 406-842-5741 fieldguide.mt.gov

DISTRIBUTION U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service IN MONTANA Montana Ecological Services Field Office 585 Shephard Way, Suite 1, Helena, MT 59601 • Not all potential 406-449-5225 habitat has been surveyed. The Montana Ecological Services Field Office provides biological advice to other federal and state agencies, • Three consecutive industry, and members of the public concerning the A rare orchid native to valleys in survey years are conservation of fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitats the Beaverhead, Jefferson, Madison, best to determine that may be affected by development activities. presence due Upper Missouri, and Ruby River to prolonged dormancy. drainages in Montana where land is used for agriculture and ULT known sites ( ) and range (gray shading). urban infrastructure. THE MANY VALUES OF ACTIONS THAT SUPPORT WHY WE ARE WORKING TO UTE LADIES’-TRESSES (ULT) CONSERVATION CONSERVE UTE LADIES’-TRESSES

• A unique part of Montana’s natural heritage. ULT grows in small areas, making protection easier • Montana has only 28 known sites - • A sign of good land management. and requiring little time or financial investment. one site is likely extirpated. • Can co-exist with certain agricultural practices. ULT is sustained by: • Small populations, often under 100 plants. • All populations occur on private or state lands. • Winter grazing can promote flower and • Spring floods that recede and keep soils moist fruit/seed production. into late summer or a high groundwater table • Old data; 50% of sites surveyed before 1999. • Palatable for ungulates. because these reduce competing vegetation. • Potential habitat is present, but not surveyed. • Important pollinator for . • Grazing from October to May which reduces • Conservation on private lands can help competing vegetation and vole predation, recovery, leading to de-listing as Threatened. • An indicator of healthy environments because increasing flowering and fruiting. its life cycle requires specialized habitats, • Landowners may not realize how certain land pollinators, and soil fungi. • Haying in the early summer before practices can benefit ULT. flower stalks emerge which can promote Furthermore…. successful reproduction. • Admiring without picking flowers which helps UTE LADIES’-TRESSES • Plants form the foundation of plants successfully reproduce. AS A THREATENED SPECIES the habitats where we work and recreate. Recognizing that America’s rich natural heritage is Gathering data helps plants and landowners: of esthetic, ecological, educational, and scientific values • Plants provide us to our Nation and its people, with oxygen, food, • Surveys can assist landowners in knowing where populations occur, supporting the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was created medicine, shelter, in 1973 to recover & protect imperiled species. and landscaping; yet compatible land management practices, most rare plants, and helping to recover ULT. Listed in 1992 as Threatened because of: like ULT, are not • Contact your Local Conservation District or • Habitat loss and modification well studied. the MTNHP, NRCS, or USFWS offices to learn more or get involved. • Small populations in few locations • Submit observations, photographs, and data to ULT occurs in restricted habitats of , , the MTNHP Botanist. Montana, , , , & .

“Orchids are plants of Threatened Plants Have great beauty and charisma Few Protections Under ESA that can be used to focus • ESA regulations for Threatened plants do not attention on habitat apply on private lands. that holds more than • Any potential destruction, damage, or removal just the beautiful.” of Threatened plants on private lands is not a violation of the ESA. - Ned Nash, • If a landowner is receiving federal funding American Orchid Society for an activity, the federal agency will work Used with permission from with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to northamericanorchidcenter.org determine possible effects to listed plants.