Peatlands on National Forests of the Northern Rocky ... · United States Department of Agriculture...

United StatesDepartmentof Agriculture

Forest Service

Rocky MountainResearch Station

General TechnicalReportRMRS-GTR-11

July 1998

Peatlands on National Forests ofthe Northern Rocky Mountains:Ecology and Conservation

Steve W. ChaddeJ. Stephen ShellyRobert J. BursikRobert K. MoseleyAngela G. EvendenMaria MantasFred RabeBonnie Heidel

Rocky Mountain Research Station(formerly Intermountain Research Station)

324 25th StreetOgden, UT 84401

The AuthorsSteve W. Chadde is an Ecological Consultant in Calu-met, MI. At the time of this research project he wasEcologist with the USDA Forest Service’s Northern RegionNatural Areas Program.

J. Stephen Shelly is a Regional Botanist with the USDAForest Service’s Northern Region Headquarter’s Officein Missoula, MT.

Robert J. Bursik is Botanical Consultant in Amery, WI.At the time of this research he was a Botanist with theIdaho Department of Fish and Game’s ConservationData Center in Boise, ID.

Robert K. Moseley is Plant Ecologist and Director for theIdaho Department of Fish and Game’s ConservationData Center in Boise, ID.

Angela G. Evenden is a Botanical Consultant andformer Natural Areas Program Manager with the USDAForest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station inMissoula, MT.

Maria Mantas is Forest Botanist with the Flathead Na-tional Forest in Kalispell, MT.

Fred Rabe is an Aquatic Biologist and retired professorfrom the University of Idaho in Moscow, ID.

Bonnie Heidel is Botanist with the Montana NaturalHeritage Program in Helena, MT.

Research SummaryPeatlands are an uncommon landscape feature in the

Northern Rocky Mountains of the United States andprovide habitat for a number of plant and animal speciesdependent on these environments. As such, peatlandsare an important contributor to local and regional biologi-cal diversity. Peatlands also have considerable scientificvalue (via coring) as repositories of pollen and ashdeposits, providing insight into postglacial vegetationand climates. Included in this report are a description ofthe physical components, vegetation, vascular andnonvascular flora, and invertebrate fauna associatedwith peatlands on National Forests in northeastern Wash-ington, Idaho, and Montana. Also included are descrip-tions of 58 sites representative of the diversity of peatlandspresent within the study area. Research needs andconservation tools to protect peatlands are discussed.

AcknowledgmentsThe authors thank a number of reviewers for sharing

their expertise and comments in the preparation of thisreport. In Montana, support for the project was providedby the Natural Areas Program of the Northern Region/Rocky Mountain Research Station, U.S. Department ofAgriculture, Forest Service. Dan Svoboda (Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest) and Dean Sirucek (FlatheadNational Forest) contributed portions of the soils andgeology chapters. Louis Kuennen and Dan Leavell(Kootenai National Forest) guided the authors to sev-eral interesting peatlands. Mark Shapley, hydrologist,Helena, MT, volunteered his time and provided insightsinto the hydrology and water chemistry of several richfens. Dr. Diana Horton, University of Iowa identified anumber of moss collections.

In Idaho, most of the peatland studies were conductedthrough the University of Idaho, with funding from theC. R. Stillinger Trust and the Idaho Conservation DataCenter, with funding from the following United StatesDepartment of Agriculture, Forest Service offices: IdahoPanhandle, Targhee, and Sawtooth National Forests,Intermountain Region, and the Rocky Mountain Re-search Station. Bob Shackleford and Jill Blake, bothformerly with the Idaho Panhandle National Forests, andNancy Shaw from the Rocky Mountain Research Stationwere especially helpful. Other scientists who contributedto the inventory and research of peatlands in Idahoinclude Douglass Henderson, University of Idaho (de-ceased), Peter Mehringer, Washington State University,Peter Van de Water, Arizona State University, JohnRumely, Montana State University (retired), CharlesWellner, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service(retired), Michael Mancuso and Steven Caicco, IdahoConservation Data Center, and Linda Cazier, Palouse-Clearwater Environmental Institute. Russell C. Bigghamcontributed to the invertebrate descriptions. John Christy,Oregon Natural Heritage Program, identified Idaho mosscollections.

Peter Lesica, Stephen Cooper, Dr. Joe Elliott, and Dr.Steve Arno reviewed the final manuscript and providedmany useful comments. Joe Elliott also provided valu-able moss information for a number of peatlands.

ContentsPage

Introduction ................................................................1Objectives ..................................................................2Methods .....................................................................2

Site Selection ..........................................................2Plant Community Sampling ....................................3Site Evaluation and Ranking ...................................3

Peatland Distribution ..................................................4Idaho and Northeastern Washington ......................6Montana ..................................................................6Northwestern Wyoming...........................................6

Physical Setting..........................................................6Climate ....................................................................6Geology ..................................................................7Terrestrial Vegetation .............................................7

Peatland Types ..........................................................8Poor Fens ...............................................................9Rich and Extremely Rich Fens .............................10Ombrotrophic Bogs ...............................................10

Peatland Formation ..................................................10Lake-Fill or Basin Peatlands .................................11Flow-Through or Slope Peatlands ........................11Patterned Fens .....................................................11Paludification ........................................................12

Peatland Soils ..........................................................12Classification of Peatland Soils .............................13Peat Profiles .........................................................13Peatland Water Chemistry ....................................13

Peatland Components..............................................14Floating Mats ........................................................14Carr .......................................................................14Paludified Forest ...................................................14Lakes and Ponds ..................................................15Stream ..................................................................15Beaver Activity ......................................................15Palsa .....................................................................16

Peatland Vegetation and Flora.................................16Vascular Flora .......................................................16Bryophyte Flora ....................................................17Classification of Plant Community Types .............17Rare Vascular Flora ..............................................21

Photographs of the Different Types of Peatland Environments ......................................23

Photographs of Common and Rare Peatland Plants .................................................................26

Peatlands as Historical Archives ..............................29Peatland Fauna ........................................................30

Invertebrates .........................................................30Vertebrates ...........................................................31

Peatland Conservation .............................................31Threats ..................................................................32Management of Peatlands on National Forests .....32Site Protection Through Special Area

Designations .......................................................33Site Evaluation and Ranking .................................33

Research and Monitoring Needs..............................35Inventory ...............................................................35Classification .........................................................35Monitoring .............................................................36Research ..............................................................36Education ..............................................................36

Glossary ...................................................................36References ...............................................................40Appendix A: Vascular and Nonvascular Plant

Species of Peatlands in Idaho and WesternMontana ..............................................................44

Appendix B: Peatland Site Descriptions...................54Appendix C: Invertebrates Associated with

Peatlands in the Northern Rocky Mountains ......73

Page

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USDA Forest Service Gen Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-11. 1998 1

Introduction ____________________Peatlands are generally defined as wetlands with

waterlogged substrates and approximately 30 cm ormore of peat1 accumulation (Kivinen and Pakarinen1981). Once peat has developed to this depth, theavailability of oxygen and nutrients essential to plantgrowth drops sharply, and plant roots must obtaintheir mineral nutrients from the saturated, oxygen-poor peat. Lack of oxygen and cool temperatures limitplant growth, microbial decomposition, and subse-quent nutrient cycling. Peatlands are, therefore, de-pendent on external supplies of nutrients from eitherthe atmosphere or inflowing, mineral-enriched water.

Peatlands are most extensive in northern latitudeswith cool, humid climates where precipitation exceedsevapotranspiration. They are best developed on low-elevation, nearly level landforms having some degreeof impeded drainage. Worldwide, extensive peatlandareas occur in boreal regions, including significantportions of Siberia, Eastern Europe, Finland, Canada,and Alaska. In North America, major peatland areasare located in the Hudson Bay lowlands and GreatSlave and Great Bear Lake areas of Canada, and theGlacial Lake Agassiz region of Canada and northernMinnesota (fig. 1) (Zoltai and Pollet 1983). An esti-mated 12 percent of Canada’s land area is peatland(Zoltai 1988).

In the Northern Rocky Mountains2 of the UnitedStates, peatlands are uncommon, in large part dueto a climate unfavorable to their extensive develop-ment. Peatlands become even rarer southward in thecordillera. For example, in the central and southernRocky Mountains of Wyoming and Colorado, theremay be sites with adequate moisture or humidity forpeatland development, but intense solar radiationmay be unfavorable to the establishment of peatlandplants (Larsen 1982). In the same area, summer dry

Peatlands on National Forests ofthe Northern Rocky Mountains:Ecology and ConservationSteve W. ChaddeJ. Stephen ShellyRobert J. BursikRobert K. MoseleyAngela G. EvendenMaria MantasFred RabeBonnie Heidel

1Words in bold italics are defined in the glossary. The glossaryalso includes terms generally used to describe peatlandenvironments and features not included in this report.

2In this report, Northern Rocky Mountains is used as a genericterm to encompass the study area of Idaho, western Montana, andnorthwestern Wyoming. Most peatlands included here lie withinthe Temperate Steppe Regime Mountains Division of Bailey andothers (1994). At the province level, the peatlands occur within theNorthern, Middle, and Southern Rocky Mountains Provinces.

3Due to the lack of common names for many of the plant speciesdiscussed in this report, we have elected to use scientific names asthe standard reference. Appendix A provides a list of commonnames, and in addition we have selectively used common names (inparentheses) where we thought it would help the less technicalreader.

periods may limit plant growth and peat accumula-tion. A number of species often found in peatlands,including Orchis rotundifolia3 (round-leaved orchis)and Cypripedium passerinum (sparrow’s-egg lady’s-slipper), range southward into the United Statesalong the Rocky Mountains, reaching their southernlimit in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, or Colorado(Cooper and Andrus 1994).

Peatlands are characterized by extreme environ-mental conditions not found in other wetland eco-systems. Due to their great mass of water-holdingorganic matter, peatlands are exceptionally stableand may persist for centuries. In the absence of distur-bance, peatlands support autogenic or self-perpetu-ating communities. Anaerobic, acidic, and nutrient-poor peatland conditions limit decay of organicmatter. This suite of environmental conditions thatleads to the widespread formation of peatlands in farnorthern latitudes is uncommon in the NorthernRocky Mountains of the United States. The combina-tion of habitat rarity, habitat stability, and extreme

2 USDA Forest Service Gen Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-11. 1998

Figure 1—Major peatland concentrationsin North America: (1) Glacial Lake Agassizregion, (2) Hudson Bay lowlands, (3) GreatBear-Great Slave Lake region, (4) InteriorAlaska. Lightly stippled areas mark borealregions of Canada and Alaska (Glaser 1987).

habitat conditions explain the distinctiveness of theflora in peatlands, as well as the high concentrationsof rare species that are restricted to peatland environ-ments in the Western United States. For example, inIdaho about 10 to 15 percent of the State’s rare floraare restricted to peatlands (Bursik and Moseley 1992c).The ecological, scientific, and aesthetic values ofpeatlands are disproportionately high compared totheir extent on the landscape.

Despite their uniqueness, few studies on peatlandshad been conducted in the Northern Rocky Mountainsof the United States until recently (Lesica 1986; Rumely1956). In contrast, many floristic and ecological stud-ies of peatlands have been conducted throughout otherboreal and temperate parts of the world, includingnumerous studies in Canada (Slack and others 1980;Vitt and Slack 1975) and the Eastern United States(Crum 1988; Damman and French 1987; Glaser 1987).Beginning in 1987, peatland inventories and monitor-ing studies were initiated in Idaho (Bursik 1990, 1993;Bursik and Henderson 1995; Caicco 1987, 1988;Moseley 1989, 1990, 1992; Moseley and others 1991,1992, 1994) and Montana (Chadde and Shelly 1995;Mantas 1993). Additional studies have focused onunderstanding community-level and landscape-levelpatterns in peatlands (Bursik 1993; Bursik and Moseley1992a,b).

Objectives _____________________This report summarizes preliminary reports and

published and unpublished studies by the authors and

other researchers in the Northern Rocky Mountainsof the United States. As such, study objectives variedsomewhat in each case. The objective of this report isto describe the major ecological features of peatlandsincluding: peatland types, peatland formation, clas-sification of major plant communities, vascular andnonvascular flora, and invertebrate fauna. Major eco-logical processes affecting peatlands are outlined, al-though specific data apart from water chemistry mea-surements were not collected by the authors.

A second objective was to identify major threats topeatlands and discuss the significance of these threatsto the continued existence of peatlands. Managementtechniques to maintain peatlands and to minimize ad-verse impacts to these ecosystems are also discussed.

A third objective was to evaluate the conservationsignificance of inventoried peatlands. A ranking sys-tem using seven criteria was developed to identifysites with a high conservation value.

Methods _______________________Because this report summarizes a number of stud-

ies, peatland sampling and inventory procedures werevaried. Cited publications and reports should be con-sulted for field methods and data analysis techniques.In field studies conducted by the authors, at a mini-mum, listings were compiled of vascular plant speciesencountered in each peatland. Mosses were also iden-tified at most study sites or collected for later determi-nation. Voucher specimens were placed at variousregional herbaria including the University of Idaho,University of Montana, Missoula Forestry SciencesLaboratory (Rocky Mountain Research Station), Or-egon State University, University of Iowa, and theUniversity of Alberta. Most surveyors placed specialemphasis on locating plant species listed as sensitiveby the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Serviceor as species of special concern by the Idaho Conserva-tion Data Center (IDCDC) and Montana Natural Heri-tage Program (MTNHP). Vascular plant nomencla-ture and authority names follow Hitchcock andCronquist (1973). A common wetland sedge commonlyreferred to as beaked sedge was erroneously referredto as Carex rostrata in previous studies in the region.In this report, this species is named Carex utriculata(Griffiths 1989). Carex rostrata is apparently rare andmay be present in northwestern Montana but was notencountered during peatland inventories by the au-thors. Moss nomenclature follows Anderson and others(1990), except for Sphagnum, which follows Anderson(1990).

Site Selection

Peatlands were selected for sampling based on previ-ously published studies, interviewing knowledgeablelocal sources, reviewing air photos, and by searching


element occurrence records maintained by Statenatural heritage programs for species typically foundin peatlands. A ranking system was developed toevaluate the biological and conservation significanceof each peatland. Sites included in this report repre-sent a subset of peatlands present in the region andare also a subset of the inventoried sites. First, onlythose occurring on National Forest lands are included.Apart from two sites in Wyoming, all the peatlandshave been personally visited by one or more of theauthors of this report. Second, only those peatlandshaving a moderate to high significance are described.It should be emphasized that a number of significantpeatlands, especially those found at lower elevations,are privately owned, and many of them have not beenstudied in any detail. Similarly, high-elevation peat-lands have been somewhat under-sampled due totheir inaccessibility (Cooper and Lesica 1992). How-ever, subalpine and peatlands generally lack therare species found in lower elevation peatlands(Bursik and Henderson 1995).

Plant Community Sampling

A shared objective of a number of studies was anattempt to develop a classification of the major plantcommunities characteristic of peatlands in the region.Site description and community sampling methods

and forms developed by the Western Heritage TaskForce of The Nature Conservancy (Bourgeron andothers 1992) were used in Montana by Chadde andShelly (unpublished data on file at the Northern Re-gion Botany Program, Missoula, MT) and in Idaho byMoseley and others (1994). Circular sample plots hav-ing an area of 50 m2 were subjectively placed withinpatches of homogeneous vegetation possessing a rela-tively uniform structure, composition, and hydrologicregime. In Idaho, Bursik (1993) used ECODATA sam-pling techniques detailed in Jensen and others (1994).

Plots were grouped into tentative community typesby considering the dominant vascular plant species,similarities in environmental factors (especially sub-strate and hydrologic characteristics), and groupingresulting from ordinations by the authors and otherresearchers. In Montana, tentative community typeswere compared to those in a comprehensive, State-wide wetland classification developed by the MontanaRiparian and Wetland Association (Hansen andothers 1995).

Site Evaluation and Ranking

To assess the conservation significance of peat-lands in the Northern Rocky Mountains, a rankingsystem was developed and used to evaluate each site’secological features (table 1). The system was then used

Table 1—Conservation significance ranking criteria for Northern Rocky Mountain peatlands.

Attribute Ranking

Representativeness 3. Site is an outstanding example of a particular vegetation type or peatland feature.2. Site is an adequate example of a particular vegetation or peatland type, but its value may be lessened by

other factors.1. Site is a fair to poor example of a particular vegetation or peatland type; other factors may be influencing

the site.

Quality 3. Site is essentially pristine; human impacts absent or minimal.2. Some impacts apparent in surrounding watershed that may affect peatland, for example, nearby timber

harvests, livestock grazing, roads.1. Peatland has been directly affected by impacts such as draining, ditching, or exotic species.

Rarity 3. Site has a high concentration of rare species, uncommon vegetation types, or peatland features.2. Site has a low to moderate concentration of rare species, uncommon vegetation types, or peatland features1. Rare species, uncommon vegetation types, or peatland features low in number or absent.

Diversity 3. Site has a high diversity of vegetation types or peatland features.2. Site has a moderate diversity of vegetation types or peatland features.1. Site has a low diversity of vegetation types or peatland features.

Viability 3. Site has a high probability to persist over the long term.2. Site has moderate potential of persisting over the long term.1. Site may not persist over the long term.

Defensibility 3. Site protection feasible, completed, or already proposed.2. Site protection possible.1. Site protection difficult or unlikely.

Scientific and educational value 3. Site has a demonstrated value for research and education; site is reasonably accessible to researchers orvisitors.

2. Site has potential scientific and educational value; access varies.1. Site has limited value for research or education; access may be difficult.


to identify highly significant peatlands and to directconservation efforts. The system is modified fromevaluation schemes developed for peatlands inMinnesota (Wright and others 1992), Maine (Davisand others 1983), and Idaho (Bursik and Moseley1995; Jankovsky-Jones 1996; Rabe and Savage 1977).

For each peatland, seven criteria were subjectivelyassessed:

Representativeness—Emphasis was given topeatlands typifying the range of peatland featuressuch as type of peatland, topographic setting, andvegetation type. Geographic representativeness is alsoimportant so that peatlands occurring within a broadrange of environmental conditions are included in arepresentative system of protected peatlands. In thisstudy, geographic representativeness was not usedas a ranking factor because the peatlands inventoriedby the authors span most of the Northern RockyMountains.

Quality—Peatlands undisturbed by adverse humanor other negative impacts such as ditching, trampling,or invasive species were assigned a higher value.

Rarity—Emphasis was given to those peatlandshaving concentrations of rare plants, rare plant com-munities, or uncommon peatland features.

Diversity—Higher value was given to those peat-lands having the greatest diversity of plant communi-ties and other peatland components.

Table 2—Peatland sites on National Forests (NF) in Idaho, northeastern Washington, western Montana, and northwesternWyoming. RD = Ranger District, RNA = Research Natural Area, SIA = Special Interest Area, p = proposed, TNC =The Nature Conservancy. See appendix B for descriptions of each site.

Site location Special Designation

IdahoBonner CountyArmstrong Meadows Kaniksu NF, Priest Lake RD —Bismark Meadows Kaniksu NF, Priest Lake RD —Bottle Lake Kaniksu NF, Priest Lake RD RNADubius Creek Fen Kaniksu NF, Priest Lake RD —Hager Lake Fen Kaniksu NF, Priest Lake RD, private —Hoodoo Lake Kaniksu NF, Priest Lake RD —Kaniksu Marsh Kaniksu NF, Priest Lake RD RNALamb Creek Meadows Kaniksu NF, Priest Lake RD, private —Lost Lake Kaniksu NF, Sandpoint RD —Mosquito Bay Fen Kaniksu NF, Priest Lake RD, private —Packer Meadows Kaniksu NF, Priest Lake RD —Potholes Kaniksu NF, Priest Lake RD RNAUpper Priest Lake Fen Kaniksu NF, Priest Lake RD, State of Idaho —

Boundary CountyBeaver Lake (North) Kaniksu NF, Bonners Ferry RD, State of Idaho —Bog Creek Fen Kaniksu NF, Bonners Ferry RD —Cow Creek Meadows Kaniksu NF, Bonners Ferry RD —Grass Creek Meadows Kaniksu NF, Bonners Ferry RD —Perkins Lake Kaniksu NF, Bonners Ferry RD, private —Robinson Lake Kaniksu NF, Bonners Ferry RD —Sinclair Lake Kaniksu NF, Bonners Ferry RD —Smith Creek Kaniksu NF, Bonners Ferry RD RNAThree Ponds Kaniksu NF, Bonners Ferry RD RNA

Viability—Emphasis was given to peatlands mostlikely to persist into the future, and sites that wereleast vulnerable to adverse human influences. Im-portant factors include size of peatland, habitat diver-sity, position in the watershed, and source of watermaintaining the peatland.

Defensibility—Higher value was given to peat-lands having a high feasibility for protection throughspecial designations or appropriate managementpractices. Sites already protected were also given highvalues.

Scientific and Educational Value—Peatlandshaving a demonstrated or potential value for researchor education were judged to be of greater importancethan sites with limited research or educational value.

Peatland Distribution ____________In the Northern Rocky Mountains, peatlands

generally occur as small, discreet landscape features.On National Forests in the Northern Rocky Moun-tains, 29 peatlands in Idaho, 24 peatlands in Montana,three peatlands in northeastern Washington, and twopeatlands in northwestern Wyoming are described inthis report (table 2). Peatlands also occur on privatelands in the region, typically at lower elevations.Several of these are protected by The Nature Conser-vancy, such as Montana’s Pine Butte Swamp Preservewest of Choteau.

(con.)


Custer CountyBlind Summit Fen Challis NF, Yankee Fork RD and Sawtooth NF, —

Sawtooth National Recreation AreaIron Bog Challis NF, Lost River RD RNASawtooth Valley Peatlands Sawtooth NF, Sawtooth National Recreation Area RNA

includesBull Moose FenHuckleberry Creek FenMays Creek Fen

Fremont CountyBig Springs–Henry’s Fork Targhee NF, Island Park RD pSIA Confluence

Kootenai CountyRose Lake Coeur D’Alene NF, State of Idaho, private —

Lemhi CountyBirch Creek Fen Targhee NF, Dubois RD, State of Idaho, private TNC preserve

Valley CountyTule Lake Boise NF, Cascade RD —

WashingtonPend Oreille CountyDeerhorn Creek Meadows Kaniksu NF, Priest Lake RD —Huff Lake Fen Kaniksu NF, Priest Lake RD —Sema Meadows Kaniksu NF, Priest Lake RD —

MontanaBeaverhead CountyLeonard Creek Fen Beaverhead NF, Madison RD —Skull Creek Fens Beaverhead NF, Wise River RD RNA

Flathead CountyBent Flat Fen Flathead NF, Spotted Bear RD —Gregg Creek Fen Flathead NF, Tally Lake RD —Mud Lake Flathead NF, Spotted Bear RD WildernessSanko Creek (North) Flathead NF, Tally Lake RD —Sanko Creek (South) Flathead NF, Tally Lake RD —Sheppard Creek Fen Flathead NF, Tally Lake RD —Trail Creek Fen Flathead NF, Spotted Bear RD —Trout Lake Flathead NF, Spotted Bear RD —

Lake CountyLost Creek Fens Flathead NF, Swan Lake RD —Porcupine Fen Flathead NF, Swan Lake RD —Swan River Fen Flathead NF, Swan Lake RD RNA

Lewis & Clark CountyIndian Meadows Helena NF, Lincoln RD RNA

Lincoln CountyBowen Creek Fen Flathead NF, Tally Lake RD —Cody Lake Fen Kootenai NF, Fisher River RD —Hawkins Pond Kootenai NF, Three Rivers RD —Tepee Lake Kootenai NF, Libby RD —

Missoula CountySheep Mountain Bog Lolo NF, Missoula RD RNAShoofly Meadows Lolo NF, Missoula RD RNAWindfall Creek Fen Flathead NF, Swan Lake RD —

Powell CountyButcher Mountain Fens Flathead NF, Spotted Bear RD Wilderness

Ravalli CountyLost Trail Pass Fen Bitterroot NF, Sula RD pSIARock Creek Wetland Bitterroot NF, Darby RD —

WyomingPark CountySawtooth Fen-Palsa Shoshone NFSwamp Lake Shoshone NF SIA

Table 2 (Con.)

Site location Special Designation


Idaho and Northeastern Washington

Bursik (1990) recognized two major peatland set-tings in Idaho and northeastern Washington: valleypeatlands and subalpine peatlands. Valley peatlandsgenerally occur around lakes and ponds at relativelylow elevations in major river valleys from northernIdaho to eastern Idaho. The biodiversity of Idaho’svalley peatlands is high. Although wide-ranging acrossthe State, valley peatlands are very rare, and containsome of the highest concentrations of rare speciesfound in Idaho. Valley peatlands are characterizedby numerous boreal species whose Idaho populationsare disjunct from the main portion of their range inboreal regions of Canada.

Subalpine peatlands are more common throughoutIdaho and northeastern Washington. They generallyform along low-gradient, subalpine streams. Subal-pine peatlands are characterized by plant speciescommon throughout the western cordillera.

Montana

In Montana, peatlands are concentrated in thewestern one-third of the State. They are present in alllife zones, including foothills, intermontane valleyfloors, montane and subalpine coniferous forests, andalpine tundra. The most extensive, floristically di-verse concentration of peatlands occurs on the valleyfloor of the Swan Valley of northwestern Montana.This watershed is characterized by a moist climate,abundant surface water, generally calcareous sub-strate, and a post-glacial landscape featuring pot-holes and sidehill benches.

Northwestern Wyoming

Two peatlands from the Shoshone National Forestof northwestern Wyoming are included in this report:Swamp Lake and Sawtooth Peatbeds (the only palsadocumented from the contiguous United States)(Collins and others 1984). Swamp Lake is a calcareouspeatland featuring a number of vascular plantswidely disjunct from their main ranges to the north(Evert and others 1986). Peatlands from the centralRocky Mountains have also been described in Wyoming(Cooper and Andrus 1994) and Colorado (Cooper1991, 1996).

Physical Setting ________________

Climate

The climate of the Northern Rocky Mountains isinfluenced by both maritime and continental patterns.The maritime influence producing relatively mild, wetwinters is most pronounced in northern Idaho and

northwestern Montana. Traveling south and east inthe region, the maritime influence decreases, and isreplaced by a climate more typical of inland areas.The continental influence extends over most of theregion in the summer months, bringing with it warm,dry weather and cool nights. Locally, temperature andprecipitation patterns are complicated by topography,aspect, and elevation. Significant limitations to exten-sive peatland development apparently are the low hu-midities and prolonged dry periods characteristic ofthe region’s summer months

Idaho—The climate of Idaho and extreme north-eastern Washington has a strong maritime influence,especially in northern portions of the State (Ross andSavage 1967). This moderating effect decreases south-ward and eastward and is essentially absent fromsoutheastern Idaho. Northern Idaho is influenced byprevailing westerly air masses from the Pacific Oceanduring the winter and spring. These air masses bringprolonged, gentle rains, deep snow accumulation athigher elevations, cloudiness and frequent fog, highhumidity, and winter temperatures 8 to 14 °C warmerthan continental areas at similar latitudes (Cooperand others 1991). Data from the Priest River Experi-mental Forest in the Priest River Valley, best expressthe climate of peatland-supporting valleys in north-ern Idaho. The average annual precipitation of thePriest River Experimental Forest is 80 cm and theaverage annual temperature is 6.8 °C. Subalpine peat-land sites in the Selkirk Mountains (for example,Smith Creek, Bog Creek, Grass Creek Meadows)probably have much higher annual precipitation andlower temperatures. Most of the precipitation occursas snow (November through March). July and Augustare typically rather dry, generally averaging less than2.5 cm precipitation per month (Ross and Savage1967).

In central Idaho, the climate is moderated by amaritime climate during winter and early spring.Cloudy, wet weather is common. In late spring, themaritime influence is replaced by a continental cli-mate. Dry, warm days and cold nights are typical.Precipitation occurs largely as intense but brief storms.Prolonged periods of little or no rain are quite common.

Montana—Montana west of the Continental Divideis strongly influenced by Pacific maritime air masses,although the area receives less precipitation and hascooler average temperatures than those of northernIdaho. Weather data for Kalispell (elevation 904 m)has a reported mean annual precipitation of 42 cmand an average yearly temperature of 5.8 °C (NOAA1993). Most precipitation between November andMarch falls as snow. The wettest month of the year isJune (6 cm), and the driest is July (3 cm) (NOAA1993). Winters are cool and cloudy with occasional


arctic fronts that drop temperatures well below –18 °C.Midsummer drought is common, and an importantfactor limiting the growth of peat-forming mosses(Crum 1988). Areas north and west of Kalispell havea similar climate, but precipitation and temperaturesmore closely resemble that of northern Idaho. Areassouth of Kalispell are increasingly drier year-round.

East of the Continental Divide in Montana, theclimate is quite different. The Pacific maritime influ-ence is no longer prevalent. Rather, drier and coolercontinental air masses tend to dominate. Winters aremore severe and not as cloudy. Some areas experiencemore winds; chinook winds may lead to increaseddrying of exposed sites. Weather data for the town ofDivide (1,648 m), near Skull Creek Meadows in south-western Montana, report a mean annual precipitationof 32 cm and an average yearly temperature of 5.9 °C(NOAA 1993).

Northwestern Wyoming—The Sawtooth Peatbedssite in northwestern Wyoming occurs in the subal-pine zone of the Beartooth Mountains, at an elevationof 2,950 m. The site is characterized by long, coldwinters and short, cool summers. At the Peatbeds site,wind is an important factor as it removes snow fromthe surface of the peatland (Collins and others 1984).

Geology

In the Northern Rocky Mountains, peatlands andother organic soil deposits occur in depressions associ-ated with glacial till, glacial outwash, alluvial basins,or floodplain landforms. The frequency of occurrenceand the size of peatlands vary across the State due toclimate and the distribution of these landforms inwhich peatlands can form.

Idaho and Northeastern Washington—Promi-nent rock types in northern Idaho include granites ofthe Kaniksu Batholith and low-grade metamorphicPrecambrian belt metasediments (Cooper and others1991; Rabe and others 1986). Cordilleran ice sheetscovered much of the Panhandle during the Pleisto-cene. The Selkirk Mountains were influenced more byrecent late-Pleistocene and possibly Holocene alpineglaciation, as is the case with subalpine peatlandselsewhere in Idaho (Rabe and others 1986). Mostnorthern Idaho peatlands occur in association withglacially influenced topographic features, such ascirques, kettles, scours, and outwash channels. Oth-ers, such as Kaniksu Marsh, occur in abandonedmeander channels of rivers. The lack of calcareoussedimentary bedrock has produced peatlands mostlydominated by sphagnum mosses, rather than thebrown mosses typical of peatlands in calcareousareas underlain by limestone. Vascular plant compo-sition is also influenced by this difference.

Montana—Parent materials and formations arequite variable across the Northern Rocky Mountainsin Montana. In the northwestern part of the State,the bedrock is predominantly meta-sedimentary rocksof the Proterozoic Era Belt supergroup. Major rocktypes are quartzite, siltite, argillite, and localizedareas of limestone (USDA Forest Service 1995). Dur-ing mountain building of the Cenozoic Era, blockfaulting resulted in intermountain valleys. The valleyfloors were first filled with deposits from eroded up-lifted materials, and later with glacial tills and out-wash during the Pleistocene Epoch 7,000 to 10,000years ago (Alt and Hyndman 1986; USDA ForestService 1983).

The mountains forming the Rocky Mountain Frontand Sawtooth Range west of Great Falls are primarilylimestones and sandstones. This bedrock supportspeatlands dominated by brown mosses rather thansphagnum mosses, and a number of vascular plantsassociated with calcium-rich substrates.

The Bitterroot Range south of Missoula is comprisedmostly of glaciated metamorphic rocks. Furthersouth, granite from the eastern edge of the IdahoBatholith predominates. The Sapphire Range to theeast is mainly Proterozoic sedimentary rocks withsome granitic intrusions. The Sapphire Range andBitterroot Valley floor north of Hamilton were neverglaciated, however, glacial tills and outwash domi-nate the valley fill south of Darby. From there south toLost Trail Pass, volcanic rock (rhyolite) dominates asthe main parent material (Alt and Hyndman 1986).

