Spalding's catchfly (Silene spaldingii S.Watson) at the Garden Creek Ranch, Craig Mountain, Idaho. 1993-2018

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The Garden Creek Ranch, a 14,000-acre ranch located on Craig Mountain approximately 30 miles south of Lewiston, has the largest know occurrence of the Threatened plant, Spalding’s catchfly (Silene spaldingii S.Watson), in Idaho [Hill and Gray 2004; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) 2007]. Numerous surveys, monitoring projects, and conservation work for Spalding’s catchfly have been conducted by The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Idaho Natural Heritage Program (IDNHP), research scientists, and others, at the Ranch over the past 25 years since its discovery there in 1993. The majority of this work was done between 1993 and 2002 prior to the availability of Global Positioning System (GPS) units and digital mapping. Altimeters and compasses were used to determine plant locations that were then delineated on topographic maps. Plant locations were grouped into 43 subpopulations. Rare Plant Observation Forms (RPOFs) were completed for each subpopulation and submitted to the Idaho rare plant database, Idaho Conservation Data Center (IDCDC), currently known as the Idaho Fish and Wildlife Information System (IFWIS). Subsequent surveys, occurring after 2002, utilized GPS and digital mapping and documented 3 additional subpopulations. Currently, 4,318 Spalding’s catchfly plants have been documented in 46 subpopulations at Garden Creek Ranch. All of the survey, conservation, and monitoring work has been well-documented in several reports, but this information has never been summarized in one document that includes a digital map of all known subpopulations, determines highest plant count at each subpopulation, and provides a total current plant count for the Garden Creek Ranch. <br>

This report provides complete and current documentation of Spalding’s catchfly at the Garden Creek Ranch. The original hand-drawn topographic maps of the 43 subpopulations delineated between 1993 and 2002 were converted to a digital format, and the 3 subpopulations documented after 2002 were added to provide a complete digital map of all 46 known subpopulations. All survey, conservation, and monitoring work done at each subpopulation was summarized to determine the highest plant count at each subpopulation; this provided a baseline for comparison with any future assessment of individual subpopulations and also a total current plant count for the Garden Creek Ranch. All RPOFs completed for Spalding’s catchfly at the Ranch are presented in this report, including the hand-written RPOFs completed between 1993 and 2002 (converted to a digital format). Information in the IFWIS database for the Spalding’s catchfly at Garden Creek Ranch was examined, updated, and revised to more accurately reflect current size and condition of the Spalding’s catchfly population at the Ranch. This document will serve as a baseline of comparison with any future survey, monitoring, and conservation work at the Ranch.

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Reference Code: U19HIL02IDUS <br>

Full Citation: Hill, J.L. 2019. Spalding's catchfly (Silene spaldingii S.Watson) at the Garden Creek Ranch, Craig Mountain, Idaho. 1993-2018. Idaho Natural Heritage Program, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Boise, Idaho. Pp. 20, plus appendices. <br>

Location: ELECTRONIC FILE - BOTANY: PLANT SPECIES: Silene spaldingii <br>

Keywords: Canyon grasslands, Cave Gulch Saddle EO 20, Craig Mountain, Garden Creek Ranch, Garden Creek Ranch EO 6, Silene spaldingii, Snake River, Spalding’s catchfly <br>