Fen vegetation and rare plant population monitoring in Cow Creek Meadows and Smith Creek Research Natural Area, Selkirk Mountains, Idaho

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Abstract:

Botanical exploration has revealed that Cow Creek Meadows, on the east slope of the Selkirk Mountains, Idaho, are of extraordinary biodiversity value. Seven rare plant populations are known from the meadows along with one rare animal. In addition, grizzly bear and woodland caribou are known to use the drainage during parts of the year. Human activities in the form of cattle grazing, logging, and road building have had an impact on the meadows and are seen as a potential threat to the sensitive plant and animal populations that occur there. In 1992, Idaho Fish and Game's Conservation Data Center and Bonners Ferry Ranger District, Idaho Panhandle National Forests, entered into a cooperative agreement to establish monitoring plots in fen habitats of Cow Creek Meadows and Smith Creek RNA to ascertain whether logging and cattle grazing are having negative effects on the sensitive plant populations in Cow Creek Meadows. Smith Creek RNA is the control area for this study. Nine ECODATA plots were placed in the Cow Creek Meadows and four were placed in Smith Creek RNA. An inventory of the vascular and bryophyte floras were made in each area. One hundred and one vascular and bryophyte species occur in the Cow Creek Meadows, making it one of the most floristically diverse peatland systems in Idaho. Reanalysis of Cover Microplot data for each ECODATA plot is recommended at three- to four-year intervals over the next 20 years or more to assess population and habitat trends. Management recommendations are made, including a proposal to establish Cow Creek Meadows as a Special Interest Botanical Area.

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Reference Code: U93BUR01IDUS

Full Citation: Bursik, R. J. 1993. Fen vegetation and rare plant population monitoring in Cow Creek Meadows and Smith Creek Research Natural Area, Selkirk Mountains, Idaho. Cooperative Challenge Cost-share Project, Idaho Panhandle National Forests and Conservation Data Center, Purchase Order No. 40-0281-3-0086. Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Boise, ID. 25 pp. plus appendices

Location: ELECTRONIC FILE ECOLOGY