Peatlands are uncommon in the southwest portionof the State. The peatlands of Skull Creek Meadowsoccur in the West Pioneer Range where parent mate-rials are comprised of glacial drift, colluvium andresiduum of metamorphosed sediments of the Pre-cambrian Belt supergroup. Rock types of this sedi-mentary group are comprised of undifferentiatedquartzite, siltite, argillite, carbonate, and sandstone.The west face of the Tobacco Root Mountains is com-prised of basic to acidic metamorphic rocks. Theseare mostly undifferentiated gneiss, schist, amphibo-lite, granulite, marble, phyllite, and quartzite. Dis-tinct metamorphic minerals such as kyanite, stauro-lite, sillimanite, and garnet are present locally.

Terrestrial Vegetation

The Northern Rocky Mountains lie within thewestern temperate coniferous forest ecosystem(Daubenmire 1969). Environmental gradients such asslope, aspect, precipitation, and elevation have impor-tant influences on the distribution of vegetation.Habeck (1987) defined several broad forest zones forthis region: dry conifer woodlands dominated by Pinusponderosa (ponderosa pine) and Pinus flexilis (limber


pine), and montane, inland forests of Pseudotsugamenziesii (Douglas-fir), Larix occidentalis (westernlarch), Thuja plicata (western redcedar), Tsugaheterophylla (western hemlock), Abies grandis (grandfir), Pinus monticola (western white pine), and hy-brids of P. engelmannii x P. glauca. These forest typesoccur at low to moderate elevations. At higher eleva-tions are subalpine and timberline forest of Pinuscontorta (lodgepole pine), Abies lasiocarpa (subalpinefir), Picea engelmannii (Engelmann spruce), Pinusalbicaulis (whitebark pine), Tsuga mertensiana (moun-tain hemlock), and Larix lyallii (subalpine larch).

Detailed vegetation descriptions are provided in anumber of forest habitat type studies published forportions of the Northern Rocky Mountains includingnorthern Idaho (Cooper and others 1991), centralIdaho (Steele and others 1981), eastern Idaho andwestern Wyoming (Steele and others 1983), andMontana (Pfister and others 1977).

Peatland Types _________________A useful distinction can be made between two major

types of peatland: fen and bog. The difference be-tween the two is primarily based on the source ofincoming water and nutrients (table 3). Continuedpeat accumulation such that the peatland surfacebecomes raised above the influence of the local watertable leads to ombrotrophic “food from the sky” bogconditions. In the Northern Rocky Mountains, how-ever, succession does not progress to this extent apartfrom hummocky bog microsites, and various types offens are the major peatland type present in the region.

Fens develop on flat or gently sloping terrain and areconcave or slightly raised above their surroundings(fig. 2a,b,c). Fens are minerotrophic, receiving nutri-ents from water that has percolated through mineralsoil and bedrock, or which has run off from uplandsinto a surface source such as a creek before enteringthe fen. In reality, a gradient from nutrient-poor (bogand poor fen) to mesotrophic (sometimes termed inter-mediate fen) to relatively nutrient-rich peatland (richfen) exists, sometimes within a single peatland complex.

Table 3—General characteristics of fens and bogs (after Davis and Anderson 1991).

Characteristic Fens Bogs

Geographic distribution Worldwide Mainly borealAbundance Numerous Less numerousSurface topography Flat or concave Convex (raised)Peat depth Shallow to deep DeeppH Acidic to alkaline Very acidicNutrient source Ground water and precipitation PrecipitationProductivity Low to high LowDecomposition Relatively high to moderate LowFloristic diversity Low to high Low

a

b

c

d

Figure 2—Major peatland types in the North-ern Rocky Mountains and their water andnutrient sources: (a) Basin or lake-fill peatland,(b) Flow-through or slope peatland, (c) Pat-terned fen, a type of flow-through peatland,(d) bog (although essentially absent from theNorthern Rocky Mountains, shown to illus-trate a major difference between peatlandtypes).


Fens of the Northern Rocky Mountains may beclassified into three major types: poor fens, rich fens,and extremely rich fens. Distinctions exist betweenthe three types with regard to water quality andvegetation composition. Ombrotrophic bogs are dis-cussed briefly, although this extremely acidic, nutri-ent poor type of peatland is of incidental occurrence inthe region.

Poor fens tend toward bog-like conditions and arecodominated by bryophytes (especially sphagnummosses) and a relatively small number of vascularspecies (notably members of the Cyperaceae andEricaceae). In Minnesota, poor fens were defined ashaving a pH range of 4.2 to 5.8, and a calcium concen-tration of 2 to 10 mg/l (Glaser 1987).

Rich fens are dominated by a diverse mix of sedges,other grasslike species, shrubs, and true mosses(especially brown mosses, many genera of which arein the Amblystegiaceae). Rich fens are less acidicand have a greater concentration of calcium (10 to30 mg/l) than poor fens (Glaser 1987).

Extremely rich fens have a very high pH (>7) andhigh calcium concentration (>30 mg/l) (Glaser 1987),and a characteristic species assemblage of speciestolerant of highly calcareous conditions (calciphiles).In the Northern Rocky Mountains, extremely rich fenssupport more rare plant species than any other typeof peatlands. Marl may comprise a large percentageof the substrate. Extremely rich fens are generallyfound near ground water discharge zones.

Because peatlands occur along an environmentalcontinuum of water and nutrient conditions, the termintermediate fen is sometimes used to identifypeatlands with characteristics intermediate betweenpoor fens and rich fens. However, given theirfloristic and chemical similarities with poor fens,readily evident compositional differences betweenthe two are absent, and for simplicity the terms poorfen, rich fen, and extremely rich fen may be used toadequately describe peatlands of the region.

Ombrotrophic or true bogs have a raised or convexsurface (fig. 2d) and receive water and mineral nutri-ents from precipitation only. The received water isheld above the underlying water table primarily by thelow hydraulic conductivity of the peat mass. Capillaryupward movement of water accounts for only a smallpart of the raised water table. Bog development isfavored in areas with a climate having an excess ofprecipitation over evapotranspiration (Ingram 1983).

Bogs are characterized by a dominance of sphagnummosses. Vascular plant species tolerant of extremelyacidic, nutrient poor bog conditions are relatively fewin number. Fens are often identified as “bogs” bylaypersons and ecologists alike, particularly whenthey occur on floating mats. Floating mats areminerotrophic and are more accurately classified as

fens than as true bogs. Horton and others (1993)suggested adopting the terms sphagnum-rich (as inbogs and poor fens) and sphagnum-poor (rich andextremely rich fens) to replace the traditional, butoften misapplied terms of bog and fen.

Several types of wetlands are sometimes confusedwith peatlands. Marshes are wetlands on mineralsoil (although a large amount of decomposed organicmatter may be present) with standing water for all orpart of the year. In contrast to peatlands, marshes arewell-aerated and rich in minerals. Common plantspecies of marshes include Typha latifolia (commoncattail), Phalaris arundinacea (Reed canarygrass),and various coarse sedges, such as Carex utriculataand C. atherodes. Sedge meadows occur in shallowbasins on mineral soil and are drier (for at least partof the year) than peatlands. Seasonal drying of thesoil encourages microbial decomposition of plant re-mains, limiting organic matter accumulations. Innorthwestern Montana, the most common dominantof sedge meadows is Carex lasiocarpa (slender sedge),which is also common in peatlands.

Poor Fens

Apart from areas underlain by limestone, mostpeatlands in the Northern Rocky Mountains are bestcharacterized as poor fens. Unlike bogs, these peatlandsare in contact with minerally enriched ground wateror receive surface runoff, and water pH is less acidic.

In general, peatlands of the region may be consid-ered poor fens if they have a nearly continuous groundcover of sphagnum mosses. Poor fens are usually flat,acidic, and saturated to the surface or with shallowstanding water. Vascular plants are present as scat-tered individuals rather than as a dense cover. Typicalspecies include Carex limosa (mud sedge), C. lasiocarpa,Dulichium arundinaceum (Dulichium), Potentillapalustris (purple cinquefoil), Vaccinium oxycoccos(small cranberry) (Idaho only), and Lycopus uniflorus(northern bugleweed). Characteristic mosses includesphagnum mosses, particularly S. subsecundum,S. fuscum, and S. angustifolium, and brown mossessuch as Calliergon stramineum and Aulacomniumpalustre.

In Idaho, most of the poor fens have a nearly continu-ous ground layer of sphagnum mosses. Dominance isshared between bryophyte (moss and liverwort) andvascular species. High-elevation examples includeBog Creek Fen, Grass Creek Meadows, Cow CreekMeadows, and Smith Creek. Low-elevation peatlandswith large areas of poor fens include Armstrong Mead-ows, Kaniksu Marsh, and Rose Lake.

In Montana, poor fens occur on noncalcareous bed-rock such as the Belt series argillites and granites ofthe Idaho Batholith. Shoofly Meadows (Lolo National


Forest) near Missoula supports extensive poor fensalong several drainages. Mary’s Frog Pond (Lolo Na-tional Forest) features this type of fen in a basinsetting.

Rich and Extremely Rich Fens

Floristically, rich fens (Vitt and Slack 1975) are themost diverse of the peatland types in the NorthernRocky Mountains. Geologically, rich fens are restrictedto areas underlain by limestone. The water in rich fensranges from only slightly acidic to alkaline, and isoften distinctly calcareous (Chadde and Shelly 1995;Mantas 1993). Calcareous fen is sometimes used syn-onymously with rich fen. Deposits of marl (precipi-tated calcium carbonate) are typical of extremely richfens. Most peatlands of Montana’s Swan River Valleyand the Glacier National Park area are best classifiedas rich fens. Rich fens occur throughout northernIdaho, generally as part of larger peatland complexesthat also include poor and intermediate fens. BirchCreek Fen on the Targhee National Forest (LemhiCounty) is perhaps the best rich fen example knownfrom Idaho (Moseley 1992).

Rich fens are dominated by dense stands of sedges,spike rushes, and other grasslike plants. Typical spe-cies include Carex lasiocarpa, C. limosa, C. livida (palesedge), C. flava, C. interior (inland sedge), Eleocharistenuis (slender spike-rush), E. rostellata (beaked spike-rush), Juncus alpinus (northern rush), J. balticus(Baltic rush), Eriophorum viridicarinatum (green-keeled cotton-grass), and E. chamissonis (chamisso’scotton-grass). Shrubs such as Betula glandulosa (bogbirch) and Salix candida (hoary willow) are oftenpresent as scattered, stunted clumps. The groundsurface is covered by true mosses, mostly within thebrown moss family. Commonly encountered bryophytesinclude Aulacomnium palustre, Bryum pseudotri-quetrum, Campylium stellatum, and Limprichtiarevolvens. Scorpidium scorpioides is sometimes foundin wet depressions or hollows in fens with a high marlcontent. An uncommon moss, Meesia triquetra, isfound only in calcium-rich fens. Sphagnum mossesare conspicuously absent or occur as widely scattered,small hummocks. In the rich fens of northwesternMontana, only two species of sphagnum occur withany regularity: Sphagnum fuscum and S. warnstorfii.In extremely rich fens such as Bent Flat and TrailCreek Fens (Flathead National Forest), sphagnummosses are only present as widely scattered smallhummocks.

In northern Idaho, dominant species of low-eleva-tion (valley) rich fens include sedges such as Carex lasio-carpa, C. utriculata (beaked sedge), and C. chordorrhiza(rope-root sedge); other grasslike species include Typhalatifolia, Calamagrostis canadensis (bluepointreedgrass), and Scirpus microcarpus (small-flowered

bulrush). Typical shrubs include Spiraea douglasii,Betula glandulosa, and Salix geyeriana.

High-elevation (subalpine) rich fens in Idaho aretypically characterized by Carex scopulorum (RockyMountain sedge), C. aquatilis, Calamagrostis cana-densis, Deschampsia cespitosa, Betula glandulosa,and Salix commutata (undergreen willow). Brownmosses, including Aulacomnium palustre and Callier-gon stramineum, are sometimes common, but underdense stands of sedges and other herbaceous plants,mosses are sometimes sparse.

Ombrotrophic Bogs

While nearly all peatlands of the Northern RockyMountains are best considered fens (Windell and oth-ers 1986), scattered microsites are present that couldbe considered ombrotrophic bogs. These sites arecomposed of hummocks formed by sphagnum mossessuch as Sphagnum fuscum or S. angustifolium. Oftenthe base of a shrub or a downed log supports the moss.The best examples of peatlands with bog-like micrositesoccur in far northern Idaho, which on average receivemore summer precipitation than other areas of theregion. Lack of summer precipitation is a major factorlimiting the development of bogs (Crum 1988). Thisappears to be the case in the Northern Rocky Moun-tains where, due to summer drought and extremelylow humidity, growth of sphagnum above the watertable is limited, and poor fens rather than bogs arethe likely end point of peatland succession on noncal-careous sites.

In northern Idaho, Chase Lake features pronouncedsphagnum hummocks covering small areas. Similarhummocks exist at Huff Lake Fen, Armstrong Mead-ows, and Mosquito Bay Fen over old stumps. Theapparently ombrotrophic microsites are dominatedby Sphagnum fuscum, S. magellanicum, S. centrale,S. angustifolium, and Polytrichum strictum. In thesummer, the topmost surface of the hummocks tendsto dry, limiting their ability to expand upward andoutward as in cooler, more humid climates.

Peatland Formation______________Three major processes account for the development

of most types of peatlands: lake-filling, flow-throughsuccession, and paludification (fig. 2). Peatlands inthe Northern Rocky Mountains can develop from bothaquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, although the formersetting (for example, glacial basins) is much morecommon than the latter.

Lake-fill peatlands are associated with closed basins.Lake-filling is sometimes termed terrestrialization,the process by which a peatland spreads across a lake.Flow-through or slope peatlands develop at sites having


an inflowing and outflowing water source, such as anopen-ended basin, near a spring, or along a stream.Paludification, or swamp-formation, can occur at themargins of either type of peatland, and is the expan-sion of peatlands due to a gradual rise in water tableas the accumulation of peat increasingly impedesdrainage (Crum 1988).

Lake-Fill or Basin Peatlands

Lake-fill or basin peatlands occur in depressionssuch as lakes and kettleholes that formed as glaciersretreated leaving ice blocks buried in the glacial drift(fig. 3; color plates 1, 2, 9, 10). These blocks subse-quently melted to form the depressions. Lakes some-time have a narrow peatland zone on their margin, butwave action may limit peat accumulations. Ponds andkettleholes, however, being smaller and often pro-tected from high winds by the surrounding forest, aremore conducive to peatland development. Deepkettleholes often have a central open water area sur-rounded by an encroaching mat of plant roots andpeat. The process of terrestrialization occurs in thesesettings as the peat edge expands inward toward thecenter of the basin. Adjacent to the open water is afloating mat. Nonquaking portions of the mat closestto the outer edge of the basin where the peat massextends downward to bottom sediments are termedanchored or grounded. Basins are sometimes en-tirely covered by an anchored or floating organic matas at Leonard Creek Fen on the Beaverhead-DeerlodgeNational Forest in southwestern Montana. However,some shallow basin sites may support sedge com-munities better termed sedge meadows rather thanfens, given their tendency to dry in summer. Thisseasonal drying limits peat accumulation.

Figure 3—Lake-fill or basin peatland.

Figure 4—Flow-through or slope peatland.

Flow-Through or Slope Peatlands

Flow-through peatlands are best developed alongstreams and on gentle slopes and benches (fig. 4; colorplates 3, 4). A continuous inflow of ground and surfacewater is needed to maintain this type of peatland(Moore and Bellamy 1974). Initially, sediments andplant remains accumulate near the water source anda marshy vegetation develops. Over time, enough peatmay accumulate to impede water flow, which is thendiverted around the peat onto new areas. Expansion ofthe peatland on these new areas may then occur.

Well-developed rich fens most commonly occur onflow-through sites in areas of calcium-rich, limestonebedrock. The constant inflow and outflow of watersupplies minerals and removes humic acids from thepeat. This is important in maintaining habitats suit-able for a number of plant species, especially those re-stricted to calcium-influenced peatlands (calciphiles).Examples include the vascular plants Orchis rotun-difolia and Carex livida, and the brown moss Scor-pidium scorpioides.

Patterned Fens

Patterned or ribbed fens (aapamires) are a uniquetype of peatland characterized by a series of raised,linear hummocks oriented perpendicularly to theslope of the peatland (fig. 5; color plates 5 to 7). Theseridges, or strings, are separated from one another bylinear pools of water known by their Swedish nameflarks.

Patterned fens are most extensive in boreal andsubarctic regions of northern North America,Scandinavia, and Siberia. In North America, pat-terned fens occur from Alaska across much of centralCanada to the Atlantic Ocean. In the contiguousUnited States, the most extensive patterned fensoccur in Maine, Michigan, and Minnesota. The south-ernmost occurrence of this type of peatland appears tobe in south-central Wisconsin at 43°21' north latitude(Grittinger 1970). Thompson (1983) observed that thesouthern limit of patterned fens is related to tempera-ture and evapotranspiration isoclines. Their northernlimit is south of the continuous permafrost of the farnorth, following mainly temperature isoclines.


Figure 5—Generalized profile of a patternedfen (after Crum 1988).

A number of hypotheses have been proposed forthe formation of patterned fens (Sorenson 1986).These generally fall into one of the following threegroups (Moore and Bellamy 1974): (a) biological pro-cesses, (b) ice and frost effects, and (c) the effects ofgravity. Based on analysis of core samples from anumber of patterned fens, the evidence suggests thatthe following sequence is likely (Foster and others1983):

1. Impeded drainage initiates peat accumulation.2. Changes in hydrologic conditions and differing

rates of peat accumulation by hummock and hollowspecies leads to the formation of linear patterns.

3. Pools enlarge and coalesce as underlying peatsdecay.

The presence of several patterned fens in the North-ern Rocky Mountains of the United States are signifi-cant as isolated occurrences at the southern limit ofthis peatland type. Well-developed examples includeBent Flat Fen in northwestern Montana (FlatheadNational Forest) and Skull Creek Meadows in south-western Montana (Beaverhead-Deerlodge NationalForest). The two peatlands are very different; the BentFlat site is a marly, extremely rich fen (Shapley 1993),while the Skull Creek peatland is a poor fen (Elliott1992; for descriptions see appendix B). Portions ofPine Butte Fen along the Rocky Mountain Front inMontana are patterned (Lesica 1986; McAllister 1990).In Idaho, Packer Meadows features a slightly pat-terned peatland.

Paludification

In northern regions where peatlands are extensive,as in Canada and Alaska, paludification (color plate 8)is the predominant method of peatland formation incontrast to the terrestrialization of ponds and lakes(Neiland 1971; Noble and others 1984). Paludificationis the expansion of peatlands resulting from a rise inthe water table caused by peat accumulation (Crum1988). Except for the uppermost layer, peat has a verylow permeability. Water is held tightly within thepeat mass or runs off along the outside margins.Paludification is favored by a cool and wet climateconducive to the growth of peat-forming mosses ontoformerly upland sites. In the Northern Rocky Moun-tains, paludification is best observed adjacent toclosed basin peatlands where peat accumulations inthe basin create wetter conditions at the outer edge ofthe peatland. Paludification is also common near seeps.These conditions are favorable to the growth of sphag-num and other mosses which creep upslope into theadjacent forest. Although little studied in the North-ern Rocky Mountains (Murray 1995), paludification iswell-documented in boreal regions (Neiland 1971;Noble and others 1984), and based on peat corings, anumber of studies have reported the remains of aforest layer occurring below the surface layer of sphag-num peat (Crum 1988).

Peatland Soils __________________Peat soils are unique in that they are largely or

entirely composed of plant remains and other organicmatter in various stages of decomposition. Mineralsoil is lacking or a minor component of peat. As such,peatlands are autogenic or “self-creating,” with theplants themselves, especially the peat-forming mosses,largely influencing the course of succession on a par-ticular peatland site.

Accumulation of peat occurs under year-long or sea-sonally saturated conditions where the rate of organicmatter deposition is greater than the rate of microbialdecomposition. As commonly used, the term “peat” ismore a generic term than one based on specific prop-erties. However, peat is a type of organic soil having ahigh organic matter (OM) content (by weight). Varioussources report a range of minimum OM content forpeat soils (depending in part on measurement tech-niques), from as low as 20 to 75 percent. The latterfigure seems to be a more characteristic minimum forpeat (Crum 1988; Gore 1983). Other terms used todescribe the characteristics and components of peatare muck (highly decomposed peat containing min-eral soil), gyttia (a Swedish term for fine lake bottomsediments), and tephra (layers of volcanic ash buriedin the peat profile).


Peat soils can be classified as to the degree of OMdecomposition. The H (humification) scale devel-oped by Von Post and Granlund (1926) is a measure ofthe degree of decomposition, and is useful in peatclassification in the field. The scale is based on thecolor of water squeezed from the peat, and the propor-tion and character of the organic material remainingafter squeezing (Gore 1983). For example, if watersqueezed from peat is relatively colorless, and a highdegree of intact fibers remain, the peat is consideredhighly undercomposed and given a low rating (on ascale from 1 to 10). Conversely, if the water is veryturbid (black or brown) and what little is left of theorganic material after squeezing has no plant struc-ture and is the consistency of porridge, the peat isconsidered highly decomposed, thus given a high Hscale rating. More complex chemical procedures areavailable to determine degree of decomposition (Bahson1968; Overbeck and Schneider 1940; Schnitzer andKahn 1972; Von Naucke 1976).

Classification of Peatland Soils

An accumulation of peat, if deep enough, is classi-fied as the soil order Histosol, or organic soil. Accord-ing to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Con-servation Service (1994), depths of peat required forclassification as an organic soil vary depending on thecomposition of the underlying material. For example,a Histosol may be any depth if overlying bedrock,gravels, or cobbles, but must be at least 40 cm deep ifoverlying a mineral soil. Several peatlands cored inthe Swan, South Fork of the Flathead, and lower ClarkFork river valleys in Montana had peat depths from2 to 5.9 m (Chatters 1994a,b; Mantas 1993). In Idaho,Hager Lake Fen peat depths ranged from 2.6 to 11.4 m;Huff Lake peat accumulations were up to 10.8 m deep(Moseley and others 1992).

Histosols may be classified into three suborders,Fibrists, Saprists, or Hemists, based on additionalfactors including volume of moss fibers, bulk density,and length of time the soil is saturated each year.Fibrists are the least decomposed and generally are atleast three-fourths (by volume) fibers after rubbingand rinsing with water (USDA Soil ConservationService 1994). On the H scale, values would be low(approximately 1 to 4). Saprists have the most highlydecomposed organic materials, the highest bulk den-sity, and the smallest amount of plant fibers afterrubbing. Water color after squeezing is dark gray toblack (H scale rating 8 to 10). Generally, the fibercontent is less than one-sixth after rubbing. Hemistsare intermediate between Saprists and Fibrists.

The next lower level of soil classification, greatgroup, has three classes that characterize peatlands inthe Northern Rocky Mountains. They are Borofibrists,

Borosaprists, or Borohemists (boro refers to cold meanannual soil temperatures less than 8 °C). The greatgroups are further subdivided into several subgroups.

In-depth study and formal classification of peat-land soils have not been extensive in the NorthernRocky Mountains. The majority of Histosols from sev-eral peatlands in the Swan River Valley of Montanawere Typic Borosaprists (Mantas 1993). Other sub-groups found were Limnic Borosaprists, LimnicBorohemists, Limnic Borofibrists, Hydric Borohemists,and Hydric Borofibrists. In southwestern Montana,soils of the patterned fens at Skull Creek Meadowswere similar. In the raised, linear hummocks(strings), Hydric Borohemists and Sapric Borohemistswere typical. Low-lying hollows (flarks) were typicallySapric and Typic Borohemists (Svoboda 1996, per-sonal communication).

Peat Profiles

A useful distinction of the peat profile is betweenthe acrotelm and the catotelm (Ingram 1978). Theacrotelm is the surface layer of peat. It contains theactively growing mosses and roots of vascular plants,and is more water permeable than the underlyingcatotelm, or the subsurface accumulation of peat.Water movement is very slow; in fact, the hydraulicconductivity of highly decomposed peat is lower thanfinely textured clay soils (Boelter 1965).

Peatland Water Chemistry

Rabe and others (1990) and Bursik (1990) measuredwater chemistry parameters in peatlands throughoutIdaho and portions of northwestern Montana. WaterpH was typically circumneutral; pH values rangedfrom 5.9 to slightly greater than 8.0. Water hardnessvaried from extremely soft water (30 mg/l calciumcarbonate) to hard water (110 mg/l calcium carbonate)in an extremely rich fen in Montana. Calcium ion(Ca2

+) concentrations ranged from 0.5 to 43 mg/l;magnesium ion (Mg2

+) concentrations ranged from0.1 to 11.0 mg/l. These values are within the rangesreported for peatlands elsewhere in North America(Bursik 1990).

Chadde and Shelly (1995) recorded pH for a numberof rich fens on the Flathead National Forest, reportinga range of pH values from 6.8 to 8.4. Mantas (1993)found a similar pH range in several fens of the SwanValley (6.5 to 8.1), and also noted that pH values roseduring rain events, and dropped (becoming more acidic)when in-flow decreased. This was probably due tohigher amounts of cations being flushed into thepeatlands when flow was high. Also, pH was signifi-cantly higher in sites where limestone occurred inbedrock of the same watershed (Mantas 1993). In


addition, these sites were tested for cation content,including Potassium (K+), Sodium (Na+), Ca2

+, andMg2

+. As expected, peatlands with the highest levelsof these cations had the highest pH values.

Peatland Components ___________The term peatland encompasses all wetlands occur-

ring on peat. Peatlands can be subdivided based onhow they formed and on their water source and nutri-ent status (see Peatland Formation section). Peat-lands can also be described based on their componentparts. The presence or absence of these components isdetermined by the site’s landform and hydrologiccharacteristics, vegetation, and water chemistry(Glaser 1987). The following features provide a com-mon language for describing peatlands and are usefulin evaluating their conservation significance (seePeatland Conservation section):

• Floating mat• Carr• Moat• Paludified forest• Lake/pond• Stream• Beaver activity• Palsa

Floating Mats

Floating mats are a classic feature of basin or lake-fill peatlands (color plates 9, 10). Roots and rhizomesof living plants and accumulated leaf litter intertwineto form a mat that floats on water or overlies veryunstable muck below. The vegetation of floating matsis variable and can be typical of that associated withpoor, intermediate, or rich fens. In Idaho, floatingmats are largely restricted to valley peatlands con-taining ponds or lakes. Their absence from subalpinepeatlands may be the greatest contributing factorto floristic differences with valley peatlands (Bursik1990).

Floating mats are ecologically stable communitiesbecause of their ability to adjust to fluctuating waterlevels. Vertical movement of floating mats of asmuch as 0.75 m annually has been reported by someresearchers (Crum 1988). On floating mats, plant rootsremain in constant contact with water while avoidinginundation like fixed or anchored mats. Changes inthe composition of floating mat communities aregenerally a function of trophic status changes, espe-cially as influenced by nutrient inputs. This makesfloating mats useful monitoring sites to ascertain theeffects of human activities affecting nutrient runoffinto peatlands (Bursik and Moseley 1992a). In Idaho,extensive sphagnum-dominated floating mats occur

at Bottle Lake, Perkins Lake, Huff Lake, Three Ponds,Hager Lake, and Kaniksu Marsh (all on the IdahoPanhandle National Forests).

In Montana, floating mat examples occur at LostTrail Pass (Bitterroot National Forest), Tepee Lake(Kootenai National Forest), Trout Lake (FlatheadNational Forest), and Leonard Creek Fen (Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest). At some sites, floatingmats have formed on partially submerged logs inlakes and ponds. Good examples of these pioneer matsare at Robinson Lake and Beaver Lake (North) inIdaho, and at Mary’s Frog Pond in Montana. Monitor-ing vegetation composition changes can shed light onthe mode and rate of mat expansion and causal envi-ronmental factors.

Carr

Carrs are shrub-dominated fens and occur withinportions of most Northern Rocky Mountain peatlands(color plate 11). Common shrubs of carrs include:Spiraea douglasii, Alnus incana, Betula glandu-losa, and several willows, including Salix bebbiana,S. drummondiana, S. candida, and S. geyeriana. Innorthern Idaho, many carrs are dominated by densemonocultures of Spiraea douglasii. Betula pumila, arare species in Idaho, is prominent in carrs of theMoyie River and Kootenai River valleys. In northwest-ern Montana, Betula glandulosa and Alnus incana aremajor carr species.

In basin peatlands, carrs are best developed in thelagg or moat-like ring sometimes found on the outermargin of the peatland. The moat is a zone of wateraccumulating because inflowing water is impeded bythe peat mass and flows around the peat. Waterdraining from the surface of the peat mass also con-tributes to the moat. Water accumulates in the moatand may partially or completely ring the peatland.Carrs are well developed at many flow-throughpeatlands. Water in the moat and at slope or flow-through peatlands is well-aerated, nutrient-enriched,and conducive to robust shrub growth relative to theoxygen- and nutrient-poor peat mass in central por-tions of the peatland (color plate 12). Water draw-downs or water table fluctuations that drain andincrease aeration of the peat surface and oxidation ofthe uppermost peat may increase shrub establish-ment and carr formation. Pine Butte Fen in Montanasupports extensive carr habitats (Lesica 1986).

Paludified Forest

As peat accumulates in a lake basin, the water leveltends to rise and “flood” adjacent uplands, a processknown as paludification. These paludified uplands aresubsequently colonized by sphagnum mosses and otherpeatland species. In Idaho, paludified forests are


associated most closely with valley peatlands whoselake basins are almost entirely filled with peat. Thesesites include Armstrong Meadows, Mosquito Bay Fen,and Upper Priest Lake Fen on the Idaho PanhandleNational Forests. In Montana, Shoofly Meadows hasextensive areas of paludified forest.

Cool, moist climatic conditions are conducive topaludification; while hotter, drier climates favor af-forestation of paludified areas. In some areas of NorthAmerica, paludification precedes the formation of poorfen and bog habitats (Crum 1988). In the NorthernRocky Mountains, it is unknown how paludificationfits into broad peatland successional trends due to theprolonged summer droughts that characterize thisregion. Murray (1995) reported that growth and pro-duction of sphagnum mosses at Shoofly Meadows(near Missoula) was limited by full sunlight comparedto growth rates of artificially shaded plants.

Paludification is best developed adjacent to sphagnum-rich peatlands (poor fens) because sphagnum mossesare the major species involved in this process. Wherepaludification occurs, a sequence of moist coniferousforest to forested sphagnum fen to open sphagnum fenmay occur. As paludification proceeds, higher watertables kill existing trees. As mossy hummocks grow inheight, trees may again establish on hummock topsbut are likely to be stunted. This is in contrast tooriginal site conditions that were usually moist butwere dominated by conifers typical of the area. Inter-mediate stages (forested sphagnum fen) are domi-nated by an overstory of various conifers, includingPinus contorta, P. monticola, Abies grandis, A. lasio-carpa, Picea engelmannii, Thuja plicata, and Tsugaheterophylla, growing with sphagnum moss such asS. centrale, Vaccinium oxycoccos (in northern Idaho),and other fen species in the understory.

Lakes and Ponds

Periodic water level fluctuations can affect the suc-cessional dynamics of pond and lake peatlands byflooding fixed mats, depositing sediments and nutri-ents during high water, or by drying floating matsduring low water periods. Open water attracts birdsand mammals that may disperse the propagules ofpeatland plants or that may influence physical condi-tions of the site, as in the case of beavers. Acidic watersof poor-intermediate fens or alkaline waters of richfens are also habitat for numerous invertebrate spe-cies having an affinity for a particular water chemistry(Rabe and others 1986).

Open bodies of water are associated with manybasin peatlands. In Idaho, Hager Lake, Huff Lake,Three Ponds, and Potholes are peatlands associatedwith ponds (waterbodies less than 8 ha) (Rabe andChadde 1994), while Mosquito Bay Fen on PriestLake is a lake peatland (waterbodies more than 8 ha).

In Montana, examples of peatlands associated withponds and lakes include Tepee Lake (Kootenai Na-tional Forest), Mud Lake and Trout Lake (FlatheadNational Forest), and Mary’s Frog Pond (Lolo Na-tional Forest).

Aquatic vegetation (that is rooted in bottom sedi-ments or floating) adds to the diversity of peatlandsassociated with ponds and lakes. More than 15 per-cent of the valley peatland flora of Idaho consists ofaquatic species, while a similar percentage are speciesmost commonly found growing submersed (Bursikand Henderson 1995). Common aquatic species in-clude Nuphar polysepalum, Potamogeton amplifolius(large-leaved pendweed), P. gramineus (grass-leavedpendweed), P. natans (floating-leaved pendweed),Najas flexilis (wavy water-nymph), and Lemna minor(duck weed).

Stream

Several stream types described by Rabe and others(1994) are found in Northern Rocky Mountainpeatlands, including spring streams with very shortruns (for example, Kaniksu Marsh, Upper Priest LakeFen, and Mosquito Bay Fen), spring streams with longreaches (Potholes), and meandering glide streams inbroad valleys (Packer Meadows, Deerhorn Creek Mead-ows, and Dubius Creek Fen). Streams host an array ofinvertebrate species and may contain populations ofrainbow, cutthroat, and eastern brook trout (Rabeand Savage 1977).

Beaver Activity

Beavers exert a significant influence on manypeatlands, especially those having inlets and outletsallowing for beaver migration. Periodic beaver activitycreates and maintains a mosaic of successional stageswithin a wetland complex and contributes to thehabitat and floristic diversity of Northern RockyMountain peatlands (Bursik and Henderson 1995).

Beaver activity is responsible for the initial forma-tion of fen habitats at Bottle Lake and Potholes innorthern Idaho. Beaver damming at Packer Meadows,Beaver Lake (North), Kaniksu Marsh, and DubiusCreek Fen is responsible for the formation of largeponds or the periodic expansion of ponds into lakes.During inactivity, the dams break and large mudflatsare colonized by a host of pioneer marsh and fenspecies. Over time, perennial, rhizomatous sedges,such as Carex lasiocarpa and Carex utriculata, colo-nize these mudflats. If water levels rise, the rhizoma-tous mats can form floating mats that allow for coloni-zation by fen species requiring stable water levels.This pioneer mat formation has been observed overthe past 10 years at Lee Lake in northern Idaho.


Wholesale changes brought on by beavers in Idahopeatlands were illustrated by Rabe and Savage (1977)at Bottle Lake Research Natural Area. Aerial photo-graphs of Bottle Lake from 1932 and 1956 bear littleresemblance to each other. Apparently 1932 wasnear the end of a long period without beavers atBottle Lake. In 1932, the central doughnut-shaped,sphagnum-dominated mat was surrounded by a sedge-dominated fen with scattered trees. The mat rested onthe basin bottom allowing the growth of Thuja plicata,Tsuga heterophylla, and other conifers. The lake withinthe mat supported emergent and submergent aquaticplants such as Nuphar spp. By 1956, beaver damminghad flooded the sedge fen surrounding the floatingmat, replacing it with aquatic plant communities andkilling the scattered trees. The doughnut-shaped matonce again had become a buoyant island, conifers thathad established during low water were dead, and thelake within the mat had become too deep to supportspecies of Nuphar, conditions similar to those found atpresent.

Palsa

A palsa is a peat mound covering a permanentlyfrozen (permafrost) core of peat and silt (Crum 1988).The overlying peat acts as an insulating blanket overthe frozen core. Although common in the zone ofdiscontinuous permafrost in the southern portion ofthe arctic tundra, in the contiguous United States theonly documented occurrence is at a subalpine site(Sawtooth Peatbeds, Shoshone National Forest) in theBeartooth Mountains of northwestern Wyoming(Collins and others 1984). This occurrence is thesouthernmost palsa known in North America.

The palsa covers approximately 8 ha and is raised1 to 2 m above the surrounding sedge-dominated fen.The surface of the palsa is practically devoid of vege-tation apart from scattered clumps of Deschampsiacespitosa and plants of Rumex paucifolius (mountainsorrel). Permafrost is present 38 to 46 cm below thesurface (Pierce 1961).

Peatland Vegetation And Flora ____

Vascular Flora

The vascular plant diversity associated withpeatlands in the Northern Rocky Mountains is high,especially considering the small percentage of theregional landscape that is occupied by these habitats(color plates 13 through 25). The peatland vascularflora reported herein consists of 356 species, repre-senting 164 genera and 62 families (appendix A).Six pteridophyte families (as represented by 11 generaand 20 species), two gymnosperm families (6 genera,

8 species), and 54 angiosperm families (148 genera,328 species) were documented during the course ofthe peatland inventories in this region (Bursik 1990;Bursik and Henderson 1995; Chadde and Shelly 1995;Mantas 1993). Of note is the diversity of families andgenera included in the regional peatland flora. Rich-ness at these higher taxonomic levels further empha-sizes the significance of these peatlands in contribut-ing to the overall biological diversity in the NorthernRocky Mountains.

Idaho—Bursik (1990) distinguished two types ofpeatlands in Idaho, valley and subalpine peatlands.He found 327 vascular plant species occurring at bothvalley or subalpine sites, with 205 species occurring inthe valley peatlands (see appendix A for a complete listof species). Subsequent study has revealed the pres-ence of 291 vascular and 20 bryophyte species in thevalley peatland flora of Idaho (Bursik and Henderson1995).

Peatlands of the Sawtooth Valley are subalpine inelevation but intermediate in plant species composi-tion. Boreal species found in the Sawtooth Valley peat-lands include Carex livida, C. buxbaumii, Eleocharispauciflora, Drosera intermedia (intermediate sundew),Epilobium palustre (swamp willow-herb), Scirpuscespitosus (tufted bulrush), Carex aquatilis, andSwertia perennis. Many of these are community domi-nants. Western cordilleran species include Gentianacalycosa (mountain bog gentian), Carex cusickii(cusick’s sedge), C. luzulina (wood rush sedge),Lonicera caerulea (sweet-berry honeysuckle), Seneciocymbalarioides (few-leaved groundsel), and Vacciniumoccidentale (western huckleberry).

Montana—The valley peatland vascular flora inMontana consists of 174 species, representing 105genera in 44 families (Chadde and Shelly 1995; Mantas1993). As such, approximately 37 percent of the 118families and 16 percent of the 658 genera reported tooccur in Montana (Dorn 1984) are associated withthese habitats. In limestone areas of northwesternMontana (Kootenai and Flathead National Forests),rich fens are typical. Characteristic shrubs are Betulaglandulosa, Alnus incana (mountain alder), Poten-tilla fruticosa, Rhamnus alnifolia (alder buckthorn),Salix bebbiana, S. candida, and S. drummondiana(drummond willow). Important sedges include: Carexlasiocarpa, C. limosa, C. interior, C. livida, C. utricu-lata, C. flava, and C. buxbaumii. Other common grassand grasslike species include: Eleocharis rostellata (inextremely rich fens), E. tenuis, Eriophorum viridicari-natum, E. chamissonis, Dulichium arundinaceum,Calamagrostis canadensis, and Scirpus acutus. Piceaengelmannii is common on the outer margins of manypeatlands as well as on drier hummock tops.


In the poor and intermediate fens of west-centraland southwestern Montana (Lolo and Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forests), Carex lasiocarpa isreplaced by other sedges and rushes, includingCarex aquatilis, C. limosa, C. utriculata, C. vesicaria,C. canescens (gray sedge), C. buxbaumii, and Eleocharispauciflora. Typical grasses are Calamagrostiscanadensis and Deschampsia cespitosa. Betula glan-dulosa is uncommon; other shrubs including severalericaceous species are typical: Kalmia microphylla(small-leaved laurel), Ledum groenlandica (bog lau-rel), and Vaccinium occidentale.

Typical peatland forbs include: Menyanthes trifoliata(buckbean), typically found in pools between hum-mocks and in the moat around many peatlands, Poten-tilla palustris, Drosera rotundifolia (roundleaf sun-dew), Mentha arvensis (field mint), Utricularia vulgaris(common bladderwort), Zigadenus elegans, Epilo-bium palustre (swamp willow-herb), Galium triflorum(bedstraw), Parnassia palustris (northern grass-of-parnassus), and Viola nephrophylla (bog violet). Thecalcareous rich fens of northwestern Montana providehabitat for a number of orchids (see Rare Flora). Fernsand fern allies include: Equisetum arvense (field horse-tail), E. fluviatile (water horsetail), and E. variegatum(varigated horsetail). Botrychium multifidum and B.virginianum are occasionally encountered moonworts.

Bryophyte Flora

Idaho—Many of Idaho’s fens are sphagnum-richpeatlands; major species include: Sphagnum centrale,S. magellanicum, S. subsecundum, and S. teres (Andrusand Layser 1976; Bursik and Henderson 1995). Impor-tant brown mosses of Idaho peatlands include:Aulacomnium palustre, Calliergon stramineum,Calliergonella cuspidata, Pleurozium schreberi,Polytrichum strictum, and Tomentypnum nitens.

Montana—The rich fens of northwestern Montanacan be characterized as sphagnum-poor peatlands. Onlytwo species of sphagnum were consistently encoun-tered in rich fens: Sphagnum fuscum and S. warnstorfii.Brown moss species indicative of calcium-rich condi-tions were prominent, forming a nearly continuousground cover in many fens. Important species included:Aulacomnium palustre, Bryum pseudotriquetrum,Calliergon stramineum, Limprichtia revolvens,Philonotis fontana, Pohlia nutans, Scorpidiumscorpioides, and Tomentypnum nitens. Meesia trique-tra, an uncommon calciphile (Montagnes 1990), waspresent, although sparse, in several rich fens.

In west-central and southwestern Montana, typicalpoor fen mosses include various sphagnum mosses(Sphagnum angustifolium, S. fimbriatum, S. magel-lanicum, S. russowii, S. squarrosum, S. subsecundum,and S. teres) and brown mosses such as Aulacomnium

palustre, Calliergon cordifolium, C. stramineum,Drepanocladus aduncus, Hypnum pratense, andPolytrichum strictum.

Classification of Plant Community Types

Classifications based on vegetation provide landmanagers with a means to effectively identify, man-age, and conserve important habitats (Ferguson andothers 1989). They have been uniformly developedand widely applied in the forested ecosystems of theNorthern Rocky Mountains (Cooper and others 1991;Pfister and others 1977; Steele and others 1981, 1983)and more recently for wetlands and riparian com-munities (Hansen and others 1995; Winward andPadgett 1989). Regional wetland community classi-fications that include some peatland habitats existfor portions of Idaho (Mutz and Queiroz 1983; Tuhy1981; Tuhy and Jensen 1982; Youngblood and others1985), and northwestern Wyoming (Chadde and others1988; Mattson 1984). However, these studies failed toconsider one of the most important components ofpeatlands—the structure and composition of bryo-phyte communities. Many mosses are useful indica-tors of the environment within peatlands and providethe best indication of water chemistry, height abovewater table, and amount of shade (Gignac and Vitt1990). The presence of sphagnum mosses is especiallyimportant due to their control and influence on thepeatland environment. For example, the degree ofacidity of water in a peatland is in part due to therelease of hydrogen ions by sphagnum (Crum 1988).

Table 4 is a list of plant community types thatidentifies communities found within Northern RockyMountain peatlands. Many of the listed types alsooccur in other types of wetlands, and on mineral aswell as on organic or peat soils. Peatland classifica-tions appear to be most useful if they are based on acombination of hydrology, water chemistry and nutri-ent status, and floristics (Glaser 1987). Wetland clas-sifications from the Western United States are basedlargely on vascular plant floristics, ignoring bryo-phytes and physical features. Notable exceptions arestudies by Vitt and others (1975) in Alberta, Cooperand Andrus (1994) in Wyoming, and Cooper (1996) inColorado. Peatland communities of alpine areas havebeen little studied, but see Cooper and Lesica (1992).

Tree-Dominated Types—Four forested wetlandtypes, Picea engelmannii/Carex disperma (soft-leaved sedge), Picea engelmannii/Equisetum arvense,Pinus contorta/Vaccinium occidentale, and Piceaengelmannii/Lysichitum americanum (skunk cabbage),sometime occur adjacent to open peatlands. Althoughwet, these types are found on both organic and mineralsoils. They are briefly described because of their closeassociation with many peatlands. More informationon their composition is provided by Hansen andothers (1995). In northern Idaho, Cooper and others


(1991) described several wet forest types within theAbies lasiocarpa and Thuja plicata series of habitattypes. A Picea glauca community occurs at SwampLake Fen in Wyoming. Associated undergrowth speciesinclude Linnaea borealis, Equisetum arvense, Carexutriculata, and Calamagrostis canadensis.

Picea engelmannii/Carex disperma communitytype—occurs in east-central and southeastern Idahoand is similar to the Picea engelmannii/Equisetumarvense community type (Steele and others 1981,1983). The undergrowth is carpeted by Carex dis-perma. Scattered shrubs are present and includeRibes lacustre (swamp currant) and Rubus parviflorus(thimbleberry). Common herbaceous species includeCalamagrostis canadensis, Actaea rubra (baneberry),Arnica cordifolia (heartleaf arnica), Galium triflorum,Pyrola secunda (one-sided wintergreen), Senecio tri-angularis (arrowleaf groundsel), Thalictrum occiden-talis (western meadowrue), and Equisetum arvense.Common mosses include Aulacomnium palustre andAmblystegium juratzkanum (Steele 1974).

Picea engelmannii/Equisetum arvense communitytype—occurs at low to mid-elevations in centralMontana (where sometimes locally common) and lesscommonly in western portions of the State (Pfister andothers 1977). The type is also present in northwesternWyoming and eastern Idaho (Steele and others 1981,1983). The tree canopy is primarily Picea engelmannii,with smaller coverages of Abies lasiocarpa or Pinuscontorta. In addition to Equisetum arvense, commonundergrowth species include Lonicera involucrata,Salix drummondiana, Calamagrostis canadensis,Carex utriculata, Smilacina stellata (starry solomon-plume), Streptopus amplexifolius (twisted stalk), andSenecio triangularis.

Picea engelmannii/Lysichitum americanum com-munity type—uncommon in low elevation valleys innorthwestern Montana. When present, this type usu-ally occurs on the outer margin of an open peatland orin the surrounding wet forest. The water table is nearthe ground surface most of the year and surface wateris often present in depressions. Soils may have a large

Table 4—Peatland community types of the Northern Rocky Mountains.

Community type Common name

Tree-dominated types

Picea engelmannii/Carex disperma Engelmann spruce/soft-leaved sedgePicea engelmannii/Equisetum arvense Engelmann spruce/field horsetailPicea engelmannii/Lysichitum americanum Engelmann spruce/soft-leaved sedgePicea glauca White spruce (mostly in Wyoming)Pinus contorta/Vaccinium occidentale Lodgepole pine/western huckleberry

Shrub-dominated types

Betula glandulosa/Carex lasiocarpa Bog birch/slender sedgeKalmia microphylla/Carex scopulorum Small-leaved laurel/holm’s rocky mountain sedgeSalix candida/Carex lasiocarpa Hoary willow/slender sedgeSalix drummondiana Drummond willowSalix planifolia/Carex aquatilis Planeleaf willow/water sedgeSalix wolfii/Carex aquatilis Wolf’s willow/water sedgeSpiraea douglasii Douglas’ spiraeaVaccinium occidentale Western huckleberry

Herbaceous types

Calamagrostis canadensis Bluejoint reedgrassCarex aquatilis Water sedgeCarex buxbaumii Buxbaum’s sedgeCarex lasiocarpa Slender sedgeCarex limosa Mud sedgeCarex scopulorum Holm’s Rocky Mountain sedgeCarex simulata Short-beaked sedgeCarex utriculata Beaked sedgeEleocharis pauciflora Few-flowered spike-rushEleocharis rostellata Beaked spike-rushEleocharis tenuis Slender spike-rushScirpus cespitosus Tufted bulrush


4Carex utriculata was erroneously referred to as Carexrostrata in earlier taxonomic and ecological studies. TrueCarex rostrata is apparently very rare in the NorthernRocky Mountains, being found more commonly in borealNorth America. To minimize confusion, references of otherresearchers to Carex rostrata have been changed to Carexutriculata. See Griffiths (1989) for a more completediscussion of these taxa.

percentage of organic matter. Associated species mayinclude Cornus stolonifera (red-osier dogwood), Alnusincana, Betula occidentalis (water birch), Cinnalatifolia (drooping woodreed), and Athyrium filix-femina (ladyfera) (Hansen and others 1995).

Pinus contorta/Vaccinium occidentale communitytype—uncommon and found in noncalcareouspeatlands in west-central Montana and central Idaho(Pierce and Johnson 1986; Tuhy 1981; Tuhy and Jensen1982). The type usually occurs near the outer marginsof peatlands or near the outer edge of a peatland pond.Soils are typically saturated and have a high organicmatter content. This community type is characterizedby a discontinuous stand of Pinus contorta with a layerof low shrubs underneath. Pinus contorta appears tobe regenerating in this community, as evidenced bysmall saplings, but there are also many standing deadtrees keeping the stands relatively open in appear-ance. Vaccinium occidentale is the dominant shrub,but several other shrubs are prominent, includingLedum glandulosum, Lonicera caerulea, Potentillafruticosa, and Betula glandulosa. Calamagrostiscanadensis is usually present. Sphagnum mosses aretypically common.

Shrub-Dominated Types—Betula glandulosa/Carex lasiocarpa community type—common in low tomid-elevation peatlands in west-central and north-western Montana and northern Idaho and occurs onorganic soils. The peat is saturated year-round, apartfrom the higher hummock tops that tend to dry inmidsummer. It is characterized by a shrub stratum0.5 to 2 m tall, dominated by Betula glandulosa, and ashrub canopy averaging about 25 percent cover.Salix candida, a low-growing willow up to 1 m tall, isfrequently present at low coverages. The height of theshrubs appeared to be influenced largely by thedegree of substrate aeration; taller shrubs occurred onpeatland margins and areas of higher ground subjectto seasonal drawdowns of the water table. The short-est shrubs were associated with perennially saturatedsubstrates.

Carex lasiocarpa was the predominant vascularundergrowth species, reflecting its abundance andwide distribution within the study area. Eleocharistenuis dominated the undergrowth of several sitesand Menyanthes trifoliata was a common forb. Cypri-pedium passerinum was confined to this type and theadjacent forested Picea engelmannii/Equisetum plantassociation. Other sensitive or special concern speciesoccurring in this community type were Eriophorumviridicarinatum, Drosera rotundifolia, and Epipactisgigantea (giant hellebovine). A nearly continuous sur-face layer of mosses was present and common speciesincluded Tomentypnum nitens, Bryum pseudotrique-trum, Campylium stellatum, and Limprichtia revolvens.

Sphagnum fuscum and S. warnstorfii were the onlysphagnum mosses present in this type.

This community type is similar to the Betula glan-dulosa/Carex utriculata4 type described by Hansenand others (1995) for western Montana. However,most communities sampled by the authors lacked theCarex utriculata undergrowth or had small amountsonly. In Montana, Carex utriculata is more indicativeof mineral soils or scarcely developed peatlands.

Kalmia microphylla/Carex aquatilis communitytype—an uncommon peatland community of poor fensat mid-elevations in western Montana; soils are wet,acidic Histosols. Associated species include Vacciniumoccidentale, Calamagrostis canadensis, Carexnigricans, Deschampsia cespitosa, Aster foliaceus (leafyaster), and Ligusticum tenuifolium (slender-leavedlicorice-root). A higher elevation (upper subalpine)variant of this type was described by Hansen andothers (1995) in which Carex aquatilis is replaced byCarex scopulorum.

Salix candida/Carex lasiocarpa community type—an uncommon type in western Montana. This type wasclassified as the Salix candida/C. utriculata type byHansen and others (1995), but communities occurringon peat have a predominance of C. lasiocarpa ratherthan C. utriculata. Its composition is similar to theBetula glandulosa/C. lasiocarpa type described pre-viously. Prominent species include Potentilla fruticosa,Carex aquatilis, Carex limosa, Scirpus acutus, andMenyanthes trifoliata.

Salix drummondiana community type—a minor typeof northwestern Montana on organic or wet mineralsoils (Hansen and others 1995). A dense growth of tallwillows is typical. Associated species includeCalamagrostis canadensis, Carex aquatilis, C. utricu-lata, C. vesicaria, Saxifraga arguta (brook saxifrage),and Equisetum fluviatile.

Salix planifolia/Carex aquatilis community type—an uncommon type of central and southwesternMontana. Soils are usually organic and acidic. Associatedspecies include Calamagrostis canadensis, C. scopulorum,and Eleocharis pauciflora (Hansen and others 1995).At high (alpine) elevations in southwestern Montana,Carex scopulorum rather than C. aquatilis predomi-nates the herbaceous layer (Cooper and Lesica 1992).


Salix wolfii/Carex aquatilis community type—aminor type of central and southwestern Montana andcentral and eastern Idaho (Hansen and others 1995;Tuhy 1981; Youngblood and others 1985). Betulaglandulosa and Lonicera utahensis (Utah honeysuckle)are common associates. Herbaceous species below theopen shrub layer include Carex aquatilis, C. microptera(small-winged sedge), C. vesicaria, and Deschampsiacespitosa.

Spiraea douglasii (Douglas’ spirea) communitytype—a minor type of northwestern Montana andnorthern Idaho forming thickets or occurring onpeatland margins. Soils are sometimes organic, butare often poorly developed alluvial soils (Hansen andothers 1995). Common associated species includeCalamagrostis canadensis, Carex utriculata, andPotentilla palustris.

Vaccinium occidentale community type—this typeoccurs primarily in eastern Idaho and northwesternWyoming (Mattson 1984). Soils are wet and acidic.Common species are Calamagrostis canadensis andCarex aquatilis.

Herbaceous Types—Calamagrostis canadensiscommunity type—this type is most common on wetMollisols having a high percentage of organic matter(Hansen and others 1995). The type is included herebecause of its common occurrence as part of manypeatland complexes, especially in marshy areas or onpeatland margins. Typical species of this type includeCalamagrostis canadensis, C. stricta, Carex utricu-lata, Geum macrophyllum (large-leaved avens), andSenecio triangularis.

Carex aquatilis community type—a common typethroughout the Northern Rocky Mountains (Chaddeand others 1988; Hansen and others 1995; Youngbloodand others 1985). Shrubs are typically absent apartfrom trace amounts of Salix spp. and Potentillafruticosa. Herbaceous associates include Carexbuxbaumii, C. lasiocarpa, C. lanuginosa, Potentillapalustris, and Equisetum arvense. In northern Idaho,this type often occurs on mineral alluvial soils atsubalpine elevations.

Carex buxbaumii community type—this is a minorpeatland type, and can occur on either mineral or peatsubstrates. In the Sawtooth Valley, this commu-nity occurs on sedge peat (Tuhy 1981). It occupiessites similar to those classified as Carex aquatilis andC. lasiocarpa types. On peat soils, C. buxbaumii isdominant with a low cover of other sedges such asC. muricata, C. aquatilis, C. oederi (green sedge), andC. utriculata.

Carex lasiocarpa community type—this open fencommunity type is a major component of the region’speatlands, and is especially prominent in northwestern

Montana, northern Utah, and southeastern Idaho(Padgett and others 1989). Shrubs are absent apartfrom low-growing individuals, and stands are visuallycharacterized by a monoculture of Carex lasiocarpa.Overall species diversity is low. Menyanthes trifoliatais common. Sensitive or special-concern species occur-ring in this type were Carex livida, Eriophorumviridicarinatum, Drosera anglica, D. rotundifolia, andEpipactis gigantea. Moss coverage varies widely fromnearly absent to essentially continuous. Predominantbrown mosses are Campylium stellatum, Limprichtiarevolvens, Aulacomnium palustre, Tomentypnumnitens, and Bryum pseudotriquetrum. Sphagnummosses are prominent in some sites. Low moss cover-ages were associated with shallow basin fens that hadseasonally fluctuating water tables. These sites maybe better classified as sedge meadows. The best devel-oped moss layers were associated with flow-throughpeatlands having relatively stable, constant watermovement through them.

Carex limosa community type—a minor type ofwestern Montana, Idaho, and northwestern Wyoming(Hansen and others 1995; Mattson 1984; Padgett andothers 1989). The type occurs as small patches in wetdepressions in peatlands or in the moat surroundingthe peat mass.

Carex scopulorum community type—a fairly com-mon type on organic soils at mid- to alpine elevationsin the region. Associated species include Calama-grostis canadensis, Deschampsia cespitosa, Juncusmertensianus, Phleum alpinum (timothy), Calthaleptosepala (elkslip), Dodecatheon jeffreyi (shootingstar), and Ligusticum tenuifolium (Cooper and Lesica1992; Hansen and others 1995).

Carex simulata (short-beaked sedge) communitytype—an uncommon type found mostly in peatlandsof central and southern Idaho and northwesternWyoming (Chadde and others 1988; Mattson 1984;Youngblood and others 1985). Dense, rhizomatousmonocultures of Carex simulata characterize thiscommunity type (Tuhy and Jensen 1982).

Carex utriculata community type—the Carex utri-culata community is common throughout the North-ern Rocky Mountains and Intermountain Region(Hansen and others 1995; Padgett and others 1989;Tuhy and Jensen 1982; Youngblood and others 1985).The type is especially common as an early colonizer ofwet mineral soils, but can persist on sedge peats.Although Carex utriculata is strongly rhizomatous,producing near monocultures, small amounts ofother species may be present.

Eleocharis pauciflora community type—a commontype of acidic, organic soils of peatlands throughoutthe region (Hansen and others 1995; Mattson 1984;


Mutz and Queiroz 1983; Padgett and others 1989).Associated species are varied but include Carex aqua-tilis, Pedicularis groenlandica, Spiranthes romanzof-fiana, and Scirpus acutus. Sphagnum mosses arecommon. In northern Idaho, Drosera intermedia ismost common in this community type.

Eleocharis rostellata community type—an uncom-mon type of wet, marly peatlands such as Bent FlatFen in northwestern Montana. The species is alsolocally common at Mammoth Hot Springs, YellowstoneNational Park (Chadde and others 1988). Associatedspecies include Scirpus acutus, Menyanthes trifoliata,Carex utriculata, Viola nephrophylla, and Triglochinmaritimum (seaside arrow-grass).

Eleocharis tenuis community type—a type encoun-tered in northwestern Montana, often occurring inclose proximity to the Betula glandulosa/Carexlasiocarpa type in rich fens of Montana’s Swan RiverValley. In Idaho Eleocharis tenuis is rare (Bursik andMoseley 1995). Common associates include Carex in-terior, C. flava, C. cusickii, and Menyanthes trifoliata.Brown mosses such as Tomentypnum nitens,Aulacomnium palustre, and Bryum pseudotrique-trum are common.

Scirpus cespitosus community type—this type islimited in Idaho, occurring only in the Sawtooth Valley(Tuhy 1981). Where found, Scirpus cespitosus mayform hummocky stands to the near exclusion of otherspecies. Eleocharis pauciflora and Carex livida arecommon associates.

Rare Vascular Flora

Of the 356 vascular plant species associated withpeatlands in the Northern Rocky Mountains, 48 (ap-proximately 13 percent) are designated as species ofspecial conservation concern in Idaho or Montana byState natural heritage programs. In addition, theNorthern Region of the U.S. Forest Service has desig-nated 30 of these 48 rare taxa as “sensitive” (USDAForest Service 1991, 1994) (table 5). This designationconfers protection to them during the planning andimplementation of resource management activitieson National Forest lands. As compared to other habi-tats, the disproportionately large number of rare spe-cies of vascular plants associated with peatlands inthe Northern Rocky Mountains further underscoresthe importance of these habitats with respect to thebiological diversity of the region.

These species, although uncommon in the NorthernRocky Mountains, are generally common when theirentire worldwide range is considered. Apart fromMaianthemum dilatatum (a Pacific coastal species,disjunct in northern Idaho), most of these specieshave circumboreal distributions (Lorrain 1988).

Idaho—Thirty-five vascular species in the peat-land flora are considered rare in Idaho, amounting to12 percent of the State’s rare flora (Idaho Native PlantSociety 1996) (table 5). Five species were undocu-mented in Idaho prior to recent peatland inventories:Carex chordorrhiza, Eleocharis tenuis, Eriophorumviridicarinatum, Iris versicolor (blue flag), and Rubuspubescens (dew berry) (Bursik and Henderson 1995).Three species are known from only a single knownsite in the State: Andromeda polifolia (bog rosemary),Iris versicolor, and Maianthemum dilatatum (beadruby).

Montana—Twenty-one species of vascular plantstypically associated with peatlands are currently con-sidered rare in Montana (Heidel 1996) (table 5). Ofthese, 15 are sensitive species as designated by theNorthern Region of the Forest Service (USDA ForestService 1994). All of the rare species are boreal ornorth-temperate in distribution, disjunct or periph-eral in Montana from more continuous ranges in thenorth. Species known from National Forests in Mon-tana include Carex chordorrhiza, C. livida, C.paupercula, Drosera anglica, D. linearis (linear-leavedsundew), Dryopteris cristata (crested shield-fern),Eleocharis rostellata, Eriophorum viridicarinatum,Liparis loeselii, Lycopodium inundatum, Scheuchzeriapalustris (podgrass), and Scirpus cespitosus. The rar-est of these are Drosera linearis (three occurrences inMontana), Liparis loeselii (five occurrences, first col-lected in Montana in 1990 [Shelly and Mantas 1993]),and Lycopodium inundatum (two confirmed occur-rences [Shelly and Mantas 1993]).

Of special interest are four rare species, (Cypripe-dium calceolus (yellow lady’s-slipper), C. passerinum,Orchis rotundifolia, and Viola renifolia (kidney-leavedviolet) that, while not restricted to peatlands in Mon-tana, are typically found in the semi-shaded ecotonesbetween open fens and adjacent forests. Cypripediumpasserinum, Drosera linearis, Eleocharis rostellata,Liparis loeselii, Orchis rotundifolia, and Scirpuscespitosus are largely confined to rich fens and marlywetlands in portions of northwest Montana wherelimestone bedrock is prevalent.

The poor fens in Montana, which are typically lessfloristically diverse than the rich fens, also contain farfewer rare species. Carex paupercula, Drosera anglica,Eriophorum viridicarinatum, Scheuchzeria palustrisand Viola renifolia were characteristically the onlyrare vascular plants found in association with thepoorer peatlands.

Six additional rare plant species occur in peatlandsor in marly wetlands of western Montana; however,none of these are included in this report. They are asfollows: Scirpus hudsonianus (Glacier National Park,two occurrences, from northern Idaho), Utriculariaintermedia (one occurrence on private land in the


Table 5—Rare vascular plant species known from peatlands in Idaho and Montana. USDA Forest Service (Northern Region):S = sensitive (USDA Forest Service, June 1994); States in which the sensitive designation applies are shown inparentheses. Global rank: G1 = critically imperiled globally because of extreme rarity; G2 = imperiled globallybecause of rarity; G3 = either very rare and local throughout its range or found locally in a restricted range; G4 =apparently secure globally; G5 = demonstrably secure globally. State rank: S1 = critically imperiled in State,extremely rare; S2 = imperiled in State, rare; S3 = uncommon in State, not necessarily imperiled. NP = not knownin State; NT = present but not tracked by natural heritage program in State. Idaho Native Plant Society (INPS)Categories (INPS 1996): 1 = Priority 1, State endangered; 2 = Priority 2, State threatened; S = Sensitive; M = Monitor;R = Review; N = No INPS rank for Federal candidates. Species names followed by an asterisk are illustrated.

USDA FSSpecies Northern Region Global rank Idaho rank INPS rank Montana rank

Andromeda polifolia — G5 S1 1 NPAster junciformis — G5 S1 R NTBetula pumila S (ID) G5 S2 S NPCarex buxbaumii S (ID) G5 S3 S NTCarex chordorrhiza S (ID, MT) G5 S2 1 S1Carex comosa* S (ID) G5 S1 1 S1Carex flava — G5 S3 M NTCarex leptalea S (ID) G5 S1 S NTCarex livida S (ID, MT) G5 S2 S S2Carex paupercula S (ID, MT) G5 S2 2 S2Cicuta bulbifera S (ID) G5 S2 S NTCypripedium calceolus* S (ID, MT) G5 S1 1 S2, S3Cypripedium passerinum* S (MT) G4, G5 NP — S2Drosera anglica — G5 NT — S2Drosera intermedia S (ID) G5 S1 1 NPDrosera linearis * S (MT) G4 NP — S1Dryopteris cristata S(ID, MT, WA) G5 S2 S S2Eleocharis rostellata — G5 NT — S2Eleocharis tenuis — G5 S1 2 NTEpilobium palustre S (ID) G5 S3 M NTEpipactis gigantea* S (ID, MT) G4 S3 1 S2Eriophorum viridicarinatum S (ID, MT) G5 S1 1 NTGaultheria hispidula S (ID, WA) G5 S1 2 NPHypericum majus S (ID) G5 S1 2 NTIris versicolor — G5 S1 R NTLiparis loeselii * S (MT) G5 NP — S1Lomatogonium rotatum — G5 S1 1 S1Ludwigia polycarpa — G4 S1 1 NPLycopodium inundatum * S (ID, MT) G5 S2 1 S1Lycopodium sitchense S (ID) G5 S2 S NTMaianthemum dilatatum — G5 S2 1 NPMuhlenbergia racemosa — G5 S1 1 NTOrchis rotundifolia* S (MT) G5 NP — S2, S3Petasites sagittatus — G4 S3 M NTPicea glauca — G5 S1 2 NTRhynchospora alba* S (ID) G5 S2 1 NPSalix candida — G5 S2 2 NTSalix pedicellaris * S (ID) G5 S1 2 NPScheuchzeria palustris* S (ID, MT) G5 S2 2 S1Scirpus cespitosus * — G5 NT — S1Scirpus hudsonianus S (ID) G5 S1 1 S1Scirpus subterminalis S (ID, MT) G4, G5 S3 S S1Trientalis arctica S (ID) G5 S3 S NPVaccinium oxycoccos* S (ID) G5 S2 2 NPViola renifolia S (MT) G5 NP — S2


Photographs of the Different Types of Peatland Environments ____________

Color plate 1—Shallow basin peatland. Carexlasiocarpa and Carex buxbaumii are dominantspecies of the open fen (foreground); Salixbebbiana forms a carr community on the outeredge of the basin. This site intergrades to amarsh subject to periodic drying of the surfacepeat. Mosses are sparse. Lost Creek Fens,Flathead National Forest, Montana. Photo bySteve Chadde.

Color plate 2—Deep basin peatland. A peat matsurrounds the open water. Sphagnumangustifolium, and Sphagnum teres are commonpeat mosses. Vascular species include Carexlasiocarpa, Carex flava, Carex interior, andEriophorum chamissonis. Trout Lake, FlatheadNational Forest, Montana. Photo by Steve Shelly.

Color plate 3—Flow-through or slope peatland.Dominant vascular species include Betulaglandulosa, Carex lasiocarpa, Carex utriculata,and Eleocharis tenuis. Brown mosses such asBryum pseudotriquetrum, Limprichtia revolvens,and Tomenthypnum nitens form a nearly continu-ous surface cover. Porcupine Fen, Flathead Na-tional Forest, Montana. Photo by Steve Chadde.

Color plate 4—Flow-through or slope peatland.Shrubs are sparse; dominant herbaceous spe-cies are Carex lasiocarpa, Carex limosa, andCarex utriculata. Brown mosses carpet the groundsurface. Sanko Creek Fen (North), Flathead Na-tional Forest, Montana. Photo by Steve Shelly.


Color plate 5—Patterned rich fen. Dominantspecies of raised strings include Eleocharisrostellata, Eleocharis tenuis, and Carexbuxbaumii. Menyanthes trifoliata is common inthe water-filled flarks. Bent Flat Fen, FlatheadNational Forest, Montana. Photo by SteveShelly.

Color plate 6—Patterned rich fen with flark(center) and strings (left and right). Potentillafruticosa and Eleocharis tenuis are commonatop the strings; Scirpus acutus and Eleocharistenuis are common in the flarks. The substrate isa mush-like mixture of marl and peat. Bent FlatFen, Flathead National Forest, Montana. Photoby Steve Chadde.

Color plate 7—Patterned poor fen. Prominentvascular species include Deschampsia cespitosa,Carex aquatilis, Eleocharis pauciflora, and Carexlimosa. Mosses include Sphagnum angustifolium,Sphagnum subsecundum, Aulacomnium palustre,Calliergon stramineum, and Drepanocladusaduncus. Skull Creek Meadows, Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, Montana. Photo bySteve Chadde.

Color plate 8—Paludification. Expansion of apeatland into the surrounding subalpine forest ofPinus contorta. This process occurs as peat accumu-lates and leads to a gradual rise in the local watertable. Scirpus cespitosus is a major herbaceousspecies. Huckleberry Creek Fen, Sawtooth NationalForest, Idaho. Photo by Robert Moseley.


Color plate 9—Deep basin peatland. Aerialview of a floating mat surrounding a small lakein a basin setting. Hager Lake, Kaniksu Na-tional Forest, Idaho. Photo by Steve Spence.

Color plate 10—Deep basin peatland. Peatlandpond supporting aquatic plants (Nupharpolysepalum, right) and a floating organic matdominated by Carex lasiocarpa (left). Scirpusacutus, an emergent species, occurs along themargin of the mat. Hager Lake, Kaniksu NationalForest, Idaho. Photo by Robert Moseley.

Color plate 11—Carr. A peatland dominated byshrubs, in this case by Betula glandulosa. Porcu-pine Fen, Flathead National Forest, Montana. Photoby Steve Shelly.

Color plate 12—Flow-through or slopepeatland. Water upwelling through peat de-posit. Plum Creek Fen, Swan River Valley,Montana. Photo by Steve Shelly.


Photographs of Common and Rare Peatland Plants _____________________

Color plate 13—Carex livida (Wahl.) Willd. (Pale sedge),Cyperaceae (Sedge Family). A circumboreal sedge that israre in western Montana. This species is largely confined tominerotrophic (rich) fen habitats. Photo by Maria Mantas.

Color plate 14—Cypripedium calceolus L. (Small yellow lady’s-slipper), Orchidaceae (Orchid Family). A sparsely occurring,circumboreal orchid species that is often associated with richfens, calcareous wetlands, moist forests, and seepage areas inwestern Montana and northern Idaho. It is typically encoun-tered in the semishaded ecotonal margins around peatlands.Photo by Steve Wirt.

Color plate 15—Cypripedium passerinum Richardson(Sparrow’s-egg lady’s-slipper), Orchidaceae (Orchid Fam-ily). An orchid species that is more frequent in Canada. Thisspecies is confined to ecotones of peatlands and moistseepage areas, often in areas of calcareous bedrock. Theonly sites in the Western United States occur in northwest-ern Montana. Photo by Maria Mantas.


Color plate 16—Orchis rotundifolia Banks (Round-leaved or-chis), Orchidaceae (Orchid Family). An orchid species of North-ern North America, with peripheral locations in Montana andWyoming in the Western United States. This species oftenoccurs with Cypripedium passerinum and is found along mossystreambanks, peatland margins, and in moist forests, usually inareas of limestone bedrock. Photo by Maria Mantas.

Color plate 17—Drosera linearis Goldie (Linear-leaved sun-dew), Droseraceae (Sundew Family). A carnivorous plantfound primarily in boreal regions of Canada, but occurringperipherally, and rarely, in northwestern Montana. This speciesoccurs in fens and on peat mats around ponds and lakes, oftenin association with sphagnum moss. Photo by Maria Mantas.

Color plate 18—Epipactis gigantea Dougl. Ex Hook. (Gianthelleborine), Orchidaceae (Orchid Family). A wide-ranging, butsparsely occurring, orchid species in Western North America.The habitat includes rich fens, streambanks, lake margins, andthermal springs. Photo by Maria Mantas.

Color plate 19—Liparis loesellii (L.) Rich. (Fen-orchid),Orchidaceae (Orchid Family). An orchid species that is rare inthe Western United States. In Montana, it is known only from afew rich fens. Sphagnum warnstorfii is the maroon-colored peatmoss. Photo by Steve Chadde.


Color plate 20—Lycopodium inundatum L. (North-ern bog clubmoss), Lycopodiaceae (ClubmossFamily). A circumboreal species, known in theWestern United States from only a few locations inMontana. It occurs in basin fens and on floatingpeat mats adjacent to ponds. Drosera anglica isalso present in this photograph. Photo by MariaMantas.

Color plate 21—Tomenthypnum nitens. A hum-mock-forming brown moss of rich fens. This photoshows the characteristic golden color of this spe-cies. Photo by Steve Chadde.

Color plate 22—Rhynchospora alba (L.) Vahl. (Beak-rush), Cyperaceae (Sedge Family). A circumboreal spe-cies occurring peripherally in sphagnum moss peatlandsin northern Idaho. Photo by Robert Moseley.

Color plate 23—Scheuchzeria palustris L. (Pod-grass), Scheuchzeriaceae (Scheuchzeria Family).A circumboreal species occurring peripherally inwestern Montana. It is found in rich fens and on peatmats near ponds. Photo by Maria Mantas.


Color plate 25—Menyanthes trifoliata L. (Bog buck bean),Menyanthaceae (Buck-bean Family). A wide-ranging speciesthat occurs in wetlands and peatlands, including flarks inpatterned fens. In the Rocky Mountains it occurs south toColorado. Photo by Maria Mantas.

Color plate 24—Vaccinum oxycoccos L. (Small cran-berry), Ericaceae (Heath Family). A circumborealspecies that is peripheral in northern Idaho. It isconfined to poor fens. Photo by Robert Moseley.

Swan Valley), Carex tenuiflora (Glacier National Park),Gentianopsis macounii (fringed gentian) and Salixserissima (autumn willow) (Front Range), Gentianopsissimplex (hiker’s gentian) (three occurrences inMontana).

Wyoming—Swamp Lake Peatland contains alarge number of vascular plants considered rare in theState, including two species known only from thislocation in the continental United States: Arctosta-phylos rubra and Salix myrtillifolia (blueberry wil-low). Other disjunct boreal species occur at the site:Primula egalikensis (primrose), Scirpus pumilus (bul-rush), Carex livida, C. scirpoidea var. scirpiformis, C.microglochin, C. limosa, Kobresia simpliciuscula,Eriophorum viridicarinatum, and Orchis rotundifolia.

Peatlands as HistoricalArchives _______________________

Aside from having a unique biota, peatlands alsoprovide an important historical perspective throughthe plant fossils and volcanic ash preserved in theirpeat deposits (Heidel 1995). In the Northern RockyMountains, a number of peatlands have had coresamples taken and analyzed. In northern Idaho,Hager Lake has been the subject of four paleoeco-logical studies (Hansen 1939; Mack and others1978; Moseley and others 1992; Rumely 1956). Hansen(1939) described the general stratigraphy of the peatdeposits and reported the presence of several volcanicash layers. Based on pollen remains in the peat, heinferred a post-glacial forest initially dominated byspecies of cool-moist climates, then changing to speciesof warm-dry conditions, and more recently returningto a predominance of species adapted to a cool and dryclimate. Rumely (1956) confirmed the post-glacial foresthistory reconstructed by Hansen, and noted the im-portance of periodic, stand-replacing fire. Mack andothers (1978) subdivided the warm-dry and the currentcool-moist climatic periods into two distinct phases.

Other peatlands cored in the Northern Rocky Moun-tains include Lost Trail Pass peatland on the Idaho-Montana border (Mehringer and others 1977a,b),Mary’s Frog Pond (Karsian 1995) and Sheep Moun-tain Bog (Hemphill 1983) on the Lolo National For-est, Smeads Bench on the Kootenai National Forest(Chatters 1994a). For the most part, these studieswere focused on a reconstruction of post-glacial veg-etation and climate of the surrounding region. Forexample, the Lost Trail Pass study examined Holocenevegetation changes and volcanic ash chronology forthis part of the Bitterroot Mountains.

From analysis of core samples, a post-glacial recordof regional and on-site vegetation can be reconstructed


600 year history of Hager Lake Fen represented inthe cores was early in this century. This coincideswith settlement by the first Europeans in the HagerLake area (Rumely 1956). It appears that repeatedditching from about 1920 until 1988 kept water levelsin Hager Lake Fen lower than the previous 300 years.Conversely, surface waters became increasinglyminerotrophic following logging and land clearingprior to 1952, but cessation and recovery from thesedisturbances, in combination with low water levels,caused subsequent oligotrophication during the last40 years. Many land managers consider these small,isolated peatlands to be relatively immune to theeffects of management practices occurring on adjacentterrain. These data suggest that this may not be thecase and that these sites are closely linked to external,landscape-level processes (Bursik and Moseley 1992b).

Peatland Fauna _________________

Invertebrates

The open water environments found at manypeatlands are important habitat for numerous inver-tebrate and vertebrate animal species (see appendix Cfor a profile of invertebrates associated with peat-lands). In many ponds and standing water areasassociated with peatlands, dense masses of sub-merged vegetation are present and provide habitat fornumerous invertebrate species. The importance ofsubmerged plants as invertebrate habitat has longbeen recognized (Crowder and Cooper 1972; Dvorak1978; Fairchild 1981; Johnson and Crowley 1980;Krecker 1939; Krull 1970; Porter 1977; Smith 1972).This complex matrix affects invertebrate communi-ties by providing refuge for prey, periphyton for graz-ers and herbivores, hunting perches for substrate-dependent predators, and access to the entire watercolumn by substrate-preferring organisms (Rabe andGibson 1984).

Several detailed studies of macroinvertebrate faunaassociated with peatland and wetland sites in thenorthern Rockies have been conducted by: Rabe andothers (1986, 1990), Rabe and Chadde (1995), andRabe and Savage (1977). These references are a goodsource of additional information. Many of these stud-ies concentrated specifically on peatlands and wet-lands contained within the Forest Service ResearchNatural Areas (RNA) system. Each of these sites isunique with respect to the particular complement ofpeatland and aquatic features and associated diver-sity of macroinvertebrates. Potholes RNA andKaniksu Marsh RNA in northern Idaho are among thepeatland ponds containing the greatest variety ofpeatland components. These sites together with HagerLake and Bottle Lake supported the highest speciesrichness of peatland macroinvertebrates. In Bottle

using pollen and plant macrofossils preserved in thepeat (Barber 1993). Peat deposits enable ecologists toaddress questions about landscape and communitydevelopment and evolution in the context of centuriesor millennia rather than over only several field sea-sons as is often the case (Schoonmaker and Foster1991). Whether a given ecosystem is stable and rela-tively unchanging, or whether it is dynamic and under-going frequent and rapid changes can be determinedby analyzing peat deposits. Models for communitydevelopment and landscape evolution supported fromstudies of the peatland archives can provide moreenlightened and long-term management strategies,not only for the peatlands, but for Rocky Mountainecosystems as a whole (Bursik and Moseley 1992c).

Based on peat core analyses, the origin of a peat-land’s vegetation can be inferred. Important factorsinfluencing the type of vegetation may be the age ofthe peatland (Bursik 1990), water chemistry, hydrol-ogy, and the chance arrival of plant propagules thatinitially colonize the site. Latitudinal and elevationaldifferences, the variety of prevailing climatic regimes,and the physical nature of the peat deposits are alsolikely important in determining vegetation patternsand development.

Only one paleoecological study was recently under-taken in the Northern Rocky Mountains to reconstructthe on-site vegetational development of a peatlanditself, in contrast to inferring the vegetation composi-tion of the surrounding landscape. The study, compa-rable to studies by Watts and Winter (1966) andMiller and Futyma (1987), was undertaken in 1992at Hager Lake, ID (Bursik and others 1994; Moseleyand others 1992). Vegetation research conducted inthe fen during the early 1950’s (Rumely 1956) wasredone 40 years later (Bursik and Moseley 1992b).They found significant changes in surface water chem-istry, floristic composition, and the spatial arrange-ment of community types. For example, 14 vascularplant species had become extirpated from the siteduring the intervening four decades, including fourrare species. Nine species had immigrated to the site.It was hypothesized that these changes resulted fromadjacent land management practices, includingditching and timber harvest (Bursik and Moseley1992b). Another explanation, however, could havebeen that these were normal fluxes inherent in adynamic ecosystem.

To test which of these two scenarios was correct, apaleoecological study was undertaken to address thequestion of longer-term change. The goal was to ascer-tain whether or not ecological changes documentedbetween 1952 and 1992 are within the range of pre-settlement variability or are a consequence of recenthuman disturbances. Results indicated thatvegetationally, the most dynamic time during the


Lake, the extensive floating mat surrounded by a deeppool on one side and a shallow moat on the otherprobably accounts for high levels of macroinvertebratediversity (Rabe and Savage 1977).

Vertebrates

The northern bog lemming (Synaptomys borealis)typically inhabits sphagnum bogs and fens, but is alsooccasionally found in other habitats including mossyforests, wet subalpine meadows, and alpine tundra.The species is boreal in distribution, occurring inNorth America from near treeline in the north, southto Washington, Idaho, Montana, Minnesota, andNew England.

The northern bog lemming is a small, grayish brown,vole-like microtine, related to the true arctic lem-mings (Lemmus). Nine poorly differentiated subspe-cies are currently recognized. The northern bog lem-ming has a total length of 118 to 140 mm including itsvery short tail (19 to 27 mm) (Banfield 1974; Hall1981). The combination of a tail less than 28 mm anda longitudinal groove in the upper incisors distinguishthe northern bog lemming from all other mice foundin the Northern Rocky Mountains (Reichel andBeckstrom 1994).

A few relict populations occur in the lower 48 States;the subspecies chapmani occurs in Montana, Idaho,and northeast Washington (Hall 1981). Bog lemmingsare known from four locations in Idaho and eight inWashington, all within 80 km of the Canadian border(Groves and Yensen 1989). The reasons for the dis-junct nature of the populations may include: (1) thelocalized nature of its habitat and (2) the patchydistribution of a boreal species that was more widelydistributed during the Pleistocene.

The U.S. Forest Service, Northern Region lists thenorthern bog lemming as sensitive. It is listed as aspecies of special concern by the Idaho ConservationData Center and Montana Natural Heritage Program(Idaho Conservation Data Center 1994; Reichel andBeckstrom 1994).

Prior to 1992, evidence of bog lemmings in Montanaincluded: six locations on the west side of GlacierNational Park and Shoofly Meadows in the Rattle-snake drainage north of Missoula. In 1992 and 1993,10 new populations of northern bog lemmings werediscovered in western Montana (Reichel and Beckstrom1994).

In Montana, elevation of the sites supporting north-ern bog lemming ranged from 1,360 to 1,800 m. Ateight of ten sites where northern bog lemmings werecaught during 1992 to 1993, the habitats were char-acterized by thick mats of sphagnum moss. One sitehad a thick moss layer of Tomentypnum nitens ratherthan sphagnum. Thick moss mats appear to be themost reliable indicator of a potential site.

All occupied northern bog lemming sites were rela-tively open. Several occupied sites had an open over-story of Abies lasiocarpa or Picea engelmannii, otherswere without a tree component. Shrubs were presenton all sites, however, in most areas the moss habitatareas were without shrubs on at least part of the patch.Betula glandulosa and Salix spp. (typically less than1.5 m tall) were present at all sites. Graminoid coverranged from 40 to 90 percent. Eleocharis pauciflorawas dominant at one site; dominant sedge species atother sites included Carex aquatilis, C. arcta, C. bux-baumii, C. canescens, C. lasiocarpa, C. utriculata, andC. vesicaria.

The grizzly bear (Ursus arctos), a Federally listedThreatened Species, and the woodland caribou(Rangifer tarandus), an Endangered species, areknown to utilize subalpine peatlands of the SelkirkMountains. Grizzly bears have also been sighted atvalley peatland locations in the Priest River Valley. InMontana, grizzly bear scat was observed in SwanValley peatlands by several of the authors during thecourse of inventories and forage in Pine Butte Swampalong the Rocky Mountain Front.

Peatland Conservation ___________The biological significance of peatland habitats in

the Northern Rocky Mountains, and the sensitivity ofthese habitats to environmental conditions requiresconservation approaches that ensure protection forthese important sites.

Integrity of peatland ecosystems is inherently tiedto hydrologic conditions. Although fairly small in size,peatlands are sustained by water and nutrient re-sources derived from much larger portions of thesurrounding landscapes. Under naturally occurringhydrologic regimes, peatlands are relatively stableecosystems. However, resiliency, or the ability to re-cover from disturbance, is low in peatlands. Recoveryfrom major disruptions to water or nutrient flows orto the removal of vegetation may require centuries.Rates of peat accumulation have been estimated to beapproximately 2 cm per century in boreal and temper-ate climates (Crum 1988), but this figure likely varieswidely and is also influenced by inflows of sediment.Land-use activities that directly impact peatlands(such as peat mining, draining) and indirect impactssuch as upslope timber harvest or road constructioncan cause changes to peatland biodiversity becausemany species are sensitive to minor changes in waterchemistry and hydrology (Bursik and Moseley 1992a,b;Damman and French 1987; Glaser 1987; Vitt andSlack 1975).

Fortunately many protection measures are alreadyin place or are available for conserving peatlands onNational Forests. Following is a discussion of threats


to maintaining peatland integrity, current man-agement guidelines, protection through special desig-nations, monitoring, and research needs and publiceducation.

Threats

The two most critical factors affecting the abun-dance and distribution of peatland species in theNorthern Rocky Mountains appear to be water levelsand the nutrient concentration of incoming water.Natural factors such as wildfire, drought, and beaveractivity bring periodic changes in these two factorsand consequent shifts in location and abundance ofpeatland species. The abrupt, large-scale, and oftenirreversible nature of changes in hydrology and nutri-ent concentrations that result directly or indirectlyfrom human activities, however, may be beyond thetolerance level of resident populations.

Direct impacts that may threaten the integrity ofpeatland ecosystems and associated plant and animalpopulations include ditching and drainage, peat min-ing, livestock grazing, water flow regulation, and inva-sion by exotic plant species. Several peatlands inIdaho and Montana have been significantly altered bymajor ditching, filling, and development. AlthoughNational Forest peatlands are not subject to develop-ment, some of these sites have been altered by ditchingand drainage. Studies of Hager Lake Fen in Idahohave documented significant vegetation changes andloss of species diversity over a 40 year period, attrib-uted in part to hydrologic changes resulting fromditching (Bursik and Moseley 1992a). During this40 year period, 14 plant species disappeared from thesite, including four rare species.

Little peat mining has taken place in the NorthernRocky Mountains, although limited local peat opera-tions are known to occur in Idaho and Montana. Thistype of habitat destruction may be increasing, how-ever, as private landowners and mining companiesbecome increasingly interested in exploiting peat.

Although not a significant threat to most peatlands,livestock grazing takes place within and around someof the peatlands on National Forests in Idaho andMontana. Livestock grazing directly impacts vegeta-tion through removal and trampling, and may resultin soil compaction, and altered local hydrologic condi-tions. Indirect impacts associated with grazing mayinclude altered water chemistry.

Artificial regulation of water levels around lakesand water flows associated with streams is anotherpotential threat. Peatlands around lakes with regu-lated water levels could be threatened with a loss ofspecies dependent on naturally fluctuating water re-gimes. Naturally occurring water regulators inpeatland systems include beaver. The erratic dambuilding and flooding activities associated with beaveris critical to the maintenance of habitat diversity,

which allows numerous species adapted to variousseral stages to survive. Removing beaver frompeatlands may have negative impacts on the overallfunctioning of the ecosystem. Long-term static waterlevels can lead to the gradual depauperization of theflora in peatlands (Crum 1988).

Management activities on landscapes that havepeatlands imbedded within them can potentiallythreaten system integrity, if they adversely alter hydro-logic regimes and nutrient regimes. Hydrologic condi-tions of individual peatlands result from their place-ment within an overall drainage system. Since mostpeatlands in Idaho and Montana are flow-throughsystems, water is obtained from the lands higher up inthe drainage. Certain off-site management activities,such as timber harvest, road building, and livestockgrazing that alter hydrologic and nutrient regimesmay adversely impact peatlands. The degree of impactof these activities on peatlands is the result of manyfactors including the extent and intensity of land man-agement activity or disturbance, and the particularphysiographic features of the drainage. Off-site man-agement activities need to be planned so that hydro-logic and nutrient conditions remain within the rangeof natural variability. Additional threats to peatlandsmay arise from point source water pollution.

Invasion by exotic plant species is apparent in somepeatlands. Reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea)is a commonly observed exotic species in peatlands,and is able to aggressively spread by rhizomes. Canadathistle (Cirsium arvense) may also invade peatlandsfollowing disturbances such as wheel ruts or fire.

Management of Peatlands on NationalForests

Conservation of peatland habitats on National For-ests is accomplished in several ways. A combination ofState and Federal laws, agency policy, and manage-ment standards and guidelines set forth in forestplans collectively provide conservation mechanismsfor many peatlands. Additional protection mecha-nisms include application of special designationsto the most significant sites (discussed in the nextsection).

The presence of sensitive plant and animal speciesin peatlands affords protection through policy andguidelines aimed at maintaining viable populationsof these species. The Clean Water Act and Statewater quality standards help prevent the occurrenceof activities or pollution that could result in alteredwater chemistry and nutrient regimes in peatlands.

Peatlands fall under various categories of manage-ment direction in forest plans within Montana andIdaho. Generally, peatlands meet the criteria of juris-dictional wetlands that often fall within a riparianmanagement area in the forest plans. Management


standards and guidelines in these management areasusually emphasize nonmanipulative management,although some timber harvest, grazing, and road build-ing may still be permitted. Special use permits for suchactivities as peat harvesting are not issued in theseareas.

Although existing management direction, policy,and laws provide a framework for conserving thesehighly significant peatlands, additional protectioncould be provided through development of more spe-cific management strategies. In particular, a betterarticulation of how off-site management practices in-fluence peatland hydrology and water chemistry wouldbe beneficial.

Site Protection Through Special AreaDesignations

A common conservation approach to protectinghighly significant biological sites on National Forestsis through the employment of special designationssuch as Research Natural Areas (Forest Service Manual4063) and Special Interest Botanical Areas (ForestService Manual 2072). These designations allow forrecognition of exceptional biological features, such asareas of significant biological diversity with rare biota,or high quality examples of representative ecosystemtypes. Research Natural Areas have the followingobjectives: (1) preserve and maintain biological diver-sity, (2) form a network of reference areas containinga wide range of ecological conditions in the UnitedStates, (3) monitoring baseline conditions for deter-mining the effects of management practices on terres-trial and aquatic ecosystems, and (4) educational pur-poses (Federal Committee on Ecological Reserves 1977).The Special Interest Botanical Area is a recreationdesignation with the goal of acknowledging and high-lighting a special area of the National Forest (Shevok1988). The unique botanical features of an area areprotected, yet access and interpretation of thesefeatures for the public may also be considered.

Designation of special areas is accompanied by de-velopment of site specific management and monitor-ing direction to ensure maintenance of a site’s ecologi-cal integrity. Botanical Areas and Research NaturalAreas typically disallow manipulative managementactivities such as timber harvest and cattle grazing.Additional benefits of designation include recognitionof an area by the broader scientific and ecologicalcommunity, resulting in focused points for interdisci-plinary ecological study.

Of the sites included within this report (table 2), tenare presently within established or proposed ResearchNatural Areas, and five are within candidate or pro-posed Special Interest Botanical Areas. Two Montanasites occur within designated Wilderness.

Site Evaluation and Ranking

It is important to evaluate the site’s physical andbiological features when considering the significanceof a peatland site for inclusion in a special areadesignation. Rankings for each peatland was, there-fore, summarized (table 6). This information is usefulfor determining which sites are most biologically sig-nificant and which areas should and can be protectedthrough special area designation.

Idaho—Several peatlands stand out as having thegreatest ecological diversity in terms of the number ofpeatland components: Potholes and Kaniksu Marsh.Rose Lake and Mosquito Bay Fen are also notable.These sites are among the most floristically diversepeatlands in Idaho, each containing more than 100plant species (Bursik and Henderson 1995). With theexception of Rose Lake, these sites also contain thedensest concentrations of rare plant populations.

Seven sites had very high significance rankingscores (table 6). Four of these sites lie within estab-lished Research Natural Areas (Bottle Lake, KaniksuMarsh, Potholes, Smith Creek), and Three PondsResearch Natural Area. Two additional highly signifi-cant sites, Armstrong Meadows and Upper PriestLake Fen, occur within the Upper Priest Scenic Areaof the Kaniksu National Forest. This group of peatlandsrepresent most of the ecological and floristic diversityknown in northern Idaho peatlands. Several features,however, are not well represented, including bogmicrosites, paludified forest, and Typha latifolia/Carex lasiocarpa communities found on floating mats.

The remaining Idaho sites had moderate scores.Three peatlands are within established ResearchNatural Areas (Iron Bog, Sawtooth Valley, and ThreePonds). Several sites partially on private land arepart of Nature Conservancy preserves (Birch CreekFen and Hager Lake Fen). The remaining sites are notwithin formally designated special protection areas.Bursik and Moseley (1995) discussed additional con-servation measures for peatlands of northern Idaho.

Montana—Three sites examined by the authorshad very high scores: Shoofly Meadows (Lolo NationalForest), Swan River Fen (Flathead National Forest),and Bent Flat Fen (Flathead National Forest) (table 6).Shoofly Meadows is a proposed Research NaturalArea. Swan River Fen lies within the establishedSwan River Research Natural Area. Bent Flat Fen isnot within any special designation area, but Botani-cal Area may be appropriate given the uniqueness ofthis habitat and its associated rare plant populations.

Six additional sites had moderate rankings, withfive occurring on the Flathead National Forest. ButcherMountain Fens and Mud Lake lie within the BobMarshall Wilderness. Lost Creek Fen and PorcupineFen are candidate Botanical Areas. Trail Creek Fen


Table 6—Summary of conservation significance rankings. Sites are listed for each State by their scoring; the highest ranked sites are listed first. Thetwo Wyoming sites, Sawtooth Fen and Swamp Lake, were not ranked by the authors. RNA = Research Natural Area. TNC = The NatureConservancy.

Scientificand

Representa- Defensi- educationalSite tiveness Quality Rarity Diversity Viability bility value Total Comments

Idaho

Armstrong Meadows 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 21 Upper Priest Scenic Area

Kaniksu Marsh 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 21 RNABottle Lake 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 20 RNAPacker Meadows 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 20Potholes 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 20 RNASmith Creek 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 20 RNAUpper Priest Lake Fen 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 20 Upper Priest

Scenic AreaBirch Creek Fen 3 1 3 3 3 3 3 19 TNC preserve

(part)Dubius Creek Fen 3 2 3 3 3 2 3 19Hager Lake Fen 3 2 3 3 3 2 3 19 Conservation

Easement (part)Bog Creek Fen 3 3 3 2 3 2 2 18Cow Creek Meadows 3 2 3 3 3 2 2 18 GrazedGrass Creek Meadows 3 2 3 3 3 2 2 18 GrazedPerkins Lake 3 2 3 3 2 2 3 18Three Ponds 3 3 2 2 3 3 2 18 RNARose Lake 3 2 2 3 3 1 3 17 Mostly privateSinclair Lake 3 2 2 2 3 2 3 17Tule Lake 3 3 2 2 3 2 2 17Beaver Lake (North) 2 2 2 3 3 2 2 16Iron Bog 3 2 1 2 3 2 3 16 RNALost Lake 2 3 2 2 3 2 2 16Mosquito Bay Fen 3 2 3 3 2 1 2 16 Mostly privateSawtooth Valley 3 2 1 2 3 3 2 16 RNA PeatlandsLamb Creek Meadows 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 15Robinson Lake 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 15Bismark Meadows 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 14Big Springs-Henry’s Fork 2 2 1 2 3 2 2 14 ConfluenceBlind Summit Fen 3 1 2 2 2 2 2 14Hoodoo Lake 2 1 2 2 1 2 2 12 Grazed

Washington

Deerhorn Creek Meadows 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 19Huff Lake Fen 3 2 3 3 3 2 3 19Sema Meadows 3 3 3 2 3 2 2 18

Montana

Indian Meadows 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 21 RNAShoofly Meadows 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 21 RNASwan River Fen 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 21 Established RNABent Flat Fen 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 20 Candidate

botanical areaLost Creek Fens 3 3 3 3 2 2 3 19 Candidate

botanical areaTrail Creek Fen 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 19Mud Lake 3 3 3 2 3 3 2 19 Within wildernessSkull Creek Fens 3 3 3 2 3 3 2 19 RNAButcher Mountain Fens 3 3 2 2 3 3 2 18 Within wildernessPorcupine Fen 3 2 3 3 2 2 3 18Sheep Mountain Bog 2 3 3 2 2 2 3 17 RNARock Creek Wetland 3 2 3 2 2 2 2 16 Candidate

botanical area

(con.)


Tepee Lake 3 2 2 2 2 2 3 16 Candidate botanical area

Bowen Creek Fen 2 2 3 2 2 2 3 16Trout Lake 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 15Gregg Creek Fen 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 15Leonard Creek Fen 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 15Lost Trail Pass Fen 3 2 3 1 1 1 3 14Windfall Creek Fen 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 14Cody Lake Fen 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 14Sanko Creek (South) 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 14Sanko Creek (North) 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 14Hawkins Pond 2 2 2 1 2 2 1 12Sheppard Creek Fen 2 2 2 1 2 1 1 11

Table 6 (Con.)

Scientificand

Representa- Defensi- educationalSite tiveness Quality Rarity Diversity Viability bility value Total Comments

is not within any special designation area. Thefinal site, Skull Creek Fens (Beaverhead-DeerlodgeNational Forest) is within the Skull-Odell ResearchNatural Area.

Research and MonitoringNeeds _________________________

Conservation of peatlands is dependent on an un-derstanding of the distribution, composition, and func-tion of these ecosystems. Although the inventory ef-forts summarized in this report provide a foundationfor understanding the ecology of Northern RockyMountain peatlands, additional research and moni-toring is needed to more fully examine the functioningof peatlands within broader landscapes. It is impor-tant to understand the consequences of landscapemanagement practices on these biologically signifi-cant ecosystems.

Inventory

Inventories of peatlands on National Forests inIdaho and Montana have resulted in a fairly completeunderstanding of their distribution, occurrence, andcomposition. However, there remain unsurveyed areasand it is likely that other significant peatland siteswill be discovered.

Biotic inventory in Northern Rocky Mountainpeatlands has focused primarily on the vascularflora (Bursik 1990; Bursik and Henderson 1995)and, to a lesser extent, on bryophytes (Bursik andHenderson 1995; Chadde and Shelly 1995), and aquatic

invertebrates (Rabe and Savage 1977; Rabe and oth-ers 1986, 1990). Further inventory work is needed onterrestrial vertebrate and invertebrate fauna, fungi,and bryophytes of peatlands.

Classification

Classification is often considered the first step inunderstanding the nature and dynamics of habitatsin order to properly manage them. During initialstudies of the region’s peatlands, the authors attemptedto discern repeating patterns of vegetation that couldbe used in a classification of habitats, similar to otherwetland classifications in the region (Hansen andothers 1995; Mutz and Queiroz 1983; Tuhy 1981). Thishabitat classification could then be used as a basis ofpeatland ecosystem conservation efforts (Bursik andMoseley 1992c). Following the collection of a largeamount of community-level data, it is evident thatstandard classification methods have serious short-comings when applied to peatlands. Preliminary un-published results yield a large number of communitytypes occurring in the field as patches of extremelysmall size in a complex mosaic of vegetation. Map-ping and subsequent management of these typeswithin a single peatland is impracticable in mostcases. Others have also concluded that peatland classi-fications based solely on vegetation dominance are oflimited value except in a localized context (Crum 1988;Gore 1983).

Future efforts should be directed toward refiningdescriptions and classifications of entire peatlands interms of a combination of physical features, hydrology,water chemistry, and floristics (Glaser 1987). The


both of vascular and nonvascular plant species. Thiswould lead to refinement of peatland communityclassifications and a better understanding of rareplant distribution within the study area. Autecologi-cal studies of individual species, especially those domi-nating peatlands or of rare species, are needed. Therole of peatlands in reconstructing vegetational his-tory of the surrounding landscape has been demon-strated in portions of the region, but geographic gapsremain.

Other areas of research interest include peatlandhabitat values and uses for wildlife, the importance ofpeatlands for vertebrates and invertebrates, plantdispersal mechanisms via wildlife, gradients respon-sible for plant distribution with peatlands, populationgenetics of rare peatland species, the history ofpaludified forests in the region, and the role of beaverin successional dynamics within peatlands.

Hager Lake Fen is one of the best-studied NorthernRocky Mountain peatlands. It has been the subject ofseveral paleoecological studies, some of which are stillin progress (Hansen 1939; Mack and others 1978).Rumely (1956) carried out a detailed vegetation studyof Hager Lake Fen, which has been used to ascertain40 year vegetation and floristic changes at the site(Bursik and Moseley 1992a). The report of Karg(1973) was used to detect floristic and vegetationchanges at Huff Lake Fen (Bursik and Moseley 1992b).

Education

Public education is an important component of ef-forts to conserve significant biological resources suchas peatlands. It is important that educational materi-als are developed on peatlands in order to maintaintheir integrity. This material should describe the im-pact of peatlands on local and regional hydrologicprocesses (for example, their role in water storageand flood control), their value as habitat for numer-ous unique and unusual organisms, as archives ofpost-glacial landscape history, and where they coverlarge areas as in Canada, their role as carbon sinksin relation to global warming.

Glossary _______________________The glossary includes terms that are in bold italics

in the text. Other words describing peatlands areincluded because of their use in international peatlandresearch studies and to encourage a standardizedlanguage to describe peatlands. The glossary wasadapted from Crum (1988), Glaser (1987), Gore (1983),and Sorenson (1986).

Aapamire (Finnish)—A patterned peatland devel-oped on a slight slope, with ridges of peat (strings)alternating with hollows or pools (flarks); also knownas string bog or string fen.

widely accepted peatland classification that recog-nizes bog, poor fen, rich fen, and extremely rich fen issufficient for most purposes in the region and has theadvantage of being relatively easy to apply in the field.

Monitoring

The establishment of long-term studies, includingmonitoring programs have been recommended for avariety of ecological systems (Leopold 1962; Likens1983). Carefully designed monitoring studies canlead to a better understanding of the magnitude anddirection of change in dynamic landscapes and alterhuman activities and management paradigms ap-propriately (Mueggler 1992; Noss 1990). Recent re-analysis of early studies on peatlands in northernIdaho have revealed a significant level of change inthese systems that is likely attributed directly orindirectly to human activities (Bursik and Moseley1992a; Bursik and others 1994).

It is important that monitoring be carefully de-signed with specific objectives that address criticalmanagement and information questions at the sys-tem, community, and population levels. Permanentmonitoring plots have been established in seven north-ern Idaho peatlands to determine changes of waterchemistry and vegetation over time (Bursik andMoseley 1992a,b; Bursik and others 1994; Moseleyand others 1994). Monitoring surface water qualityand invertebrate populations in several National For-est peatlands has been conducted for many years(Moseley and others 1994; Rabe and Chadde 1994;Rabe and Savage 1977; Rabe and others 1986). Moni-toring studies should be initiated at additional North-ern Rocky Mountain peatlands.

Routine vegetation and water chemistry monitor-ing is recommended for peatlands where manage-ment activities such as grazing or timber harvestoccur within or immediately adjacent to site bound-aries. Determination of effects on the flora or vegeta-tion should result in alteration of the managementactivity accordingly or avoidance of that managementoption in or near peatlands in the future.

Research

Gorham (1994) suggested a number of researchtopics for peatlands in Canada. Many are applicable topeatlands of the Northern Rocky Mountains. A stan-dardized classification of peatlands based on land-scape features, hydrology and water chemistry, andvegetation would be useful in describing peatlands.Such a multifaceted classification would provide auseful tool for predicting or modeling a site’s poten-tial as rare plant habitat. Hydrologic studies areneeded to protect and maintain peatland integrity,and have direct bearing on how lands adjacent topeatlands may be best managed without degradingpeatlands. Additional floristic inventories are needed


Accumulation—Growth of organic matter in anecosystem as a result of the difference betweengross primary productivity and total communityrespiration.

Acidophile—A plant adapted to acidic environ-ments. Plants adapted to habitats with dilute acidwaters.

Acrotelm—The uppermost horizon in a peat profileconsisting of relatively porous and undecomposedpeat. The concept is largely based on the work ofSoviet hydrologists, who divide a peat depositinto two layers (acrotelm and catotelm) with con-trasting physical and biological properties (Ingram1978, 1983). The acrotelm or active layer is respon-sible for most water transmission through a peat-land on account of its high hydraulic conductivity. Itcan also be defined as the zone of maximum watertable fluctuations and oxygen penetration from theatmosphere.

Anastomosis—A network of interconnecting chan-nels in a peatland.

Apron—An extensive downslope fen developedwhere the laggs on either side of a domed bog join.

Ash content—The percentage of mineral solidsremaining after a peat sample is burned.

Autogenic—Self-perpetuating communities wherethe course of succession is directed by the propertiesof the plants themselves. In poor fens and bogs,sphagnum mosses are especially important in con-trolling succession.

Bog—An ombrotrophic peatland, that is, one derivingwater and nutrients only from the atmosphere.Bogs are highly acid and nutrient-poor and domi-nated by sphagnum mosses and ericaceous shrubs(and eventually, in much of North America, byblack spruce). Bogs occur on peat elevated above theregional water table. Different types of bogs havebeen defined, some of which are actually fens:

Basin bog—Occupying the basin of a pond orlake; a lake-fill bog.

Blanket bog—Covering irregular terrain, devel-oped in oceanic areas with cool temperaturesand persistently high humidity.

Continental bog—An inland raised bog, less ele-vated and less convex than in oceanic regions.

Domed bog—Raised above ground level by amarked convexity, often with a concentric oreccentric pattern of ridges and depressionsand/ or pools.

Flat bog—A fen developed under the influence ofground water and lacking the convexity of abog.

Marly bog—A rich, highly calcareous fen.Plateau raised bog—A relatively flat-topped,

oceanic bog raised well above the level of theregional water table.

Quaking bog—A floating mat, often marginalto a lake or pond, floating on water or onunconsolidated peat and yielding underfoot.

Raised bog—Any ombrotrophic peatland but of-ten used to describe oceanic bogs distinctlyelevated above the regional water table. In-land (or continental) bogs are also raised butare only slightly elevated.

Slope bog—Bog on sloping terrain but not cover-ing topographic irregularities as typical ofmore extensive blanket bogs; also known as ahanging bog.

String bog (aapamire)—String bogs are typicallyfens, but bog conditions may occur on well-developed ridges of peat.

Transition bog—A poor fen with vegetation in-termediate between a fen and a bog.

Boreal region—A circumpolar forest region in thenorthern hemisphere that is generally dominatedby conifer tree species. The boreal forest extendsnorth to the treeless tundra and south to themixed conifer or deciduous forests or temperategrasslands.

Boundary layer—See Grenzhorizon.

Brown moss—A true moss, as opposed to a “whitemoss” (peat moss).

Brown-moss peat—Organic sediments primarilycomposed of the brown mosses or Amblystegiaceae;typical genera in Northern Rocky Mountainpeatlands include Calliergon, Campylium, Crato-neuron, Drepanocladus, and Limprichtia.

Bryophyte—Mosses and liverworts.

Bulk density—The weight per volume or mass ofpeat, including both organic and mineral content.Bulk density increases with decomposition.

Capillary water—Water occupying small porespaces of the soil and moving in response to evapo-ration by means of cohesion of water moleculesand adhesion to soil surfaces.

Carr—A peatland dominated by broad-leaved shrubsor trees.

Cation exchange capacity—Ability of a soil to ad-sorb or exchange positively charged ions on colloidalsurfaces.

Catotelm—The lower horizon of a peat profile con-sisting of decomposed peat. Hydraulic conductivitythrough the catotelm is very low. See Acrotelm.

Collapse scar—A fen-like depression surrounded bya peat ridge, resulting from the melting of the icecore of a palsa or peat plateau.

Cupola—The uppermost portion of a raised bog.


Drunken forest—A stand of black spruce in sub-arctic regions of discontinuous permafrost, gener-ally on peat plateaus where the ice core melts.This causes trees to lean or fall because of theunstable peat.

Dystrophic—Refers to the dark, extremely oligo-trophic water in bogs resulting from the release ofhumic acids from vegetation.

Eccentric peatland—A raised bog having a surfacethat slopes mostly in one direction.

Ericad—A member of the Ericaceae, or heath family.

Eutrophic—Rich in available nutrient ions. Eutrophiclakes are often highly productive owing to an abun-dance of phosphate and nitrate. Oxygen may bedeficient due to an overpopulation of plankton.

False bottom—A muddy suspension of undecayedorganic matter in peatland lakes and ponds. Whenexposed at the surface, mat-forming sedges typi-cally colonize the material.

Fen—A type of peatland that receives significantinputs of water and dissolved solids from a mineralsource, such as runoff from mineral soil or groundwater discharge. A fen is therefore considered to begeogenous and its vegetation minerotrophic. Fensare generally characterized by (1) surface waterswith a pH above 4.2 and calcium concentrationhigher than 2 mg/l, (2) a higher diversity of species,and (3) landform patterns that are usually lowerthan the surrounding uplands.

Extremely rich fen–A type of fen with a very highpH (>7) and calcium concentration (>20 to30 mg/l) and a characteristic assemblage ofplant species.

Rich fen–A type of fen that has a slightlyhigher range in pH and calcium concentration(>10 mg/l) than poor fens. The division be-tween poor, rich, and extremely rich fens is notsharp but consists of a continuous range invariation.

Poor fen–A type of fen that contains at least oneminerotrophic indicator species and weaklygeogenous surface waters (in contrast to bogs).Originally described in Sweden as having apH range of 3.8 to 5.7. Calcium concentrationis 2 to 10 mg/l.

Fiber Content—The percentage of peat remainingafter sieving under a gentle stream of water, indi-cating the degree of decomposition. The rubbedfiber content provides a more meaningful index,and represents the percentage of organic matterremaining after rubbing 8 to 10 times betweenthumb and fingers.

Fibric peat—Scarcely decomposed peat consistingmainly of sphagnum moss; see Humification scale.

Flark—A water-filled depression or pool that is elon-gated perpendicularly to the slope. Flarks usuallyhave distinctive species assemblages in contrastto adjacent raised strings (see Strangmoor).

Floating mat—See quaking bog under bog.

Geogenous—Water supplied from a mineral source(ground water or surface runoff).

Grenzhorizon (German)—The boundary layer ofpeat marking a change some 2,500 years ago towardcool, moist climates favorable to an increase in peataccumulation.

Grounded mat—Peat accumulation in a lake-fillbasin extending from the bottom of the basin to itssurface (also termed anchored mat). The groundedmat is joined at a hinge line to the floating mat.

Gyttia (Swedish)—Organic matter deposited asgrayish to blackish bottom mud.

Heath—Vegetation on well-drained mineral soildominated by ericaceous shrubs. The word is alsoused to designate a shrubby member of the Eri-caceae (or heath) family.

Hemic peat—Peat of intermediate decomposition;see Humification (H) scale.

Hinge line—Boundary between a floating fen and agrounded mat.

Hochmoor (German)—A raised bog with ombro-trophic waters.

Hollow—Wet depressions or pools between the hum-mocks on the peatland surface.

Humic substances—Products of the incomplete de-composition of cellulose and lignin, consisting ofhumic and fulvic acids in addition to a remnantcalled cumin (fraction that is not dissolved ontreatment with dilute alkali).

Humification—A measure of peat decompositiondetermined by measuring the concentration ofhumic materials extracted from a peat sample.

Humification (H) scale—An indication of the de-gree of decomposition of peat from fibrous (light-colored, scarcely decomposed sphagnum peat) tohemic (partly decomposed peat derived from reed-sedge vegetation) to sapric (dark, well-decomposedpeat primarily derived from bottom sedimentsand sedge vegetation).

Hummock—A mound of sphagnum or other mosssometimes providing anchorage for trees, shrubs,herbaceous species, and mosses and lichens requir-ing drier conditions than those found at the baseof the hummock.


Hydraulic conductivity—The rate at which watermoves through soil.

Kettlehole—A depression caused by melting of an iceblock surrounded or covered over by till on glacialretreat. Lakes, ponds, and basin peatlands occupysuch depressions.

Lagg (Swedish)—The outer margin of a peatlandthat receives runoff directly from mineral uplandsor the adjacent peat mass; occupied by standing orsometimes moving water (as a moat).

Layering—The development of roots on the lowerbranches of trees where the branches come intocontact with a wet moss substrate.

Marl—A deposit of calcium carbonate resulting frombiotically induced changes in the carbonate-bicarbonate balance in freshwater basins. Marlalso results from evaporation or abrupt tempera-ture changes causing the escape of carbon dioxidefrom soluble calcium bicarbonate and the forma-tion of insoluble calcium carbonate.

Marsh—A grassy wetland developed on mineral soil inareas with standing water at least part of the year.Marshes are well-aerated and rich in mineralsand store little or no peat.

Mesotrophic—With a mineral content intermediatebetween oligotrophic and eutrophic.

Mineral soil water limit—The demarcation betweenminerotrophic and ombrotrophic conditions, thatis, between fens and bogs.

Minerotrophic—Receiving nutrients from groundwater and, therefore, rich in minerals as comparedto an ombrotrophic situation (deriving mineralsonly from the atmosphere). Plants that requirewaters that have been enriched by runoff or groundwater derived from mineral soil.

Mire—General term for any type of peatland.

Mire complex—A term used to describe a peatlandthat contains areas of both bog and fen.

Moor—A peatland, any area of peat accumulation,whether minerotrophic or ombrotrophic. In England,the term refers to an upland vegetation consistingof ericaceous shrubs (such as heather).

Moss—Bog (rarely used as such in North Americanliterature); also a bryophyte of the class Bryopsida,or true mosses, sometimes referred to as brownmosses in contrast to the Sphagnopsida (peatmosses). Brown mosses are abundant in rich fens.

Muck—Dark, well-decomposed peat high in ash con-tent, largely derived from fen vegetation.

Mud bottom—Wet low areas of peatlands havingexposed muddy peat amid scattered plants.

Muskeg—An expanse of acid peatland bearing blackspruce and an undergrowth of ericaceous shrubsand a ground cover of sphagnum mosses. InCanada, the term is commonly used synonymouslywith any type of peatland.

Oligotrophic—Poor in nutrients and therefore lowin productivity.

Ombrotrophic—“Food from the sky;” bog ecosystemsthat receive nutrients only from the atmosphere.

Paleoecology—The study of past climates and veg-etation based on an analysis of pollen, spores, andmacrofossil remains deposited in sediments, in-cluding peat.

Palsa (Finnish)—A peat-covered mound covering apermafrosted core.

Paludification—Swamping, becoming wet by flood-ing, especially applied to the expansion of peatlandsowing to a gradual rise in water table as peataccumulation impedes drainage. A term first usedto describe the growth of peat over forest soils.Paludification has since been used to describe thegrowth of peat over any upland soil.

Patterned fen—A minerotrophic peatland contain-ing networks of pools (flarks) and ridges (strings)oriented perpendicular to the slope; see strangmoor.

Peat—Organic matter (the dead remains of plants)deposited under water-soaked conditions as a re-sult of incomplete decomposition. Primary, second-ary, and tertiary peat deposits correspond to aquatic,sedge, and sphagnum peat, and reflect the degree ofwater retention and ground water influence.

Peatland—Any waterlogged area containing an ac-cumulation of peat 30 cm or more thick. Any typeof peat-covered terrain, including fens, bogs, andmuskegs.

Quaking mat—See quaking bog (floating mat) underbog.

Rand—The sloped area between the lagg and a raisedbog.

Recurrence surface—A zone of abrupt change inthe peat from dark and well decomposed to light-colored and fibrous, marking a change to cooler andmoister conditions favorable to the development ofbog vegetation and deposition of sphagnum peat.

Reduction zone—The anaerobic layers of peat whereorganic material accumulates owing to incompletedecomposition.

Reed-sedge peat—Hemic peat composed of reeds,sedges, and grasses in the early (fen) stages ofpeatland succession.


Regeneration complex—An aggregation of hum-mocks and hollows on the bog surface, with boggrowth achieved by the successive formations ofhummocks on hollows and hollows on hummocks.

Ribbed fen—See Aapamire, patterned fen.

Sapric peat—Very decomposed peat; see Humifica-tion (H) Scale.

Sedge meadow—A sedge-dominated wetland simi-lar to a fen but developed on mineral soil and lesswater-soaked during part of the season.

Soligenous—Peatlands that receive water and nutri-ents from the surrounding soils.

Sphagnol—A lignin-like component of the cell wallsof sphagnum moss.

Sphagnum—The peat mosses; the sole genus ofmosses within the class Sphagnopsida. Sphagnummosses differ from other mosses in the way theirbranches are arranged on the plant. Branches areclustered along the stem into groups called fas-cicles. Each fascicle has two or more spreadingbranches and one or more pendant or hangingbranches. Young branches are usually crowded atthe end of the stem into a head or capitulum.

Sphagnum lawn—Poor fen; a flat, wet, acid peatland,under the influence of ground water, transitional toa bog.

Sporotrichosis—A disease caused by Sporothrixschenckii, contracted by handling horticulturalpeat. The disease causes skin eruptions and even-tually moves to vital organs through the lymphaticsystem.

Strangmoor (German)—Refers to an individual pat-terned fen and differs slightly from the similar termaapamoor, which refers to a broader, more regionalvegetation unit.

String—A peat ridge oriented perpendicularly to theslope in a patterned fen. See Flark, Patterned Fen,and Aapamire. Strings are the elevated and better-drained portions of a patterned fen.

Swamp—A forested wetland, flooded during part ofthe year or with moving ground water, well aerated,rich in minerals, and storing little or no peat.Swamps may be forested with deciduous or conifer-ous trees. Conifer swamps developed on peat aresometimes termed treed fens.

Tephra—Layers of volcanic ash found in peat pro-files.

Terrestrialization—The process by which a peat-land spreads out over a lake.

Vernal pool—A water-filled depression resultingfrom snowmelt.

Water table—The top of the zone of saturation whereall the pore spaces are filled with water (in contrastto the aerated upper zone of peat or mineral soil).

Water track—A small, shallow channel for runoffwater across the peatland surface.

White-moss peat—Peat that is primarily composedof sphagnum moss.

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Appendix A: Vascular and Nonvascular Plant Species of Peatlands in Idahoand Western Montana ______________________________________________

Vascular plant nomenclature follows Hitchcock and Cronquist (1973). Common names are those developed bythe Northern Region, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service (U.S. Department of Agriculture, ForestService 1992). Moss nomenclature follows Anderson and others (1990), except for Sphagnum, which followsAnderson (1990).

Pteridophytes

IsoetaceaeIsoetes lacustris L. Lake quillwort

LycopodiaceaeLycopodium annotinum L. Stiff clubmossLycopodium clavatum L. Running-pineLycopodium inundatum L. Bog clubmossLycopodium obscurum L. Groundpine

EquisetaceaeEquisetum arvense L. Field horsetailEquisetum fluviatile L. Water horsetailEquisetum laevigatum A. Br. Smooth scouring-rushEquisetum palustre L. Marsh horsetailEquisetum sylvaticum L. Wood horsetailEquisetum variegatum Schleich. Variegated horsetail

OphioglossaceaeBotrychium multifidum (Gmel.) Ruprecht Leathery grape-fernBotrychium virginianum (L.) Swartz. Virginia grape-fernOphioglossum vulgatum L. Adder’s-tongue

Dry OpteridaceaeAthyrium filix-femina (L.) Roth ex Mertens LadyfernDryopteris carthusiana (Vill.) H.P. Fuchs Mountain wood-fernDryopteris cristata (L.) Gray Crested shield-fernGymnocarpium dryopteris (L.) Newm. Oak-fern

DennstaedtiaceaePteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn. Brackenfern

Gymnosperms

CupressaceaeJuniperus communis L. Common juniperThuja plicata Donn. Western redcedar

PinaceaeAbies grandis (Dougl.) Forbes Grand firAbies lasiocarpa (Hook) Nutt. Subalpine firPicea engelmannii Parry Engelmann sprucePinus contorta Dougl. Lodgepole pinePinus monticola Dougl. Western white pineTsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg. Western hemlock

Angiosperms

AlismataceaeAlisma gramineum Gmel. Narrowleaf waterplantainAlisma plantago-aquatica L. American waterplantainSagittaria cuneata Sheld. Arumleaf arrowheadSagittaria latifolia Willd. Wapato


ApiaceaeAngelica arguta Nutt. Sharptooth angelicaAngelica pinnata S. Wats. Pinnate-leaved angelicaCicuta bulbifera L. Bulb-bearing water-hemlockCicuta douglasii (DC.) Coult. & Rose Douglas water-hemlockLigusticum canbyi Coult. & Rose Canby’s licorice-rootLigusticum tenuifolium Wats. Slender-leaved licorice-rootLigusticum verticillatum (Geyer) C. & R. Verticillate licorice-rootOsmorhiza chilensis H. & A. Mountain sweet-cicelySanicula marilandica L. Black snake-rootSium suave Walt. Hemlock water-parsnip

AraceaeLysichitum americanum Hulten & St. John Skunk cabbage

AsteraceaeAnaphalis margaritacea (L.) Britt. Common pearly-everlastingAntennaria microphylla Rydb. Rosy pussy-toesAntennaria pulcherrima (Hook.) Greene Showy pussy-toesArnica amplexicaulis Nutt. Clasping arnicaArnica latifolia Bong. Orange arnicaArnica cordifolia Hook. Heart-leaf arnicaAster eatonii (Gray) Howell Eaton’s asterAster foliaceus Lindl. Leafy asterAster junciformis Rydb. Rush asterAster laevis L. Smooth asterAster modestus Lindl. Few-flowered asterBidens cernua L. Nodding beggar-ticksBidens vulgata Greene Tall bur-marigoldCirsium arvense (L.) Scop. Canada thistleCirsium scariosum Nutt. Elk thistleCirsium vulgare (Savi) Tenore Bull thistleCrepis runcinata (James) T. & G. Meadow hawksbeardErigeron peregrinus (Pursh) Greene Subalpine daisyHelianthella uniflora (Nutt.) T. & G. One-flowered helianthellaHieracium albiflorum Hook. White-flowered hawkweedPetasites sagittatus (Banks) Gray Arrowleaf coltsfootSenecio cymbalarioides Buelk Few-leaved groundselSenecio hydrophilus Nutt. Alkali-marsh butterweedSenecio indecorus Greene Rayless mountain butterweedSenecio pseudaureus Rydb. Streambank groundselSenecio triangularis Hook. Arrowleaf groundselSolidago canadensis L. Canada goldenrodSonchus arvensis L. Field milk-thistleTanacetum vulgare L. Common tansyTaraxacum officinale Weber Common dandelion

BalsaminaceaeImpatiens aurella Rydb. Orange balsam

BetulaceaeAlnus incana (L.) Moench Mountain alderAlnus sinuata (Regel) Rydb. Sitka alderBetula glandulosa Michx. Bog birchBetula occidentalis Hook. Water birchBetula papyrifera Marsh. Paper birchBetula pumila L. Bog birch


BoraginaceaeMertensia paniculata (Ait.) G. Don. Panicle bluebellsMyosotis laxa Lehm. Small-flowered forget-me-not

BrassicaceaeCardamine oligosperma Nutt. Few-seeded bittercressRorripa islandica (Oed.) Borbas Marsh yellowcressRorripa sinuata (Nutt.) Hitchc. Spreading yellowcress

CampanulaceaeLobelia kalmii L. Kalm’s lobelia

CaryophyllaceaeStellaria calycantha (Ledeb.) Bong. American starwortStellaria longifolia Muhl. Longleaved starwort

CeratophyllaceaeCeratophyllum demersum L. Hornwort

CallitrichaceaeCallitriche hermaphroditica L. Autumnal water-starwortCallitriche verna L. Spring water-starwort

CornaceaeCornus canadensis L. BunchberryCornus stolonifera Michx. Red-osier dogwood

CaprifoliaceaeLinnaea borealis L. TwinflowerLonicera caernlea L. Sweet-berry honeysuckleLonicera involucrata (Rich.) Banks Twin-berryLonicera utahensis Wats. Utah honeysuckle

CyperaceaeCarex aquatilis Wahl. Water sedgeCarex arcta Boott Northern clustered sedgeCarex atherodes Spreng. Awned sedgeCarex aurea Nutt. Golden sedgeCarex bebbii Olney Bebb’s sedgeCarex brunnescens (Pers.) Poir. Brownish sedgeCarex buxbaumii Wahl. Buxbaum’s sedgeCarex canescens L. Gray sedgeCarex capillaris L. Hair sedgeCarex chordorrhiza Ehrh. Rope-root sedgeCarex comosa Boott Bristly sedgeCarex crawfordii Fern. Crawford’s sedgeCarex cusickii Mack. Cusick’s sedgeCarex diandra Schrank Lesser-panicled sedgeCarex disperma Dew. Soft-leaved sedgeCarex flava L. Yellow sedgeCarex dioica L. Yellow-bog sedgeCarex interior Bailey Inland sedgeCarex lacustris Willd. Lake sedgeCarex lanuginosa Michx. Woolly sedgeCarex lasiocarpa Ehrh. Slender sedgeCarex lenticularis Michx. Lentil-fruited sedgeCarex leptalea Wahl. Bristle-stalked sedgeCarex limosa L. Mud sedgeCarex livida (Wahl.) Willd. Pale sedgeCarex luzulina Olney Woodrush sedgeCarex microptera Mack. Small-winged sedge


Carex muricata L. Muricate sedgeCarex nebraskensis Dewey Nebraska sedgeCarex norvegica Retz. Scandinavian sedgeCarex oederi Retz. Green sedgeCarex paupercula Michx. Poor sedgeCarex scopulorum Holm Holm’s Rocky Mountain sedgeCarex simulata Mack. Short-beaked sedgeCarex stipata Muhl. Sawbeak sedgeCarex utriculata Boott Beaked sedgeCarex vesicaria L. Inflated sedgeDulichium arundinaceum (L.) Britt. DulichiumEleocharis acicularis (L.) R. & S. Needle spike-rushEleocharis ovata (Roth.) R. & S. Ovoid spike-rushEleocharis palustris (L.) R. & S. Common spikesedgeEleocharis pauciflora (Lightf.) Link Few-flowered spike-rushEleocharis rostellata Torr. Beaked spike-rushEleocharis tenuis (Willd.) Schultes Slender spike-rushEriophorum chamissonis C.A. Meyer Chamisso’s cotton-grassEriophorum gracile Koch Slender cotton-grassEriophorum polystachion L. Many-spiked cotton-grassEriophorum viridicarinatum (Engelm.) Fern. Green-keeled cotton-grassRhynchospora alba (L.) Vahl. White beakrushScirpus acutus Muhl. Hardstem bulrushScirpus cespitosus L. Tufted bulrushScirpus cyperinus (L.) Knuth Wool-grassScirpus fluviatilis (Torr.) A. Gray River bulrushScirpus hudsonianus (Michx.) Fern. Hudson bulrushScirpus microcarpus Presl Small-flowered bulrushScirpus pumilus Wats. BulrushScirpus subterminalis Torr. Water clubrush

DroseraceaeDrosera anglica Huds. Great sundewDrosera intermedia Hayne Intermediate sundewDrosera linearis Goldie Linear-leaved sundewDrosera rotundifolia L. Roundleaf sundew

ElaeagnaceaeShepherdia canadensis (L.) Nutt. Canada buffaloberry

EricaceaeAndromeda polifolia L. Bog-rosemaryGaultheria hispidula (L.) Muhl. Creeping snowberryGaultheria humifusa (Grah.) Rydb. Alpine wintergreenGaultheria ovatifolia Gray Slender wintergreenKalmia microphylla (Hook.) Heller Small-leaved laurelLedum glandulosum Oeder Labrador-teaLedum groenlandica Oeder Bog laurelMenziesia ferruginea Smith MenziesiaPyrola asarifolia Michx. Pink wintergreenPyrola secunda L. One-sided wintergreenPyrola uniflora L. WoodnymphVaccinium caespitosum Michx. Dwarf huckleberryVaccinium globulare Rydb. Globe huckleberryVaccinium membranaceum Dougl. Big huckleberryVaccinium myrtillus L. Dwarf bilberryVaccinium occidentale Gray Western huckleberryVaccinium oxycoccos L. Small cranberry


FabaceaeTrifolium repens L. White cloverVicia americana Muhl. American vetch

GentianaceaeGentiana affinis Griseb. Pleated gentianGentiana calycosa Griseb. Mountain bog gentianGentiana detonsa Rottb. Smaller fringed gentianGentiana simplex Gray Hiker’s gentianSwertia perennis L. Swertia

GrossulariaceaeRibes lacustre (Pers.) Poir. Swamp currant

HippuridaceaeHippuris vulgaris L. Common mare’s-tail

HydrocharitaceaeElodea canadensis Rich. in Michx. Canada waterweedElodea nuttallii (Planch.) St. John Nuttall’s waterweedVallisneria americana L. Tapegrass

HypericaceaeHypericum formosum H.B.K. Western St. John’s-wortHypericum majus (Gray) Britt. St. John’s-wortHypericum perforatum L. Common St. John’s-wort

IridaceaeIris versicolor L. Blue flagSisyrinchium angustifolium Mill. Blue-eyed grass

JuncaceaeJuncus acuminatus Michx. Tapertip rushJuncus alpinus Vall. Northern rushJuncus balticus Willd. Baltic rushJuncus brachyphyllus Wieg. Short-leaved rushJuncus effusus L. Soft rushJuncus ensifolius Wikst. Dagger-leaf rushJuncus filiformis L. Thread rushJuncus nevadensis Wats. Nevada rushJuncus nodosus L. Tuberous rushJuncus tenuis Willd. Slender rushJuncus tweedyi Rydb. Tweedy’s rushJuncus vaseyi Engelm. Vasey’s rush

JuncaginaceaeTriglochin maritimum L. Seaside arrow-grassTriglochin palustre L. Marsh arrow-grass

LamiaceaeLycopus americanus Muhl. Cut-leaved water horehoundLycopus uniflorus Michx. Northern bugleweedMentha arvensis L. Field mintPrunella vulgaris L. Self-healScutellaria galericulata L. Marsh skullcapScutellaria laterifolia L. Mad-dog skullcap

LentibulariaceaeUtricularia gibba L. BladderwortUtricularia intermedia Hayne Mountain bladderwortUtricularia minor L. Lesser bladderwortUtricularia vulgaris L. Common bladderwort


LiliaceaeAllium schoenoprasum L. ChivesDisporum trachycarpum (Wats.) Benth. & Hook. Wartberry fairy-bellMaianthemum dilatatum (How.) Nels. & Macbr. BeadrubySmilacina stellata (L.) Desf. Starry Solomon-plumeStreptopus amplexifolius (L.) DC. Twisted-stalkTofieldia glutinosa (Michx.) Pers. Sticky tofieldiaZigadenus elegans Pursh Glaucous zigadenus

LemnaceaeLemna minor L. Water duckweedSpirodela polyrhiza (L.) Schleid. Great duckweed

LythraceaeLythrum salicaria L. Purple loosestrife

MenyanthaceaeMenyanthes trifoliata L. Buckbean

NajadaceaeNajas flexilis (Willd.) Rost. & Schmidt Wavy water-nymph

NymphaeaceaeBrasenia schreberi Gmel. Water-shieldNuphar polysepalum Engelm. Spatter-dockNuphar variegatum Engelm. Yellow water-lilyNymphaea odorata Ait. Fragrant water-lily

OnagraceaeEpilobium alpinum L. Alpine willow-herbEpilobium angustifolium L. FireweedEpilobium glaberrimum Barbey Smooth willow-herbEpilobium glandulosum Lehm. Common willow-herbEpilobium palustre L. Swamp willow-herbEpilobium watsonii Barbey Watson’s willow-herbLudwigia polycarpa Short & Peter. Many-fruit false-loosestrife

OrchidaceaeCorallorhiza trifida Chat. Yellow coral-rootCypripedium calceolus var. parviflorum (Salis.) Fern. Small yellow lady’s-slipperCypripedium passerinum Richards. Sparrow’s-egg lady’s-slipperEpipactis gigantea Dougl. Giant helleborineHabenaria dilatata (Pursh) Hook. White orchisHabenaria hyperborea (L.) R. Br. Northern green bog-orchidHabenaria orbiculata (Pursh) Torr. Round-leaved rein-orchidHabenaria saccata Greene Slender bog-orchidLiparis loeselii (L.) L.C. Rich Fen orchidListera cordata (L.) R. Br. Heart-leaf twaybladeOrchis rotundifolia Banks. Round-leaved orchisSpiranthes romanzoffiana Cham. Hooded ladies-tresses

PlantaginaceaePlantago major L. Common plantain

PoaceaeAgrostis alba L. RedtopAgrostis tenuis Sibth. Colonial bentgrassAgrostis exarata Trin. Spike bentgrassAgrostis scabra Willd. Tickle-grassAgrostis thurberiana Hitchc. Thurber bentgrassAlopecurus aequalis Sobol. Short-awn foxtail


Bromus ciliatus L. Fringed bromeBromus inermis Leys. Smooth bromeCalamagrostis canadensis (Michx.) Beauv. Bluejoint reedgrassCalamagrostis stricta (Timm) Koeler Narrow-spiked reedgrassCinna latifolia (Trevir.) Griseb. Drooping woodreedDactylis glomerata L. Orchard-grassDanthonia californica Boland. California oatgrassDanthonia intermedia Vasey Timber oatgrassDeschampsia cespitosa (L.) Beauv. Tufted hairgrassElymus trachycaulus (Link) Gould ex Skinners Bearded wheatgrassGlyceria borealis (Nash) Batch. Northern mannagrassGlyceria grandis Wats. American mannagrassGlyceria striata (Lam.) Hitchc. Fowl mannagrassHierochloe odorata (L.) Beauv. SweetgrassMuhlenbergia glomerata (Willd.) Trin. Marsh muhlyMuhlenbergia richardsonis (Trin.) Rydb. Mat muhlyPanicum acuminatum (Swartz.) Muhl. Panic-grassPhalaris arundinacea L. Reed canarygrassPhleum pratense L. Common timothyPoa palustris L. Fowl bluegrassPoa pratensis L. Kentucky bluegrassPuccinellia pauciflora (Presl) Munz Weak alkaligrassSphenopholis obtusata (Michx.) Scribn. Slender wedgegrassTrisetum canescens Buckl. Tall trisetumTrisetum cernuum Trin. Nodding trisetumZizania aquatica L. Indian rice

PolygonaceaePolygonum amphibium L. Water smartweedPolygonum coccineum Muhl. Water smartweedPolygonum hydropiperoides Michx. WaterpepperRumex maritimus L. Golden dockRumex occidentalis S. Wats. Western dockRumex paucifolius Nutt. Mountain sorrel

PotamogetonaceaePotamogeton amplifolius Tuckerman Large-leaved pondweedPotamogeton berchtoldii Fieb. Baby pondweedPotamogeton crispus L. Curly pondweedPotamogeton epihydrus Raf. Ribbon-leaf pondweedPotamogeton foliosus Raf. Leafy pondweedPotamogeton gramineus L. Grass-leaved pondweedPotamogeton natans L. Floating-leaved pondweedPotamogeton richardsonii (Bennett) Rydb. Richardson’s pondweedPotamogeton robbinsii Oakes Robbins’ pondweedPotamogeton zosteriformis Schum. Flatstem pondweed

PrimulaceaeDodecatheon jjeffreyi Van Hoatte Jeffrey’s shooting starDodecatheon pulchellum (Raf.) Merrill Few-flowered shooting starLysimachia ciliata L. Fringed loosestrifeLysimachia thyrsiflora L. Tufted loosestrifeTrientalis arctica Fisch. Northern starflower

RanunculaceaeAnemone parviflora Michx. Small-flowered anemoneCaltha leptosepala DC. Elk slip marsh marigoldRanunculus flammula L. Creeping buttercupRanunculus gmelinii DC. Small yellow water-buttercupRanunculus pensylvanicus L. Pennsylvania buttercup


RhamnaceaeRhamnus alnifolia L. ‘Her. Alder buckthornRhamnus purshiana DC. Cascara

RosaceaeAmelanchier alnifolia Nutt. Western serviceberryCrataegus douglasii Lindl. Black hawthornFragaria vesca L. Woods strawberryFragaria virginiana Duchesne Virginia strawberryGeum macrophyllum Willd. Large-leaved avensGeum rivale L. Water avensPotentilla fruticosa L. Shrubby cinquefoilPotentilla norvegica L. Norwegian cinquefoilPotentilla palustris (L.) Scop Purple cinquefoilRosa acicularis Lindl. Prickly roseRubus parviforus Nutt. ThimbleberryRubus pedatus J.E. Smith RaspberryRubus pubescens Raf. DewberrySpiraea densiflora Nutt. Subalpine spiraeaSpiraea douglasii Hook. Douglas’ spiraea

RubiaceaeGalium boreale L. Northern bedstrawGalium trifidum L. Small bedstrawGalium triflorum Michx. Sweetscented bedstraw

SalicaceaePopulus tremuloides Michx. Quaking aspenPopulus trichocarpa T. & G. Black cottonwoodSalix bebbiana Sarg. Bebb’s willowSalix candida Fluegge Hoary willowSalix commutata Bebb Undergreen willowSalix drummondiana Barratt Drummond willowSalix farriae Ball Farr’s willowSalix geyeriana Anderss. Geyer willowSalix myrtillifolia Anderss. Blueberry willowSalix pedicellaris Pursh Bog willowSalix planifolia Pursh Planeleaf willowSalix rigida Muhl. Diamond willowSalix scouleriana Barratt Scouler willowSalix serissima (Bailey) Fern. Autumn willowSalix sitchensis Sanson Sitka willowSalix wolfii Bebb Wolf’s willow

SantalaceaeComandra livida Richards Northern bastard toad-flax

SaxifragaceaeMitella breweri A. Gray Brewer’s mitrewortMitella nuda L. Bare-stemmed mitrewortParnassia fimbriata Konig Fringed grass-of-parnassusParnassia palustris L. Northern grass-of-parnassusSaxifraga arguta D. Don Brook saxifrageTiarella trifoliata L. Trefoil foamflower

ScheuchzeriaceaeScheuchzeria palustris L. Pod grass


ScrophulariaceaeCastilleja miniata Dougl. Scarlet paintbrushMelampyrum lineare Desr. Narrow-leaved cow-wheatMimulus guttatus DC. Common monkey-flowerMimulus moschatus Dougl. Musk-flowerMimulus primuloides Benth. Primrose monkey-flowerPedicularis bracteosa Benth. Bracted lousewortPedicularis groenlandica Retz. Elephant’s headVerbascum thapsus L. Common mulleinVeronica americana Schwein. American speedwellVeronica scutellata L. Marsh speedwell

SparganiaceaeSparganium emersum Rehmann Simplestem bur-reedSparganium eurycarpum Engelm. Broadfruited bur-reedSparganium minimum Fries. Small bur-reed

TyphaceaeTypha latifolia L. Common cattail

ValerianaceaeValeriana dioica L. Northern valerianValeriana sitchensis Bong. Sitka valerian

ViolaceaeViola glabella Nutt. Pioneer violetViola macloskeyi Lloyd Small white violetViola nephrophylla Greene Northern bog violetViola palustris L. Marsh violetViola renifolia Gray Kidney-leaved violet

Mosses

Aulacomnium palustre (Hedw.) Schwgr.Bryum caespiticium Hedw.Bryum pallescens Schleich.Bryum pseudotriquetrum (Hedw.) Gaertn.Bryum weigelii Spreng.Calliergon cordifolium (Hedw.) Kindb.Calliergon giganteum (Schimp.) Kindb.Calliergon stramineum (Brid.) Kindb.Calliergonella cuspidata (Hedw.) LoeskeCampylium stellatum (Hedw.) C. Jens.Climacium dendroides (Hedw.) Web. & MohrCinclidium stygium Sw. in Schrad.Conardia compacta (C. Mull.) Robins.Cratoneuron filicinum (Hedw.) SpruceDicranum undulatum Brid.Drepanocladus aduncus var. polycarpus (Bland. ex Voit) G. RothDrepanocladus capillifolius (Warnst.) Warnst.Fissidens adianthoides Hedw.Fontinalis neomexicana Sull. & Lesq.Hamatocaulis vernicosus (Mitt.) HedenäsHelodium blandowii (Web. & Mohr.) Warnst.Hypnum lindbergii Mitt.Hypnum pratense (Rabenh.) W. Koch ex SpruceLeptobryum pyriforme (Hedw.) Wils.Limprichtia revolvens (Sw.) Warnst.Meesia triquetra (Richt.) Angstr.


Palustriella commutata (Brid.) OchyraPalustriella decipiens (De Not.) OchyraPhilonotis fontana (Hedw.) Brid.Philonotis fontana var. caespitosa (Jur.) Schimp.Philonotis fontana var. pumila (Turn.) Brid.Plagiomnium venustum (Mitt.) T. Kop.Platydictya jungermanioides (Brid.) CrumPleurozium schreberi (Brid.) Mitt.Pohlia longicolla (Hedw.) Lindb.Pohlia nutans (Hedw.) Lindb.Pohlia wahlenbergii (Web. & Mohr) AndrewsPolytrichum commune Hedw.Polytrichum formosum Hedw.Polytrichum juniperinum Hedw.Polytrichum strictum Brid.Rhizomnium magnifolium (Horik.) T. Kop.Rhizomnium pseudopunctatum (Bruch & Schimp.) T. Kop.Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus (Hedw.) Warnst.Scorpidium scorpioides (Hedw.) Limpr.Sphagnum angustifolium (C. Jens. ex. Russ.) C. Jens.Sphagnum capillifolium (Ehrh.) Hedw.Sphagnum centrale C. Jens.Sphagnum compactum DC ex Lam. & DCSphagnum contortum SchultzSphagnum fimbriatum Wils. ex Wils. & J.D. Hook.Sphagnum fuscum (Schimp.) Klinggr.Sphagnum girgensohnii Russ.Sphagnum magellanicum Brid.Sphagnum mendocinum Sull. & Lesq.Sphagnum platyphyllum (Lindb.) Sull.Sphagnum rubellum Wils.Sphagnum riparium Angstr.Sphagnum russowii Warnst.Sphagnum squarrosum CromeSphagnum subobesum Warnst.Sphagnum subsecundum Nees in StrumSphagnum teres (Schimp.) Angstr.Sphagnum warnstorfii Russ.Thuidium recognitum (Hedw.) Lindb.Tomentypnum nitens (Hedw.) LoeskeWarnstorfia exannulata (Schimp. in BSG) LoeskeWarnstorfia fluitans (Hedw.) Loeske


Appendix B: Peatland Site Descriptions_______________________________Descriptions of 58 peatlands occurring on National Forests in Idaho, northeastern Washington, western

Montana, and northwestern Wyoming are included here. While not an exhaustive list, all of the described sites,apart from the two sites in Wyoming, were personally visited by one or more of the authors and are representativeof the variety of peatlands present in the Northern Rocky Mountains.

Idaho__________________________

Bonner County

Armstrong MeadowsKaniksu National Forest, Priest Lake Ranger District.Description—Armstrong Meadows is on the westside of the thoroughfare (the connecting channel be-tween Upper Priest Lake and Priest Lake) in theSelkirk Mountains of northern Idaho. ArmstrongMeadows is a rich fen dominated by Spiraea douglasii,Alnus incana, Calamagrostis canadensis, Carex utri-culata, C. vesicaria, C. aquatilis, C. lasiocarpa, C.buxbaumii, and C. cusickii. Smaller areas of poor fensare also present, dominated by Sphagnum centrale, S.teres, Aulacomnium palustre, Carex lasiocarpa, C.cusickii, Eriophorum chamissonis, E. gracile,Menyanthes trifoliata, Betula glandulosa, and Salixpedicellaris. Margins of the meadow are a carr charac-terized by Spiraea douglasii, Alnus incana, and othershrubs. Paludified forest is present south of the sphag-num moss-dominated portions of Armstrong Mead-ows. Trees of Thuja plicata, Tsuga heterophylla, andPinus monticola are covered at their base by hum-mocks of Sphagnum centrale. Between the hummocksare pools of water with Scirpus microcarpus, Equise-tum sylvaticum, E. fluviatile, Calamagrostiscanadensis, Senecio triangularis, Glyceria grandis,Carex brunnescens, and C. leptalea. Vacciniumglobulare, Linnaea borealis, Cornus canadensis, Ru-bus pedatus, and Aralia nudicaulis are common on thehummocks.Significance—Nearly 100 vascular and bryophyteplant species occur at Armstrong Meadows, making itone of the most floristically diverse peatlands in Idaho.Ten major habitat features identified for NorthernRocky Mountain peatlands are found at ArmstrongMeadows. Populations of ten rare plant species occurat Armstrong Meadows: Dryopteris cristata, Carexleptalea, C. paupercula, C. buxbaumii, Gaultheriahispidula, Vaccinium oxycoccos, Trientalis arctica,Salix pedicellaris, Epilobium palustre, and Botrychiumlanceolatum.Conservation—Bursik and Moseley (1995) recom-mended establishing Armstrong Meadows as a Bo-tanical Area in recognition of the site’s unique floraand plant communities. Armstrong Meadows is one ofa handful of northern Idaho peatlands with interpre-tive potential. It would provide a peatland experience

in a wild setting, even though it is easy to access aftera short hike with little elevation gain.

Bismark MeadowsKaniksu National Forest, Priest Lake Ranger District(plus private ownership).Description—Bismark Meadows is 5 km west ofPriest Lake, in the Selkirk Mountains of northernIdaho. Bismark Meadows contains a mosaic of fencommunities along Reeder Creek, a low-gradient,meandering stream. The most extensive peatland typeis a shrub carr dominated variously by Spiraeadouglasii, Alnus incana, Betula glandulosa, Salixgeyeriana, and S. bebbiana. Interspersed among thecarr are sedge-dominated rich fens characterized byCarex utriculata, C. lasiocarpa, C. vesicaria, C.buxbaumii, C. cusickii, Juncus balticus, Petasitessagittatus, and Phalaris arundinacea. Lycopodiumobscurum var. dendroidium grows in the wet forestedhabitats around the Bismark Work Center. In thenorthwestern lobe of Bismark Meadows along ReederCreek, rich fens dominated by Carex utriculata, Scirpusmicrocarpus, Carex canescens, C. aquatilis, Potentillapalustris, and Calamagrostis canadensis are present.On the west side of Reeder Creek are scattered patchesof Sphagnum centrale and S. angustifolium growingbeneath shrubs and around the base of conifers in apaludified forest.Significance—Bismark Meadows is one of the fewvalley peatlands in Idaho that formed along a lowgradient stream and not adjacent to a pond or lake. Itcontains only pockets of peat, while much of the areaoccurs on largely mineral substrate. Although it hasbeen heavily and directly impacted by human activi-ties, the condition of the communities remains verygood and the scattered pockets of sphagnum moss-dominated paludified forest may actually be ratherextensive to the west (unsurveyed). In spite of theimpacts, the area supports populations of seven rareplants: Carex buxbaumii, C. leptalea, Dryopteriscristata, Epilobium palustre, Gaultheria hispidula,Lycopodium obscurum var. dendroidium, andTrientalis arctica. There are also historical collectionsof Vaccinium oxycoccos from Bismark Meadows. Al-though much of the site is drained and hayed orgrazed, eastern portions appear to be intact and maysupport extensive poor fens.Conservation—Bursik and Moseley (1995) recom-mended establishing Bismark Meadows as a Botanical


Area in recognition of its unique flora and plant com-munities. Public interpretation is not recommended.Bismark Meadows is partially privately owned.

Bottle LakeKaniksu National Forest, Priest Lake Ranger District.Description—Bottle Lake lies along the west side ofPriest Lake in the Selkirk Mountains of northernIdaho, northwest of Bottle Bay and about 75 km northof Priest River. Bottle Lake lies within Bottle LakeResearch Natural Area. Bottle Lake is a 6 ha sphag-num moss-dominated fen and lake. The open water ofBottle Lake covers 0.8 ha. The open water is sur-rounded by a mat of vegetation ranging between 5 to20 m wide. Beyond the mat is a swampy border ofstanding and downed trees and various aquatic plants.A meadow (0.4 ha) on the northwest side of the lake isa wet fen during prolonged wet weather. The sur-rounding area is heavily forested with old-growthThuja plicata, Tsuga heterophylla, and Pinusmonticola.Significance—Bottle Lake Research Natural Area(RNA) contains an excellent example of a sphagnum-dominated peatland. The rare fern, Blechnum spicant,occurs on an upland site within the RNA.Conservation—The site has been protected as aForest Service Research Natural Area.

Dubius Creek FenKaniksu National Forest, Priest Lake Ranger District.Description—Dubius Creek Fen is 27 km north ofPriest River, in the Selkirk Mountains of northernIdaho. Dubius Creek Fen contains a diverse mosaic ofpeatland communities. Shrub carrs dominated bySpiraea douglasii, Betula glandulosa, Salix geyeriana,S. pedicellaris, S. bebbiana, Rhamnus alnifolia, andAlnus incana occur throughout the area. In someportions of the carr, Sphagnum centrale is common.Further west Spiraea douglasii covers a large area.Wetter portions of the peatland are a poor fen domi-nated by Sphagnum subsecundum, Carex lasiocarpa,C. utriculata, C. aquatilis, C. muricata, C. cusickii,Agrostis scabra, Veronica scutellata, Potentillapalustris, Lycopus uniflorus, Scutellaria galericulata,and Scirpus microcarpus. Two rare species, Epilobiumpalustre and Salix pedicellaris, are common in thishabitat.

A large arm of the fen extends to the north nearthe divide between Dubius Creek and Moores Creek.The north end of the northern lobe is covered by a richfen codominated by Carex lasiocarpa, C. chordorrhiza,C. utriculata, and Potentilla palustris. Only a few scat-tered patches of poor fen (characterized by Sphagnumsubsecundum and Carex limosa) break up this exten-sive and uniform rich fen. Scheuchzeria palustris isfound in the poor fens.Significance—Dubius Creek Fen contains one of themost extensive rich fens dominated by Carex lasiocarpa

in northern Idaho. The codominance by C. chordorrhizais significant. The emergent rich fen community aroundthe ephemeral beaver pond is very diverse and unique.Overall, seven habitat features of Panhandle peatlandswere identified at this site: poor fen, rich fen, shrubcarr, vegetated littoral zones, ponds, a stream, andbeaver activity. This is one of only a few low-elevationvalley peatlands in northern Idaho that has formedalong a stream and not adjacent to a lake. More than60 plant species are known from Dubius Creek Fen.Five species considered rare in Idaho are found in thepeatland: Carex chordorrhiza, Epilobium palustre,Hypericum majus, Scheuchzeria palustris, and Salixpedicellaris.Conservation—Bursik and Moseley (1995) recom-mended establishing Dubius Creek Fen as a BotanicalArea in recognition of its unique flora and plant com-munities. Dubius Creek Fen would be a suitable sitefor public interpretation about peatland communitiesin northern Idaho. Due to the extensive nature of thepeatlands, trails could easily be placed to avoid ad-verse impacts to the site.

Hager Lake FenKaniksu National Forest, Priest Lake Ranger District(plus private ownership, including a Nature Conser-vancy conservation easement).Description—Hager Lake is a 2 ha pond located 6 kmwest of Priest Lake in the Selkirk Mountains of north-ern Idaho. The basin of Hager Lake is enclosed andunderlain by ice-contact fluvial gravels. It is a seepagepond with no apparent inlet or outlet. The depressionlikely formed as a result of an ice block melting nearthe terminus of the glacier that occupied this portionof the Priest River Valley; a depression commonlyreferred to as a “glacial kettle.” The origin of the basindates between 11,500 and 12,000 years ago based onthe presence of Glacier Peak tephra near the base ofpeat cores extracted in 1992 (Bursik and others 1994).

Several distinct plant communities are found atHager Lake Fen. The most extensive is a shrub carrdominated by a dense stand of Spiraea douglasii. Thisshrub carr covers most of the fen north of Hager Lake,except for the northeastern corner, which was clearedand reditched in 1988. This area was harvested for hayin 1994. The Spiraea douglasii shrub carr also occursin a band around Hager Lake. Lodgepole pine (Pinuscontorta) and western white pine (Pinus monticola)trees are scattered throughout the shrub carr. Themiddle of the fen basin north of Hager Lake is coveredby a rich fen codominated by Carex lasiocarpa andSpiraea douglasii. A floating mat (1 ha) encroaches onthe south side of the lake. The floating mat is a poor fencommunity dominated by Sphagnum angustifolium,S. subsecundum, and S. centrale. Common vascularspecies include Vaccinium oxycoccos, Scheuchzeriapalustris, Carex limosa, Kalmia microphylla, and


Lycopus uniflorus. Coring done on the floating matindicates that it dates from about 6,700 years agobased on the presence of Mount Mazama tephra nearthe top of lake sediments below the mat (PeterMehringer, unpublished data on file at WashingtonState University, Pullman) . Between the floating matand the S. douglasii shrub carr to the south is a fixedmat zone. The fixed mat also occurs around the east,west, and north lake margins. The fixed mat is charac-terized by poor fen vegetation codominated by Sphag-num subsecundum, C. lasiocarpa, and Dulichiumarundinaceum. Two rare species are found in thiscommunity: Lycopodium inundatum and Hypericummajus. A narrow, shallow littoral zone is found on theeast, west, and north lake margins. It is characterizedby Nuphar polysepalum, Brasenia schreberi, Potamoge-ton natans, Scirpus acutus, and the rare S. subterminalis.Significance—Hager Lake Fen supports 75 vascularand bryophyte plant species, including five consideredrare in Idaho: Scirpus subterminalis, Trientalis arctica,Vaccinium oxycoccos, Scheuchzeria palustris, andHypericum majus. Four other rare species were previ-ously documented from Hager Lake and are nowbelieved extirpated: Epilobium palustre, Dryopteriscristata, Carex leptalea, and Lycopodium obscurumvar. dendroidium. Hager Lake contains one of themore extensive floating mats in Idaho and the poor fencommunity growing on the mat is exceptional.

Hoodoo LakeKaniksu National Forest, Priest Lake Ranger District.Description—Hoodoo Lake is 16 km southeast of thetown of Priest River in northern Idaho. Hoodoo Lakeis a very shallow drainage lake (80 ha) that completelydried in 1994. The lake bottom mud was still satu-rated, but was largely unvegetated in July 1994. Thelake is surrounded by an emergent rich fen dominatedby Scirpus acutus, Typha latifolia, Eleocharis palustris,Glyceria borealis, Juncus spp., Carex lasiocarpa, Po-tentilla palustris, and the very rare (but locally promi-nent at Hoodoo Lake) Carex comosa, which is knownfrom only one other site in Idaho. Drier fen areasaround the emergent rich fen are also rich fen commu-nities characterized by Carex lasiocarpa, C. utricu-lata, C. oederi, Calamagrostis stricta, Agrostis scabra,and Potentilla palustris. Scattered plants of Hyperi-cum majus are found in these rich fen habitats. Therich fen grades into a mesic marsh meadow withscattered Spiraea douglasii, Alnus incana, and Salixbebbiana shrubs with Agrostis stolonifera, Phalarisarundinacea, Danthonia intermedia, Poa palustris,Glyceria striata, Prunella vulgaris, Cirsium vulgare,and C. arvense being prominent herbaceous species.All of the communities at Hoodoo Lake were heavilygrazed in 1994.Significance—The floristic diversity of this site is mod-erate (approximately 50 species have been identified).

Hoodoo Lake supports one of only two known popula-tions of Carex comosa in Idaho. It is prominent withScirpus acutus, Carex lasiocarpa, and Eleocharispalustris in the emergent fen surrounding the lake.Only one other rare species, Hypericum majus isfound at Hoodoo Lake. The rich fen communities tendtoward marsh conditions. They are similar to the richfen communities found elsewhere in northern Idaho,particularly those at Walsh Lake, north of Sandpoint.These types of fen communities are more common inlow-elevation valley peatlands elsewhere in Idaho.Carex oederi is prominent in the drier fen habitats atHoodoo Lake. It is sparse in northern Idaho, though itis common in valley peatlands in Fremont County inextreme east central Idaho. Five of the 12 criticalhabitat features of northern Idaho peatlands wereidentified at Hoodoo Lake: rich fen, shrub carr, veg-etated littoral zone, a lake, and a stream (Bursik andMoseley 1995).

Kaniksu MarshKaniksu National Forest, Priest Lake Ranger District.Description—Kaniksu Marsh is on the west side ofthe lower Priest River in northern Idaho. The wetlandis within Kaniksu Marsh Research Natural Area andconsists of an undisturbed, 36 ha crescent-shapedmarsh and wet meadow, and adjacent forested slopes.Open water, less than 2 m deep, with submergentaquatic plants surrounds an island of floating rich topoor fen. The central portion of the marsh ranges fromshallow water to saturated soil and is dominated byCarex lasiocarpa with a few areas of poor fen domi-nated by Sphagnum centrale and S. magellanicum.The pond surrounding the floating mat is well veg-etated with Potamogeton natans and Braseniaschreberi. To the west, extensive shrub carr and a richsedge fen is dominant along a spring stream. Furtherwest, a wet Picea-Tsuga forest with some paludifiedareas is present. The old-growth and second-growthforests surrounding the peatland are composed ofPinus ponderosa, P. monticola, Larix occidentalis,Abies grandis, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Tsugaheterophylla, Thuja plicata, Picea engelmannii, andPinus contorta.Significance—The low-elevation wetlands in theResearch Natural Area support a diversity of vegeta-tion types. At least five rare plant species are present:Eriophorum viridicarinatum, Gaultheria hispidula,Lycopodium inundatum, Trientalis arctica, andVaccinium oxycoccos.

Lamb Creek MeadowsKaniksu National Forest, Priest Lake Ranger District(plus private ownership).Description—Lamb Creek Meadows is 1.5 km westof Priest Lake in the Selkirk Mountains of northernIdaho. The south end of Lamb Creek Meadows is a rich


sedge-dominated fen characterized by Carexlasiocarpa, C. lanuginosa, C. utriculata, C. buxbaumii,C. cusickii, Eriophorum gracile, E. chamissonis, and afew patches of Typha latifolia. The entire fen wascovered with shallow standing water in June 1991.The perimeter of the fen is ditched, and the margins ofthe ditch are covered by a dense monoculture of Spi-raea douglasii. Several slightly raised areas are foundwithin the fen otherwise dominated by sedges. Theraised areas are covered with shrub carr dominated bySpirea douglasii, Betula glandulosa, Salix geyeriana,and Alnus incana. The northwestern portion of LambCreek Meadows is ditched and is seasonally cut forhay. On the northeastern end (headwaters of ReynoldsCreek) rich sedge-dominated fen similar to that foundon the south end is interspersed with shrub carrsimilar to that found on the south end. Trientalisarctica, Carex buxbaumii, Hypericum majus, andEpilobium palustre are rare plants found in this area.A series of beaver ponds form the headwaters ofReynolds Creek, which enters Priest Lake on thesouth side of Kalispell Bay. The ponds are shallow andwell vegetated. Potamogeton gramineus, P. berchtoldii,Utricularia vulgaris, Eleocharis acicularis, andSparganium fluctuans are common.Significance—A limited inventory has revealed thepresence of more than 35 vascular species in LambCreek Meadows. Four Idaho rare species are found inLamb Creek Meadows: Trientalis arctica, Hypericummajus, Epilobium palustre, and Carex buxbaumii.Lamb Creek Meadows contain six of the habitat fea-tures identified in northern Idaho peatlands: rich fen,shrub carr, small ponds, vegetated littoral zones, astream, and beaver activity (Bursik and Moseley 1995).

Lost LakeKaniksu National Forest, Sandpoint Ranger District.Description—Lost Lake is 3 km due east of GarfieldBay and 1.5 km north of Mineral Point on the southside of the Pend Oreille peninsula south and west ofLake Pend Oreille. Lost Lake is a seepage lake nearly30 acres, with no apparent inlet or outlet. Beavershave been active at this site in the past, but they werenot active in 1994 and much of the lake was dried upduring this dry year. The lake appears to be shallowthroughout, entirely lacking a limnetic zone (greaterthan 2 m deep). Aquatic plants growing in the lakeinclude Myriophyllum sibericum, Nuphar polyse-palum, Potamogeton natans, P. amplifolius, P. grami-neus, P. berchtoldii, Callitriche heterophylla, Najasflexilis, Scirpus acutus, Utricularia minor, Lemnaminor, and the rare Scirpus subterminalis.

Marginal floating mat communities are mostly poorfens characterized by Typha latifolia, Carex lasiocarpa,Dulichium arundinaceum, Potentilla palustris, Equi-setum fluviatile, and at least three bryophytes: Sphag-num teres, Aulacomnium palustre, and Calliergon

stramineum. The fixed portions of the mat are hum-mocky with trees of Thuja plicata and Tsugaheterophylla, and the shrubs Alnus incana, Cornusstolonifera, Rhamnus alnifolia, and Spiraea douglasiioccupying sphagnum moss-covered hummocks. Carexlasiocarpa, D. arundinaceum, P. palustris, Phalarisarundinacea, Bidens cernua, Menyanthes trifoliata,Scutellaria galericulata, Mentha arvensis, Lycopusuniflorus, Carex cusickii, C. retrorsa, and Eriophorumgracile are dominant in the wet, moss-covered depres-sions in between. Epilobium palustre and Cicutabulbifera are rare species found scattered throughoutthe mat. The rare Dryopteris cristata is found on thetree and shrub-covered sphagnum moss hummocks.Some portions of the fixed and floating mats are richfens dominated by Typha latifolia, Scirpus acutus,and various species of Carex .Significance—Lost Lake is somewhat similar to therest of the peatlands in the vicinity of Lake PendOreille. Lost Lake is unique in having abundant poorfen on floating and fixed mats in addition to rich fens.The floating rich fens are very interesting and diverse.They contain many species typically associated withmarsh habitats (for example, Typha latifolia andScirpus acutus) along with species nearly restricted topeatlands (for example, Carex lasiocarpa, Dulichiumarundinaceum, Potentilla palustris, and Droserarotundifolia). This type of rich fen occurs at only veryscattered sites north of Lake Pend Oreille and thePend Oreille River.

Lost Lake contains populations of four rare plants:Scirpus subterminalis, Epilobium palustre, Dryopteriscristata, and Cicuta bulbifera. Seven of 12 habitatfeatures of northern Idaho peatlands were identifiedat Lost Lake: poor fen, rich fen, floating mat, vegetatedlittoral zones, shrub carr, a lake, and beaver activity(Bursik and Moseley 1995).

Mosquito Bay FenKaniksu National Forest, Priest Lake Ranger District(plus private ownership).Description—Mosquito Bay Fen is at the north endof Priest Lake on the west side of Mosquito Bay. Adiversity of peatland habitats are present. A rich fendominated by Carex lasiocarpa, C. chordorrhiza, andC. muricata covers as much as one-third of the openfen area. A wet, emergent rich fen dominated by Carexlivida, Rhynchospora alba, and Equisetum fluviatilecovers about one-fourth of the open fen. The remainderof the open area is covered by poor fen characterized bythe above species and Sphagnum spp., Potentillapalustris, Kalmia microphylla, Vaccinium oxycoccos,and Andromeda polifolia. Poor fen habitats are smallerand localized, usually in the form of slightly raisedhummocks surrounded by poor or rich fen. Scatteredpatches of Pinus contorta clearly mark some of thepoor fen habitats at the fen. Extensive rich fen shrub


carr communities ring the graminoid and bryophyte-dominated central portions of the fen. They are domi-nated primarily by Spiraea douglasii and Betulaglandulosa, Rhamnus alnifolia, Alnus incana, andother shrubs. Paludified forest habitats surround mostof the graminoid- and shrub-dominated fen habitats.They are characterized by Abies lasiocarpa, Piceaengelmannii, Thuja plicata, Tsuga heterophylla, Pinuscontorta, and P. monticola. The undergrowth of thepaludified forests is dominated by Sphagnumangustifolium, S. centrale, Scirpus microcarpus, Calama-grostis canadensis, Dulichium arundinaceum, Carexbrunnescens, and Spiraea douglasii. There are sphag-num moss hummocks growing over old stumps inthe paludified forest. The hummocks reach morethan 1 m in height above the surrounding substrate.Significance—One hundred forty-one species (11 bryo-phyte and 130 vascular) are known from Mosquito BayFen. This is the single most floristically diversepeatland in Idaho. It also supports the most excep-tional paludified forest habitat in the state. Presentare populations of 20 rare plant species:Andromeda polifolia (only population known in Idaho),Aster junciformis, Carex buxbaumii, C. chordorrhiza,C. leptalea, C. livida, C. paupercula, Geocaulon lividum,Epilobium palustre, Eriophorum viridicarinatum,Gaultheria hispidula, Hypericum majus, Iris versi-color (only site in Idaho or the Pacific Northwest),Lycopodium obscurum var. dendroidium, Lycopodiuminundatum, Rhynchospora alba, Salix pedicellaris,Scheuchzeria palustris, Trientalis arctica, andVaccinium oxycoccos.Conservation—This site is one of the most signifi-cant of the 45 high-priority peatlands in northernIdaho identified by Bursik and Moseley (1995). Thesmall portion that is administered by the Forest Ser-vice should be considered for Research Natural Areaor Botanical Area designation.

Packer MeadowsKaniksu National Forest, Priest Lake Ranger District.Description—Packer Meadows is 11 km west of PriestLake in the Idaho Panhandle. Packer Meadows con-tains a unique mosaic of fen communities along a low-gradient meandering stretch of Packer Creek. Withinthe mosaic are patterned peatlands on slight slopes.The raised strings run perpendicular to the slope andare covered with Sphagnum spp., Betula glandulosa,Pedicularis groenlandica, Carex utriculata, Salixpedicellaris, and Equisetum fluviatile. The shallowlyinundated flarks are dominated by C. utriculata, C.cusickii, C. leptalea, and C. aquatilis. Other smallareas of nearly level substrate are poor fen dominatedby Sphagnum spp., Carex limosa, Drosera rotundifolia,Eriophorum polystachion, and other poor fen species.Areas of poor fen are hummocky with Sphagnumcentrale hummocks occurring beneath Betula

glandulosa, Picea engelmannii, and Abies lasiocarpa.Trientalis arctica occurs on these hummocks. Sedge-dominated rich fen covers a majority of Packer Mead-ows. These areas appear more mesic with shallow,firm peat. They are dominated by Calamagrostiscanadensis, Carex utriculata, Senecio triangularis,C. aquatilis, and C. scopulorum. Periodic beaver activ-ity on Packer Creek on the south end of Packer Mead-ows leads to the formation of a several-hectare shallowlake, but no lake was present in 1991. The East Forkof Packer Creek Fen is characterized by sloped poorfen communities that are subirrigated. The slopesare as great as 7 percent. They are covered withSphagnum spp., Calamagrostis canadensis, Carexscopulorum, Eriophorum polystachion, C. leptalea,and Eriophorum chamissonis. These sloped fens areinterspersed between areas of Picea engelmannii andAbies lasiocarpa paludified forest where deep hum-mocks of Sphagnum centrale cover the base of thetrees.Significance—Because of its elevation, Packer Mead-ows is somewhat intermediate floristically betweensubalpine and valley peatlands, containing numerousboreal species that are restricted to valley peatlandsand many cordilleran species characteristic of subal-pine peatlands (Bursik 1990). Elevationally (3,360 ft),it is the highest known site with paludified foresthabitat in northern Idaho. The poor fen communitiesin the East Fork Fens are similar to those found atSmith Creek Research Natural Area, Cow Creek Mead-ows, and Grass Creek Meadows at higher elevations inthe northern Selkirk Range. Also unique is the string-flark patterned ground of the gradually sloped poorfen in Packer Meadows.

Three rare species are known to occur at PackerMeadows: Carex leptalea, Trientalis arctica, and Salixpedicellaris.

PotholesKaniksu National Forest, Priest Lake Ranger District.Description—Potholes is on the north side of KalispellCreek 1.5 km west of the Idaho/Washington border innorthern Idaho, approximately 60 km north-north-west of Priest River, ID. The peatland is within Pot-holes Research Natural Area. The site is an example ofa diverse wetland resulting from Pleistocene glacia-tion. Surrounding forests are dominated by Tsugaheterophylla and other conifers. Elevations in thePotholes Research Natural Area range from 828 to960 m. The area contains a large upwelling coldspring. Spring ponds drain into a stream that supplieswater for wet meadows, a fen, and several beaverponds. In places, low dams have been built by beaver.The ponds are drained by three streams; two of theseunite on a lower bench supporting Alnus spp., mead-ows, marshes, and a sphagnum moss-dominated fen.


A number of rare plant species are found in the areaincluding: Gaultheria hispidula, Vaccinium oxycoccos,Epilobium palustre, Trientalis arctica, Salixpedicellaris, Carex leptalea, and C. paupercula. Tworare plant communities also occur in the ResearchNatural Area: the Thuja plicata/Lysichitumamericanum habitat type and the Thuja plicata/Equisetum arvense community type.

Upper Priest Lake FenKaniksu National Forest, Priest Lake Ranger District.Description—Upper Priest Lake Fen is at the south-east end of Upper Priest Lake in the Idaho Panhandle.The fen covers about 25 ha. It contains a short springstream that emerges within the fen. The spring feedsa small, shallow pond. Portions of the peatland com-munities are poor fen dominated by Carex lasiocarpa,C. diandra, C. utriculata and various sphagnum mosses(Sphagnum angustifolium, S. capillifolium, and S.centrale). A unique shrub carr covers much of the non-treed peatland and is dominated by Betula pumila,Spiraea douglasii, Salix pedicellaris, Kalmiamicrophylla, and Vaccinium oxycoccos over a nearlycontinuous mat of sphagnum mosses.

Paludified forest with Abies lasiocarpa, Tsugaheterophylla, Thuja plicata, Picea engelmannii, andAbies grandis surrounds the open fen. The under-growth is characterized by Sphagnum angustifolium,S. teres, S. centrale, S. magellanicum, Carexbrunnescens, Scirpus microcarpus, Athyrium filix-femina, Linnaea borealis, Vaccinium globulare,Calamagrostis canadensis, and Cornus canadensis.Significance—At least 60 vascular and bryophyteplant species are known from Upper Priest Lake Fen.Along with Mosquito Bay Fen, it contains the mostexceptional paludified habitat in Idaho. The shrubcarr is unique, unlike any other shrub carr in northernIdaho. Rare plants at this site include: Carex leptalea,Vaccinium oxycoccos, Gaultheria hispidula, Salixpedicellaris, and Trientalis arctica.

Boundary County

Beaver Lake (North)Kaniksu National Forest, Bonners Ferry Ranger Dis-trict (plus State of Idaho).Description—Beaver Lake is in northern Idaho alongthe west slope of the Cabinet Mountains, 6 km southof Naples and 20 km south of Bonners Ferry. BeaverLake (North) is a small pond that sits nearly on thecrest of a west-east trending ridge. The pond wasformed by continental ice that flowed down the PurcellTrench during the Pleistocene, scouring adjacent moun-tain slopes. The pond is the headwaters of DyreeCreek, a small creek flowing southeast from the pond,eventually to the Pack River. Most of the shoreline issteep and has little littoral zone or wetland vegetation.

The eastern shore, however, has a narrow zone ofCarex flava along the edge of the lake and severalfloating sphagnum mats, some of which contain Lyco-podium inundatum. Carex lasiocarpa, Droserarotundifolia, and Potentilla palustris are common onthe sphagnum.Significance—The biodiversity highlight of BeaverLake (North) is the small floating mats at the easternend of the pond, which contains the relatively rarepeatland species Lycopodium inundatum. Otherwise,floristic diversity is low, due to the limited number ofhabitats around this pond with a steep shoreline. Asmall population of the rare sedge, Carex flava, occurson the shore near the mats.

Bog Creek FenKaniksu National Forest, Bonners Ferry RangerDistrict.Description—Bog Creek Fen lies along the UnitedStates-Canadian border in the Selkirk Mountains ofextreme northern Idaho. Bog Creek is a slow-moving,low gradient, meandering stream. Fen communitieshave formed along the stream scattered between Abieslasiocarpa-Picea engelmannii-Pinus contorta forest.These are mostly fens dominated by sedges; sphag-num mosses are sparse. This is one of the few sub-alpine peatland sites supporting Carex lasiocarpa(the species is typically restricted to valley peatlands).Carex utriculata, C. aquatilis, C. scopulorum, C. lasio-carpa, and Eriophorum polystachion are prominent.Significance—This site contains populations of Carexflava, C. buxbaumii, C. paupercula, and Botrychiumminganense. Grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) and wood-land caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) are alsoknown to use this drainage. This appears to be aunique and valuable peatland site, which may repre-sent an intermediary between the low elevation valleypeatlands dominated by boreal species and highersubalpine peatlands dominated by numerous westerncordilleran species. It is one of few high-quality subal-pine peatland sites known from northern Idaho.

Cow Creek MeadowsKaniksu National Forest, Bonners Ferry RangerDistrict.Description—Cow Creek Meadows are located alongCow Creek in the extreme northern portion of theSelkirk Mountains, 10 km south of the United States-Canada border.

Cow Creek Meadows contain scattered open sphag-num-rich and sphagnum-poor fen habitats over a 5 kmstretch along the upper reaches of Cow Creek. Fourmajor wetland plant communities occur at Cow CreekMeadows (Bursik 1993):

1. Sphagnum moss-dominated fens supporting therare species known from the site (Carex buxbaumii, C.paupercula, C. leptalea, C. flava, Lycopodium inun-datum, Trientalis arctica, and Scirpus hudsonianus)


2. Carex scopulorum fen3. Carex vesicaria-C. utriculata fen4. Deschampsia cespitosa-Danthonia intermedia-

Calamagrostis canadensis wet meadows

Pinus contorta, Abies lasiocarpa, and Piceaengelmannii moist to wet forests occur between the fencommunities. Much of the upper portion of the drain-age was burned in the 1967 Trapper Peak fire.Significance—Subalpine sphagnum moss-dominatedfen communities in Cow Creek Meadows are more rarein extreme northern Idaho than in the major rivervalleys of north-central Idaho (for example, the LochsaRiver drainage). They appear to be transitional infloristic composition to valley peatland communitiesbased on the number of boreal species they contain.One hundred and one plant species (11 bryophyte and90 vascular) are known from the fens; seven are con-sidered rare in the State: Carex buxbaumii, C. flava, C.leptalea, C. paupercula, Lycopodium inundatum,Scirpus hudsonianus, and Trientalis arctica.

The population of Scirpus hudsonianus is one of onlytwo found in the State. One of the few documentedIdaho populations of the northern bog lemming(Synaptomys borealis) occurs in Cow Creek Meadows.Grizzly bear and woodland caribou use of the area ishigh.Conservation—Cow Creek Meadows have been rec-ommended for Botanical Area designation. The siteincludes the reaches of Cow Creek supporting peat-land habitats. The boundaries of the site were pro-posed by Bursik (1993) to extend from the bridge overCow Creek on Forest Service Road 2545 in the SE 1/4section 4, T64N, R3W, to the uppermost meadows inthe extreme NE 1/4 section 13, T64N, R4W. The oldCow Creek Road (Forest Service 655) serves as thenorthern boundary, and an old, unnumbered loggingroad that accessed the burned-over area south of thecreek serves as the southern boundary.

Grass Creek MeadowsKaniksu National Forest, Bonners Ferry RangerDistrict.Description—Grass Creek Meadows is along GrassCreek in the Selkirk Mountains of northern Idaho.Grass Creek drains northward into Canada and ulti-mately into the Kootenai River. Grass Creek containsopen fen habitats scattered along its upper reach. Fensdominated by sphagnum mosses contain the rarespecies known from the site. Other major communitiesinclude:

1. Carex scopulorum fen2. Carex vesicaria-C. utriculata fen3. Deschampsia cespitosa-Danthonia intermedia-

Calamagrostis canadensis wet meadows

Significance—Subalpine sphagnum moss-dominatedfen communities as exist in Grass Creek Meadows aremore rare in extreme northern Idaho than in the majorriver valleys of north-central Idaho. They are some-what transitional in floristic composition to valleypeatland communities based on the number of borealspecies they contain. The fens contain several rareplant populations, including: Carex paupercula,Trientalis arctica, and Scirpus hudsonianus (one oftwo populations known from Idaho). Grizzly bear andwoodland caribou use is high in the Grass CreekMeadows.

Perkins LakeKaniksu National Forest, Bonners Ferry Ranger Dis-trict (plus private ownership).Description—Perkins Lake is in the Purcell Moun-tains of northern Idaho, 3 km west of the Idaho-Montana boundary. Perkins Lake contains a diversityof fen communities along its northeastern shore andon its western side (that is mostly privately owned).Extensive floating mats ring the lake margins andfixed mats extend into the fen area west of the lake.The floating mats on the northeastern side of the lakeare unstable and are dominated by Betula pumila,Alnus incana, and Spiraea douglasii. The undergrowthis dominated by Carex lasiocarpa, Calamagrostiscanadensis, and various sphagnum and brown mossesincluding Sphagnum angustifolium, S. centrale, S.magellanicum, S. teres, Aulacomnium palustre,Calliergon stramineum, and Polytrichum strictum.

The lake margins are dominated by Typha latifoliaand various sedges, including Carex lasiocarpa, C.cusickii, and Dulichium arundinaceum. Shrub carralso covers much of the fen west of the lake. It isinterspersed with Carex/sphagnum moss-dominatedpoor fen communities, which extend at least 0.4 kmfrom the lake margin to the west.Significance—Perkins Lake contains very uniquepeatland plant communities unlike those found else-where in northern Idaho. The Betula pumila carr isunusual in that it occurs on a floating mat. Most of thefen communities are poor fens with a nearly solid matof sphagnum and brown mosses. Scattered areas arepoor fens while areas closer to the upland boundaryare rich fens with little moss cover and greater vascu-lar plant coverage. The poor fens are very diverse withshrub carr communities being interspersed with sedge/graminoid-dominated areas with the two types grad-ing freely into one another. Some scattered patches ofPinus contorta and Pinus monticola give evidence ofhistorically dynamic water levels, possibly related tobeaver activity on the outlet. The lake contains someof the highest diversity of aquatic plant species knownin the State. More than 100 vascular and bryophyteplant species are known from Perkins Lake making itone of the most floristically diverse peatlands in the


State. Present are populations of 13 rare plant species:Aster junciformis, Betula pumila, Carex chordorrhiza,C. comosa (one of only two populations in the State), C.flava, C. leptalea, Cicuta bulbifera, Dryopteris cristata,Epilobium palustre, Rhynchospora alba, Salixpedicellaris, Scheuchzeria palustris, and Scirpussubterminalis.Conservation—Special designation is recommendedfor this site due to its high biodiversity value.

Robinson LakeKaniksu National Forest, Bonners Ferry RangerDistrict.Description—Robinson Lake is 3 km south of theCanadian border just southeast of Eastport in theMoyie River Valley of the Purcell Mountains. RobinsonLake is in the pioneering stages of peatland develop-ment. The eastern lobe of the lake appears to begrowing through a lake-fill sequence with an accumu-lating island of lake sediment building in the middle ofthe basin with slightly deeper moat areas adjacent touplands. The western lobe of the lake contains numer-ous small pioneer mat communities on floating andpartially emergent logs. This site offers a glimpse atthe initial stages of two different types of peatlandformation. The small mats contain several of the mostprominent of the peatland-dominating sedges in north-ern Idaho: Carex lasiocarpa, C. canescens, C. diandra,and C. muricata; and a host of other species, includingDrosera rotundifolia, that are restricted to peatlandhabitats in the area.Significance—This site contains populations of twospecies considered rare in Idaho: Cicuta bulbifera andHypericum majus. Robinson Lake represents the ear-liest stages of peatland development and is, therefore,significant in providing an understanding of the pro-cess of peatland formation. Despite the fact that waterlevels are regulated at the outlet (which may haveincreased the size of the lake), the pioneering peat-land communities are largely the product of naturalprocesses.Conservation—Any special designations should pro-tect the entire lake and a 200 m wide buffer into theadjacent uplands, which rise rather steeply from theedge of the lake. This should serve to protect the waterquality of the lake and allow for natural recruitment offallen trees into lake margins.

Sinclair LakeKaniksu National Forest, Bonners Ferry RangerDistrict.Description—Sinclair Lake is in the Purcell Moun-tains of northern Idaho, 10 km south of Eastport, onthe United States-Canadian border. Floating mats sup-porting poor fen communities occur around SinclairLake. The mat community is dominated by Sphagnumangustifolium, S. subsecundum, Carex lasiocarpa, C.muricata, C. limosa, Potentilla palustris, Drosera

anglica, D. rotundifolia, and Lycopus uniflorus. A C.lasiocarpa fen extends over several hectares west ofthe lake, ringed by a Spiraea douglasii shrub carr.Littoral zones of the lake are characterized by Nupharvariegatum, Brasenia schreberi, Potamogetongramineus, Dulichium arundinaceum, Carexlasiocarpa, and scattered plants of Scirpussubterminalis. The Spokane International Railroadbed partially filled in the eastern side of the lake. Afishing dock is on the north side of the lake near theparking area.Significance—Sinclair Lake contains representativerich and poor fens and floating mats. Four rare plantsoccur around the lake: Scirpus subterminalis,Scheuchzeria palustris, Hypericum majus, and Asterjunciformis. Two species of sundew (Drosera anglicaand D. rotundifolia) are sympatric as are two speciesof cottongrass (Eriophorum gracile and E. chamissonis).This is one of few northern Idaho peatlands with spikereedgrass (Calamagrostis stricta), which is more com-mon in fens of east-central Idaho. The lake contains afair diversity of aquatic plants, including Nupharvariegatum, the less common of north Idaho’s twonative yellow waterlilies.Conservation—Any protective measures should in-clude the lake and surrounding peatland communitiesand upland areas north to the Forest Service propertyboundary, and east to the Spokane International Rail-road bed. Sinclair Lake has high interpretive poten-tial. The present dock would be very useful, and awooden walkway could be constructed to access thepeatland.

Smith CreekKaniksu National Forest, Bonners Ferry Ranger Dis-trict.Description—Smith Creek (within Smith Creek Re-search Natural Area) is along the crest of the SelkirkMountains in northern Idaho, 37 km northwest ofBonners Ferry. An outstanding example of dividecrossing by glacial ice occurs in the Smith CreekResearch Natural Area, as evidenced by the glacialtrough that runs across the Selkirk Crest in an east-west direction. Elevations in the Research NaturalArea range from 1,433 m at the lower boundary of theResearch Natural Area to 2,055 m on the summit ofJoe Peak.

The main features of the area are the outstandingwetland communities of the valley bottom, includingundisturbed sphagnum moss-dominated peatlands andassociated ponds, and other wetland areas dominatedby Carex spp., Eriophorum polystachion, and Piceaengelmannii. The upland forest vegetation consistslargely of subalpine fir series forest associations. Ofspecial interest is the subalpine fir/white rhododen-dron (Rhododendron albiflorum) community type.


Significance—The site contains outstanding peatlandcommunities; habitat for woodland caribou, an endan-gered species, and grizzly bear, a threatened species;supports a population of the heather vole (Phenacomysintermedius), considered rare in Idaho; and popula-tions of five rare plants: Drosera intermedia, Trientalisarctica, Ribes howellii, Lycopodium sitchense, andCarex paupercula.

Additionally, Leptarrhena pyrolifolia occurs in theSmith Creek Research Natural Area. This plant has alimited distribution in Idaho, occurring only in thewettest forest communities of extreme northern Idaho.Unusual aquatic species occur in the area, includingthe algae Ulothrixzonata, which occurs in unusuallyhigh densities in the streams of the RNA, and anuncommon Diptera, Palpomyia sp.

Three PondsKaniksu National Forest, Bonners Ferry RangerDistrict.Description—Three Ponds (within Three Ponds Re-search Natural Area) is on the western edge of thePurcell Trench near Bonners Ferry, ID. The ResearchNatural Area is 7 km southwest of the Bonners FerryRanger Station. Three Ponds is a small, heavily-glaciated basin containing three small ponds. Eachpond is shallow, between 1 to 2 ha, without fish, andwith the pond level controlled by beavers. Middle Pondhas a central mat dominated by Carex lasiocarpa andsphagnum moss about 0.4 ha in area.Significance—Undisturbed, high-production lakes,especially at low- to mid-elevations are rare in Idaho.Conservation—The site is within the Three PondsResearch Natural Area.

Custer County

Blind Summit FenChallis National Forest, Yankee Fork Ranger District.Sawtooth National Forest, Sawtooth National Recre-ation Area.Description—The largest continuous expanse of peatlies at the headwaters of Marsh and Valley Creeks, anarea known as Blind Summit. It gets this name be-cause the hydrologic divide between the two creeks isnearly imperceptible. This is an important divide,however, not only because it separates the MiddleFork from the main Salmon River drainage, but be-cause it also is the boundary between the SawtoothNational Recreation Area and the Challis NationalForest. The site is about 3 km long, 0.5 km wide, andcovers about 73 ha. Most of the area is covered by turfsof Eleocharis pauciflora and Carex livida and to alesser extent by Scirpus caespitosus. A majority of theturf is quaking mat. Grounded Carex simulata andSalix wolfii/Carex utriculata communities cover smallareas. Deschampsia cespitosa and Pinus contorta/Vaccinium occidentale community types occur at theperiphery.

The water that surfaces in the peatland probablyoriginates in the morainal and glacial outwash fea-tures southwest of the fen. The ground water flowsnortheast through the glacial till until it hits imper-meable bedrock and then surfaces. The quaking mat ofBlind Summit Fen is subirrigated by numerous springsand parallels the granitic bedrock slopes at the north-eastern edge.Significance—Blind Summit Fen is a valley peatlandof high biological significance in Idaho.Conservation—Cattle graze heavily on the periph-ery of the peatland, generally in upland areas with afirm mineral substrate. A well-used dirt road followsthe northeast side of the fen and impinges on it in a fewplaces.

Sawtooth Valley PeatlandsSawtooth National Forest, Sawtooth National Recre-ation Area.Description—The Sawtooth Valley Peatlands is anestablished Research Natural Area, with three unitsas follows:

Bull Moose Fen—The site is between moraines ofDecker and Redfish Lake Creeks about 1.5 km northof Huckleberry Creek Fen. There is an extensive areacontaining a mosaic of Scirpus caespitosus andEleocharis pauciflora peatlands on moderate slopes. Aunique feature of this fen is the peat terrace thatoccurs along the southern boundary. The terrace is 6to 10 m higher than the adjacent part of the fen and isthe source of several spring-fed rivulets that cascadedown the face. Other wetland communities presentinclude Pinus contorta/Vaccinium occidentale, Carexutriculata, Salix drummondii/Carex utriculata,Betula glandulosa, Deschampsia cespitosa, and Carexsimulata community types.

Huckleberry Creek Fen—The site is between themoraines of Hell Roaring and Decker Creeks. It liesabout 4 km north of Mays Creek Fen and 1.5 km southof Bull Moose Fen. The fen has a high communitydiversity occurring in a mosaic of types, replacing eachother over relatively short distances. Excellent ex-amples of communities dominated by Scirpuscaespitosus, Carex livida, and Carex buxbaumii typesare present. Other types include Pinus contorta/Vaccinium occidentale, Carex utriculata, Salixdrummondiana/Carex utriculata, Betula glandulosa,Deschampsia cespitosa, and Carex simulata commu-nity types.

Mays Creek Fen—The site is between morainesof Yellow Belly Lake and Hell Roaring Creek. TheHell Roaring Creek road parallels the northern bound-ary, so access is convenient. Featured are a highdiversity of community types, replacing each otherover relatively short distances. Excellent and exten-sive examples of the rare Scirpus caespitosus andCarex livida types and somewhat less of the Carex


buxbaumii type are present. Other types include Pinuscontorta/Vaccinium occidentale, Carex utriculata, andEleocharis pauciflora. The fen is largely undisturbed.Significance—The three units of the Sawtooth Val-ley Peatlands Research Natural Area encompass thefull range of diversity found in the Sawtooth Valleyand Stanley Basin areas of central Idaho. Thesepeatlands occur in a relatively high intermontanevalley and have a mixture of boreal and cordilleranfloristic and community elements, which are uniquefor Idaho.Conservation—Some cattle grazing, recreational use,and firewood cutting occur around the margins ofthese sites, but a majority of each site is undisturbeddue to the unstable nature of the substrate. Thesepeatlands are within the established Sawtooth ValleyPeatlands Research Natural Area.

Iron BogChallis National Forest, Lost River Ranger District.Description—Iron Bog is in the southeastern extentof the Pioneer Mountains near the Custer County/Butte County boundary, and is within the Iron BogResearch Natural Area. The wetland is a poor fenlocated within a relatively dry sagebrush-steppe eco-system. The fen is at a relatively flat valley bottomwith steep slopes above. Elevation of the fen is 2,130m. Hummocks in the fen support a variety of plantsincluding many species of Carex, Kalmia polifolia,Ledum glandulosum, and Vaccinium occidentale.Betula glandulosa, Salix spp., Alnus incana, andPinus contorta occur at the edge of the fen where thesphagnum moss substrate is thicker. A band of Abieslasiocarpa borders the fen on the southwest side. Thefen is formed on poorly drained alluvium deposited byglaciers. Origin of the ponds is uncertain, but werepossibly formed by a glacial moraine or an old beaverpond. A fault forms a drainage in the southwesternpart of the Research Natural Area that feeds the fen.The northeast-facing slope above the fen is a mosaicof Pseudotsuga menziesii and sagebrush/grasscommunities.Significance—The occurrence of this poor fen isparticularly unusual due to its location in a dry ecosys-tem at lower timberline. This site lies just north of theSnake River Plain. The area contains a very complexgeology; this, and the hydrology of the fen have beenthe focus of studies by scientists from the University ofWisconsin–Milwaukee.Conservation—Some timber cutting for poles andfirewood has occurred in the RNA. The area has beenimpacted by grazing in the past, but was fenced in1990 to exclude cattle. The site is an establishedResearch Natural Area.

Fremont County

Big Springs-Henrys Fork ConfluenceTarghee National Forest, Island Park Ranger District.

Description—The site is downstream from theconfluence of Henry’s Lake outlet and Big Springsoutlet and includes land on both the north and southsides of the Henry’s Fork River. An extensive spring-fed wetland complex is dominated by the Carex utricu-lata community type. The Carex nebraskensis, C.aquatilis, C. praegracilis-C. aquatilis, C. simulata,Eleocharis palustris, Juncus balticus, and Deschampsiacespitosa community types are present in lesseramounts. The Salix geyeriana/Carex utriculata com-munity type is present along the Henrys Fork with thelow willow type Salix wolfii/Carex aquatilis awayfrom the channel. Pinus contorta with a mesicgraminoid undergrowth is present on portions of thecomplex with slightly raised topography.Significance—The large area and community diver-sity are significant. Three plant species of concernoccur within the site: Carex buxbaumii, Cicutabulbifera, and Epilobium palustre. The Carexbuxbaumii population may possibly be the largest inthe State. The Cicuta bulbifera population is the onlyone in southern Idaho, disjunct by over 550 km fromthenext nearest Idaho populations. The site should beconsidered for designation as a Botanical Area.Conservation—The site is within a popular recre-ation area. The reach of the Henrys Fork is a high usearea for floating, fishing, and picnicking. Impacts areminimal and confined to minor amounts of tramplingat isolated spots along channel banks. It has beenrecommended for Special Interest Area designation.

Kootenai County

Rose LakeCoeur d’Alene National Forest, Fernan Ranger Dis-trict; Idaho Department of Fish and Game; private.Description—Rose Lake has extensive floating andfixed mats along the lake margins covered by a mosaicof: (1) sphagnum moss-dominated poor fens (the leastextensive community), (2) poor fen dominated by sph-agnum mosses (Sphagnum angustifolium, S. centrale,S. subsecundum, S. teres), Carex spp., and Spiraeadouglasii, (3) rich fen dominated by Typha latifolia,Carex spp., Potentilla palustris, Eleocharis palustris,and Equisetum fluviatile, and (4) rich and fen shrubcarrs characterized by Spiraea douglasii, Alnus incana,Salix geyeriana, Pinus contorta, and Betula occidentaliswith and without sphagnum moss-covered substrate.These fen communities grade freely into one another.Abundant marsh vegetation dominated by Sparganiumemersum, Carex vesicaria, Phalaris arundinacea, andEquisetum fluviatile are found on the northern marginsof Rose Lake and around much of Porters Lake, to thewest of Rose Lake, which is part of the Rose Lakewetland complex. Shallow aquatic communities in thelake are dominated by Nuphar polysepalum, Brasenia


schreberi, Ceratophyllum demersum, Myriophyllumsibericum, Potamogeton natans, P. robbinsii, and Elo-dea canadensis. Deeper water areas (1.5 to 3.0 m) aredominated by Potamogeton amplifolius, P. praelongus,Elodea canadensis, and Myriophyllum sibericum.Significance—Rose Lake contains the full range ofaquatic, marsh, and fen communities found in thelower Coeur d’Alene River drainage. Ten of the 12critical habitat features of Panhandle peatlands wereidentified at Rose Lake: poor fen, rich fen, floatingmats, shrub carr, a lake, ponds, vegetated aquaticareas, a stream, and beaver activity. While Rose Lakecontains only one rare plant population (Ludwigiapolycarpa), it is exceptionally diverse floristically withmore than 100 species having been identified from thevarious wetland and aquatic habitats at the lake.Conservation—Attempts were made to drain mostof the wetlands surrounding Rose Lake. Most of theseefforts failed, but the duration of successful drainingand the effects of vegetation clearing on the fen com-munities is unknown. All appear to have recoveredand site quality seems high. A number of summer andpermanent homes are found around the lake margins.Because the Rose Lake wetland complex well repre-sents the range of wetland and aquatic habitats foundin the lower Coeur d’Alene drainage, it has beennominated as a Research Natural Area.

Lemhi County

Birch Creek FenTarghee National Forest, Dubois Ranger District;Idaho Department of Fish and Game; U.S. Bureau ofLand Management, Lemhi Resource Area; private,including a Nature Conservancy preserve.Description—Birch Creek Fen is at the headwatersof Birch Creek in the Birch Creek Valley, which is alarge intermontane valley bounded by the BeaverheadRange on the east and Lemhi Range on the west. Theseare arid, calcareous ranges with most of the runoffsinking into alluvial fans along their base and surfac-ing in the fen. Birch Creek Fen is a collection of low-elevation, alkaline wetland communities occurring onpeat and mineral substrates. It is at the head of BirchCreek, which emanates from at least 51 springs in thesite.Significance—The site contains several rich fen fea-tures, including a diversity of communities and theonly known marl deposits in Idaho. Eight rare plantspecies are known from Birch Creek Fen, includingPrimula alcalina, a globally rare primrose species isknown on only four sites in Idaho.Conservation—The fen has a long history of home-steading, livestock grazing, and recreational use, andportions are seriously degraded. Because of the outstand-ing and unique aquatic and wetland communities,

however, considerable protection effort is being ex-pended to recover and protect the site by the Bureau ofLand Management, Forest Service, and The NatureConservancy.

Valley County

Tule LakeBoise National Forest, Cascade Ranger District.Description—Tule Lake is a unique, isolated valleypeatland ecosystem adjacent to Warm Lake in ValleyCounty, ID. The lake is approximately 10 ha and issurrounded by rich fen communities dominated byCarex aquatilis, C. utriculata, and C lasiocarpa. Scat-tered raised sphagnum moss-dominated poor fenmicrosites are found throughout. Small mats havebroken from the margins of the organic mat and floatfreely in the lake. The floating mat around the lakesupports many species that are restricted to suchhabitats at valley peatlands in Idaho. This includesDrosera rotundifolia, Dulichium arundinaceum, Po-tentilla palustris, Carex lasiocarpa, Lycopus uniflorus,and others. The presence of these species distinguishthe lower elevation valley peatlands floristically fromthe higher elevation subalpine peatlands. This sitehas typical and dominant subalpine peatland plantspecies present on the fixed margins, perhaps indicat-ing that the floristic differences may be attributable tothe presence or absence of a floating mat at a particu-lar site. For this reason, Tule Lake is a fascinating andvaluable site. It is also one of the most isolated knownvalley peatland sites in the State.Significance—The site harbors several rare plantpopulations including Scirpus subterminalis,Rhynchospora alba, and Carex buxbaumii.Conservation—The lake is specially managed as afly-fishing-only trophy trout lake. Fisherman traffichas impacted portions of the organic mat, but theimpact is confined to the frequently used access trails.The site has not been afforded any formal protection

Washington ____________________

Pend Oreille County

Deerhorn Creek MeadowsKaniksu National Forest, Priest Lake Ranger District.Description—Deerhorn Creek Meadows includes fencommunities and adjacent conifer and sphagnum moss-dominated paludified margins along the low-gradientmargins of Deerhorn Creek, a tributary of the PriestRiver. Several small beaver ponds are also found inthe meadows. Common vascular plants include Carexaquatilis, C. cusickii, C. lasiocarpa, and C. utriculata.Mosses present include Aulacomnium palustre, Callier-gon stramineum, Polytrichum commune, Sphagnum


angustifolium, S. capillifolium, S. subobesum, and S.warnstorfii (Bursik and Henderson 1995).Significance—The area supports populations of sev-eral rare plants including Gaultheria hispidula,Dryopteris cristata, Trientalis arctica, and others.Conservation—The site is not formally protected.Timber harvesting activity has occurred in the sur-rounding upland forests within the drainage over thelast 50 years.

Huff Lake FenKaniksu National Forest, Priest Lake Ranger District.Description—Huff Lake Fen is 19 km northwest ofNordman, ID, and less than 2 km west of the Idahoborder. The lake lies in a glacial kettle adjacent toGranite Creek in the Priest River drainage at anelevation of 950 m. A valley-type peatland is presentadjacent to the open water. Peat cores taken from thesite in 1992 revealed the presence of several ashlayers, including Mazama (about 6,700 years beforepresent) and Glacier Peak tephras (about 11,700 yearsbefore present). Huff Lake is about 3 ha. Predominantaquatic plants are Potamogeton natans and Nupharpolysepalum. A narrow floating mat occurs aroundmuch of the lake. Dominant mosses of the mat includeSphagnum angustifolium, S. rubellum, S. centrale,and S. subsecundum. Common vascular plant speciesinclude Carex aquatilis, C. limosa, C. lanuginosa, andScheuchzeria palustris. Anchored mats on the outeredge of the basin are dominated by Carex utriculataand Spiraea douglasii. Swamp and carr habitats onthe north, east, and west edges of the lake supporttrees of Thuja plicata, Tsuga heterophylla, Pinuscontorta, and Picea engelmannii. The trees are typi-cally growing atop sphagnum moss hummocks. Shrubsoccur on low-lying areas between the hummocks; majorspecies include Menziesia ferruginea, Vacciniumglobulare, V. membranaceum, Rhamnus alnifolia, andCornus stolonifera.Significance—Huff Lake is an excellent example of avalley peatland (Bursik 1990). Valley peatlands oftensupport a large number of boreal plant species whosemain range is far north in central and northern Canada.Four Forest Service sensitive and State rare speciesreported from Huff Lake by Karg (1973) were appar-ently absent in 1992 (Bursik and Moseley 1992b).Other species had also decreased, while a numberincreased in abundance. Bursik and Moseley sur-mised that changes to the hydrology of the site throughditching and prolonged drought, and oligotrophicationof water in the basin (resulting from timber harvestsand fire in the basin) was responsible for the vegeta-tion changes.Conservation—Huff Lake receives a moderateamount of use by anglers. This has resulted in tram-pling damage to shoreline communities (Bursik and

Moseley 1992b). No formal protective designation hasbeen applied to the site.

Sema MeadowsKaniksu National Forest, Priest Lake Ranger District.Description—Sema Meadows occurs along low-gra-dient lower reaches of Sema Creek in the Priest RiverValley of northeastern Washington. The site is poorlyinventoried botanically but supports fen communitiesdominated by sedges and sphagnum mosses and prob-ably also includes some paludified conifer swamp onthe forested margins. Much of the upland forest withinthe drainage is mature to old growth western redcedar-western hemlock forest.Significance—The site harbors several rare plantpopulations including Trientalis arctica, Dryopteriscristata, and the particularly rare grass Muhlenbergiaglomerata.Conservation—Sema Meadows is within the GrizzlyBear Recovery area of the Priest Lake Ranger District,but is afforded no special protection.

Montana _______________________

Beaverhead County

Leonard Creek FenBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, MadisonRanger District.Description—Leonard Creek Fen is at the southernend of the Tobacco Root Mountains of southwesternMontana. The fen is at the head of a headwaterstributary to Leonard Creek. The town of Ennis is 8 kmto the southeast. Leonard Creek Fen is a 1.6 ha basinsupporting a floating organic mat. Sphagnummagellanicum is the primary peat-forming species,and forms sphagnum moss lawns and small hum-mocks across the floating mat. Drepanocladuscapillifolius is present in wet depressions. Importantvascular plants include Eleocharis pauciflora in themoss lawn and Carex canescens on hummocks. Theorganic mat is bordered by an open water moat on theouter edge of the basin. Menyanthes trifoliata, Nupharspp., Carex vesicaria, and Utricularia minor are com-mon moat species. The basin, which has a seasonaloutlet into Leonard Creek, is surrounded by uplandPinus contorta forest, with scattered Picea and Pinusalbicaulis. Spiraea betulifolia and Juniperus commu-nis are common undergrowth species.Significance—The site, although small, is an excel-lent example of organic mat development over a formeropen water basin.Conservation—Cattle grazing on the periphery ofthe peatland is a concern. The site is not formallyprotected.


Skull Creek MeadowsBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, Wise RiverRanger District.Description—Skull Creek Meadows are in the WestPioneer Mountains of southwestern Montana, 80 kmsouth of the town of Anaconda. Skull Creek Meadowsoccupy a gently sloping basin at the headwaters ofSkull Creek, a tributary of the Wise River. The WestPioneers are a granitic block of the Idaho Batholith.The site is underlain by more recent glacial till. Twofens are included within the site, separated by subal-pine coniferous forest dominated by Pinus contorta.The upper fen is at an elevation of 2,415 m; the lowerfen is at 2,400 m. The fens are patterned, with slightlyraised areas (strings) alternating with hollows (flarks),oriented perpendicularly to the gentle slope. Domi-nant species of the fens include Deschampsia cespitosa,Carex aquatilis, Eleocharis pauciflora, and C. limosa.Various sphagnum mosses and other mosses form animportant bryophyte layer; major species include:Sphagnum angustifolium, S. fimbriatum, S. russowii,S. subsecundum, Aulacomnium palustre, Calliergoncordifolium, C. stramineum, Bryum weigelii,Drepanocladus aduncus, Palustriella commutata,and Philonotis fontana.Significance—Skull Creek Meadows feature an ex-cellent, undisturbed example of a poor fen. The string-flark patterning is very unusual in peatlands of thisregion.Conservation—The entire peatland complex is withinthe Skull-Odell Research Natural Area.

Flathead County

Bent Flat FenFlathead National Forest, Spotted Bear RangerDistrict.Description—Bent Flat Fen is in the Flathead Rangeof northwestern Montana, 8 km east of Spotted BearRanger Station (summer headquarters). The site iswithin the Spotted Bear River drainage, which flowsinto the South Fork of the Flathead River. Bent Flat isan extremely rich (calcareous) patterned fen extend-ing over 4 to 5 ha. Patterned fens are a type of peatlandmore common in boreal latitudes to the north, butuncommon in Montana. The fen features a series ofdistinctive elongated hummocks (strings) and hollows(flarks) oriented perpendicularly to the slope of thedrainage. Marl-like deposits underlie both the stringsand flarks, reflecting deposition of fine-textured cal-careous silts and sands from the several inflowingseeps and streams. The hummocks are 10 to 30 cmabove the adjoining hollows. The vegetation reflectsboth the high water table and the calcium-rich sub-strate. Upper portions of the fen are dominated byvarious spike rushes (Eleocharis pauciflora, E.

rostellata, E. tenuis) and Scirpus acutus. Carexbuxbaumii is also common. Potentilla fruticosa, Betulaglandulosa, and scattered, stunted Picea engelmanniioccur on hummocks and are more common on thelower part of the fen. Tomentypnum nitens is a majorhummock-forming moss; other mosses present in-clude Aulacomnium palustre, Bryum pseudotrique-trum, Campylium stellatum, Limprichtia revolvens,and Scorpidium scorpioides. Sphagnum mosses aresparse. Spruce fringes the margin of the fen.Significance—Bent Flat Fen is a unique, extremelyrich fen with well-developed patterning, extensivemarl deposits, and a large number of rare plants thatare restricted to calcareous habitats. These include:Eleocharis rostellata, Carex livida, Cypripediumcalceolus, Cypripedium passerinum, Drosera anglica,Scirpus caespitosus, and Eriophorum viridicarinatum.Conservation—Protection measures to maintaininflowing water quality is recommended. Given theuniqueness of the site, special designation such asBotanical Area is warranted.

Gregg Creek FenFlathead National Forest, Spotted Bear RangerDistrict.Description—Gregg Creek Fen is in the Salish Moun-tains of northwestern Montana. The site is drained byGregg Creek, a tributary of Good Creek and theStillwater River. Gregg Creek Fen features peatlandand wet forest and shrub communities within anundisturbed portion of the Gregg Creek watershed.Mosses present include Bryum pseudotriquetrum,Campylium stellatum, Limprichtia revolvens, andSphagnum fuscum. A diverse shrub carr, dominatedby Potentilla fruticosa, Betula glandulosa, and Rham-nus alnifolia lies immediately upstream. The upper,east end of the wetland is a wet Picea forest with anundergrowth of Equisetum arvense and Senecio trian-gularis. Adjacent upland slopes are dominated bymature spruce, Abies lasiocarpa, and scattered large,fire-scarred Larix occidentalis.Conservation—The site is not formally protected.

Mud LakeFlathead National Forest, Spotted Bear RangerDistrict.Description—Mud Lake is within the Bob MarshallWilderness of northwestern Montana, South ForkFlathead River drainage. The site is about 22 kmsouth southeast of the Meadow Creek Trailhead, and1.6 km northeast of the Salmon Forks Guard Station.Trail 80 crosses the northwest corner of the fen sur-rounding the lake. Mud Lake features an extensivepeatland along its margin. The organic mat adjacentto open water is floating; nearer the shore, the mat isanchored to underlying sediments. The lake elevationis 1,326 m. The fen is dominated by Carex lasiocarpa


and Salix candida. Minor associated species include C.limosa, C. interior, and Menyanthes trifoliata. Betulaglandulosa occurs on the basin margin adjacent to thesurrounding forest of Abies lasiocarpa and Piceaengelmannii. Mosses have not been collected at thissite.Conservation—Mud Lake is within the Bob MarshallWilderness.

Sanko Creek Fen (North)Flathead National Forest, Spotted Bear RangerDistrict.Description—North Sanko Creek Fen is in the SalishMountains of northwestern Montana, 24 km west ofthe town of Whitefish. Sanko Creek is a tributary ofLogan Creek that flows into Tally Lake and theStillwater River. North Sanko Creek Fen features twowetland areas. One is a small pond, 0.4 to 0.8 ha in sizeand up to 3 to 4 m deep, and surrounded by a floatingto anchored organic mat and a wet meadow. The otherwetland is a north-south oriented fen about 2.4 ha inextent. The fen is surrounded by moist Picea forest.Larix occidentalis is common on adjacent uplands. Thefen has a series of broad, gently sloping terraces withinterspersed water tracks and upwelling pools of wa-ter. Prominent vascular plant species of the fen includeBetula glandulosa, Carex lasiocarpa, C. utriculata,and C. limosa. Mosses include Bryum pseudotrique-trum, Calliergon giganteum, Campylium stellatum,Limprichtia revolvens, Palustriella commutata, Sph-agnum fuscum, and Tomentypnum nitens.Conservation—The site is not formally protected.

Sanko Creek Fen (South)Flathead National Forest, Spotted Bear RangerDistrict.Description—South Sanko Creek Fen is in the SalishMountains of northwestern Montana, 24 km west ofthe town of Whitefish. The site is near a headwaterstributary of Sanko Creek, a tributary of Logan Creekand Stillwater River. South Sanko Creek Fen is a smallpeatland covering 2 to 3 ha. The fen is oriented east-west along the base of a slope. A number of seeps andsprings emerge from the toe of this slope and maintainwet conditions in the peatland. Dominant species in-clude Betula glandulosa, Salix candida, and Carexlasiocarpa. Eriophorum chamissonis is common at thewestern end. Mosses form a nearly continuous surfacelayer and include Bryum pseudotriquetrum,Campylium stellatum, Limprichtia revolvens, Hypnumlindbergii, and Tomentypnum nitens.Conservation—The site is not formally protected.

Sheppard Creek FenFlathead National Forest, Spotted Bear RangerDistrict.Description—Sheppard Creek Fen is in the SalishMountains of northwestern Montana. The site is

34 km west of the town of Whitefish. Sheppard CreekFen is a 1 ha peatland maintained by springs on thenorth edge of the fen. Forested lands surrounding thefen are classified as the Abies lasiocarpa/Vacciniumscopulorum habitat type. The present forest cover ispredominantly pole-sized Pinus contorta. Ledumglandulosum is a common undergrowth species. Themargins of the fen are dominated by Picea with anundergrowth of Equisetum sylvaticum. The peatlandhas a nearly continuous coverage of hummock-form-ing sphagnum moss, including Sphagnum warnstorfii.Important vascular plants include Betula glandulosa,Salix drummondiana, and Carex utriculata. Brownmosses include Aulacomnium palustre, Calliergonstramineum, and Pohlia nutans.Conservation—The site is not formally protected.

Trail Creek FenFlathead National Forest, Spotted Bear RangerDistrict.Description—Trail Creek Fen is in the FlatheadRange of northwestern Montana. The site is within theSpotted Bear River drainage, 13 km east of the south-ern end of Hungry Horse Reservoir (South Fork Flat-head River). The nearest town is Hungry Horse, lo-cated 100 km to the north. Trail Creek Fen is on agently sloping bench 75 m above Spotted Bear River.The site contains three abandoned beaver dams andponds and a well-developed peatland on the upper,easternmost portion of the wetland. The former bea-ver ponds are dominated by Carex lasiocarpa, C.utriculata, and Scirpus acutus. The margins betweenthe old ponds and adjacent conifer forest are peatlandsdominated by the moss Tomentypnum nitens and thevascular plants Carex lasiocarpa, Eleocharis spp.,Betula glandulosa, Salix candida, and scattered,stunted Picea engelmannii. Other mosses includeCalliergon giganteum, Campylium stellatum, Hypnumlindbergii, Sphagnum fuscum, and S. warnstorfii.Significance—Trail Creek Fen is a relatively large,highly calcareous peatland. Populations of the follow-ing rare plants are known from the site: Carex livida,Cypripedium calceolus, C. passerinum, Orchisrotundifolia, Drosera anglica, and Eriophorumviridicarinatum.Conservation—The site is not formally protected.

Trout LakeFlathead National Forest, Spotted Bear RangerDistrict.Description—Trout Lake is on the west side of theFlathead Range of northwestern Montana near theeast shore of Hungry Horse Reservoir (South ForkFlathead River). The site is about 40 km southeast ofthe town of Hungry Horse. Trout Lake is a deep pondsurrounded by organic mat communities (floating andanchored). A sedge meadow dominated by Carex


lasiocarpa lies southwest of the pond. Several speciesof sphagnum moss (Sphagnum angustifolium, S.squarossum, S. teres, and S. warnstorfii) form a nearlycontinuous carpet adjacent to the pond. Other mossesinclude Aulacomnium palustre and Calliergongiganteum. Important vascular plants include Carexlasiocarpa, C. flava, C. interior, and Eriophorumchamissonis.Significance—Trout Lake is an excellent example ofan organic mat surrounding a deep pond. Lycopodiuminundatum, Drosera anglica, and Scheuchzeriapalustris are known from the peat mat.Conservation—The site is easily reached by car andalready supports a handicapped-accessible fishingdock. Most of the organic mat, however, is undisturbedby human use. The site is not formally protected.

Lake County

Lost Creek FensFlathead National Forest, Spotted Bear RangerDistrict.Description—Lost Creek Fens are in the northernSwan Valley of northwestern Montana. The fens arewithin the Spring Creek drainage that flows intoSwan Lake, 3 km to the north. Lost Creek Fenscontains two distinctly different types of fens sepa-rated by a patch of moist coniferous forest. The north-ern fen (elevation 960 m) is at the toe of a slope. Anupwelling spring supplies water to a thick accumula-tion of peat which gently slopes to the south. Majorspecies include Betula glandulosa, Carex lasiocarpa,and Eleocharis tenuis. Tomentypnum nitens is a majormoss; other mosses include Bryum pseudotriquetrum,Dicranum undulatum, Helodium blandowii, andPhilonotis fontana var. pumila. The southern fen(elevation 945 m) has two shallow potholes filled withpeat and alluvium. The water table fluctuates season-ally; drawdown in the fall hastens peat decompositionand minimizes peat accumulation. Carex lasiocarpaand C. buxbaumii are dominant. Carex livida is fairlycommon. A very wet marginal zone is lined withBetula glandulosa, Potentilla fruticosa, and Rham-nus alnifolia. Wet Picea/Equisetum communities arealso present. Lysichitum americanum is a commonassociate.Significance—A number of rare plant species arepresent: Epipactis gigantea, Carex livida, C.paupercula, Cypripedium calceolus, C. passerinum,Liparis loeselii, and Eriophorum viridicarinatum.Conservation—The site has been proposed as a For-est Service Botanical Area.

Porcupine FenFlathead National Forest, Spotted Bear RangerDistrict.

Description—Porcupine Fen is in the Swan Valley ofwestern Montana, 10 km south of the town of SwanLake. The fen is at the headwaters of a tributary ofPorcupine Creek, a tributary of the Swan River. Por-cupine Fen is at the toe of a slope from which severalsprings emerge. This constant supply of mineral-richwater has favored the accumulation of organic matter.The site supports a diverse flora, including a nearlycontinuous surface layer of brown mosses (commonspecies include Aulacomnium palustre, Bryumpseudotriquetrum, Limprichtia revolvens, andTomentypnum nitens). Important vascular plants in-clude Betula glandulosa, Carex utriculata, C. interior,and Eleocharis tenuis. The site is ringed by wet tomoist Picea forests, except on a portion of the westmargin, where a clearcut upslope of the fen extendsdown nearly to the fen.Significance—The site is an excellent example of aflow-through fen. A number of rare plants occur:Cypripedium calceolus, Epipactis gigantea, Liparisloeselii, and Eriophorum viridicarinatum.Conservation—Maintenance of inflowing waterquality is critical to the protection of this site. Thesite is not formally protected.

Swan River FenFlathead National Forest, Spotted Bear RangerDistrict.Description—Swan River Fen is within the SwanValley of northwestern Montana, about 6 km south ofSwan Lake, and is within the Swan River ResearchNatural Area. The site adjoins a reach of the SwanRiver that flows north into Swan Lake. The fen isfound in the south-central portion of the ResearchNatural Area, southwest of the Drumlin Island. SwanRiver Fen is a significant peatland due to its uniquedome-like shape, deep peat deposits (3 to 4 m thick),and its concentration of sensitive plant species. Thefen is maintained by several seeps that emerge fromthe toeslope of the adjoining upland. The center of thepeat dome also has an upwelling spring. Water fromthis feature radiates outward across the surface of thepeat mass. A moat (lagg) surrounds much of the peatdome. Alnus spp. are common in the lagg. The slopingsides of the peat dome (rand) support scattered Picea.Atop the peat dome, common species include stuntedBetula glandulosa, Carex lasiocarpa, C. limosa, C.utriculata, C. interior, Menyanthes trifoliata,Eriophorum viridicarinatum, and Eleocharis tenuis.Mosses include Bryum pseudotriquetrum, Campyliumstellatum, Meesia triquetra, Cratoneuron filicinum,Calliergon giganteum, Hypnum pratense, Thuidiumrecognitum, Limprichtia revolvens, Sphagnum fuscum,S. warnstorfii, and Tomentypnum nitens.Significance—The well-developed peat dome sup-porting a large number of rare plants is highly signifi-cant. Rare plants of the peatland include: Carex livida,


C. paupercula, Epipactis gigantea, Eriophorumviridicarinatum, and Liparis loeselii.Conservation—The peatland and surrounding for-ests are within the Swan River Research NaturalArea.

Lewis and Clark County

Indian MeadowsHelena National Forest, Lincoln Ranger District.Description—Indian Meadows is adjacent to andpartially within the Scapegoat Wilderness of west-central Montana. The site is 17 km northeast of thetown of Lincoln and encompasses the headwaters ofIndian Meadow Creek, a drainage within the BlackfootRiver watershed. Indian Meadows is a major feature ofthe Indian Meadows Research Natural Area. Eleva-tions of the Research Natural Area range from 1,692 to2,034 m. The meadows occupy a glaciated bench bor-dered by low hills to the north and south. Depressionson the bench support wetlands that include ponds,floating organic mats and poor fens, sedge meadows,and marsh communities. Major community types (c.t.)include: Salix geyeriana/Carex utriculata c.t., Poten-tilla fruticosa/Deschampsia cespitosa c.t.,Calamagrostis canadensis c.t., Carex lasiocarpa c.t.,C. utriculata c.t., and the Eleocharis palustris c.t. Fourrare plant species are known from the fens: Carexlivida, Drosera linearis, D. rotundifolia, and Scirpussubterminalis.Significance—Indian Meadows is a pristine site withmeadow, fen, and marsh communities in excellentecological condition.Conservation—The wetlands and surrounding for-est are within the Indian Meadows Research NaturalArea.

Lincoln County

Bowen Creek FenKootenai National Forest, Tally Lake Ranger District.Description—Bowen Creek Fen is in the Salish Moun-tains of northwestern Montana, near the boundarybetween the Flathead and Kootenai National Forests.The site includes a small tributary of Bowen Creekthat flows into Good Creek and the Stillwater River.Bowen Creek Fen is a subalpine zone peatland (meanelevation 445 m) associated with a second-order stream.Water enters the peatland from the east and flowsmostly across the surface of the peat toward thesouthwest. Sphagnum moss is predominant over mostof the fen surface, and has formed hummocks 15 to 25cm tall. The lowermost end of the wetland has anactive beaver pond and adjacent marsh. Betulaglandulosa and smaller amounts of Salix candida areimportant shrubs. Carex lasiocarpa, C. utriculata,and Potentilla palustris are common herbaceous

species. Mosses include: Bryum pseudotriquetrum,Campylium stellatum, Drepanocladus uncinatus,Meesia triquetra, Calliergon giganteum, Helodiumblandowii, Cratoneuron filicinum, Hypnum pratense,and Sphagnum warnstorfii. Northern bog lemming(Synaptomys borealis), a Northern Region sensitivespecies, is known to occur in the fen. Viola renifolia,also sensitive, occurs upstream along a small creek.Abies lasiocarpa and Pinus contorta dominate theslopes adjacent to the fen.Conservation—The site is not formally protected.

Cody LakeKootenai National Forest, Fisher River RangerDistrict.Description—Lower Cody Lake is in the PurcellMountains of northwestern Montana, 24 km south-east of the town of Libby. The series of three ponds aredrained by Cody Creek, a tributary of the Fisher River.Cody Lake is the lowermost of three small ponds (0.4to 0.8 ha) that occur near the headwaters of CodyCreek. Cody Lake, 1,430 m, is the most significantbecause it has a deep (up to 4 m) body of water fringedby a thick organic mat. A diversity of peatland speciesare present adjacent to the pond. Important shrubsinclude: Betula glandulosa, Salix candida, and Kalmiamicrophylla. Major graminoids include: Carexlasiocarpa, Eleocharis spp., Carex utriculata, and C.limosa. Menyanthes trifoliata is a common forb. Mossesinclude: Tomentypnum nitens, Sphagnum warnstorfii,Campylium stellatum, Calliergon giganteum, Bryumpseudotriquetrum, Leptobryum pyriforme, Rhizom-nium magnifolium, and Hamatocaulis vernicosus.Scorpidium scorpioides, an indicator of calcium richenvironments, occurs adjacent to the pond. Thepeatland is habitat for the Northern Region sensitivespecies northern bog lemming (Synaptomys borealis).Adjacent upland forests are dominated by Picea, Larixoccidentalis, and Pseudotsuga menziesii.Significance—Cody Lake is an excellent example ofa deep pond surrounded by an encroaching organicmat.Conservation—The site is not formally protected.

Tepee LakeKootenai National Forest, Libby Ranger District.Description—Tepee Lake is 24 km south of Libby,MT, within the Libby Creek watershed at the headwa-ters of an unnamed tributary to Cowell Creek. TepeeLake features a small, deep pond surrounded by float-ing and anchored organic deposits. The site is the onlyknown location on the Kootenai National Forest and inLincoln County for great sundew Drosera anglica, anuncommon plant confined to peatland habitats. Domi-nant species of the organic mat include Carexlasiocarpa, Dulichium arundinaceum, C. utriculata,and C. limosa. Prominent mosses include species ofSphagnum subsecundum, Tomentypnum nitens,


Aulacomnium palustre, Calliergon giganteum, andPohlia longicolla. Conifers line the margin of the pondbasin but nearby uplands have been largely cut-over.Significance—A large organic mat (anchored andfloating) is present at Tepee Lake. The rare plantsDrosera anglica and Scheuchzeria palustris occur onfloating portions of the mat near the lake edge.Conservation—Lands surrounding the lake aremanaged for timber and only a narrow forested bufferexists between the peatland and cut-over stands. Thesite is not formally protected.

Missoula County

Mary’s Frog PondLolo National Forest, Missoula Ranger District.Description—Mary’s Frog Pond is a designated For-est Service Botanical Area in the Lolo Creek drainageof west-central Montana, 32 km southwest of Missoula.The site features a deep pond fringed by a mat offloating and anchored peat. The pond margin is domi-nated by several species of sphagnum moss (Sphag-num angustifolium and S. mendocinum), Calama-grostis canadensis, Carex utriculata, Vacciniumoccidentale, and Ledum glandulosum. Droserarotundifolia is common on floating mats near thepond edge.Significance—Mary’s Frog Pond supports uncom-mon sphagnum moss-dominated poor fen communi-ties and a large population of Drosera rotundifolia.Sphagnum mendocinum, an uncommon moss, hasbeen identified from this site.Conservation—The site is a designated Forest Ser-vice Botanical Area.

Sheep Mountain BogLolo National Forest, Missoula Ranger District.Description—Sheep Mountain Bog is 18 km north-east of Missoula in the West Twin Creek drainage ofthe Rattlesnake Mountains of west-central Montana.The site is within the Sheep Mountain Bog ResearchNatural Area. Elevations of the Research NaturalArea range from 1,830 to 2,130 m. Sheep MountainBog occupies a small cirque basin within the upper-montane and lower subalpine zones. Sheep MountainBog (actually a poor fen) is a well-developed sphagnummoss peatland covering 0.6 ha. The deep peat depositsdate back 11,500 years and contain pollen and sporerecords valuable for reconstructing historical vegeta-tion of the area (Hemphill 1983). Presently, sphagnummoss forms a nearly continuous mat across the entirefen. Several uncommon vascular plant species areassociated with the sphagnum moss mat. Mosses havenot been identified from this site.Significance—Sheep Mountain Bog Research Natu-ral Area contains a population of Carex paupercula,listed as sensitive by the Northern Region, Forest

Service. Another sensitive species, the northern boglemming (Synaptomys borealis) may occur within theResearch Natural Area.Conservation—The site lies within the Sheep Moun-tain Bog Research Natural Area, established in 1987.

Shoofly MeadowsLolo National Forest, Missoula Ranger District.Description—Shoofly Meadows is within the east-ern Rattlesnake Mountains of west-central Montana,about 30 km northeast of Missoula. It contains theheadwaters of the East Fork of Rattlesnake Creekdrainage. The site features a shallow, spring-fed pondwith numerous small islands. Dominant shrubs on theislands and margins include Ledum glandulosum,Kalmia microphylla, and Vaccinium occidentale. Ma-jor graminoids include Calamagrostis canadensis,Carex aquatilis, C. buxbaumii, C. limosa, C. utricu-lata, and Eleocharis pauciflora. Common forbs arePotamogeton gramineus, Potentilla palustris, andSpiranthes romanzoffiana. A number of sphagnummosses are present: Sphagnum angustifolium, S.riparium (rare in the contiguous United States), S.russowii, S. squarossum, S. subsecundum, and S. teres.Other mosses include Aulacomnium palustre, Pohlianutans, and Polytrichum strictum. Several peat-filleddrainages occur downstream from the upper marsh-wet meadow. Eleocharis pauciflora dominates muchof these areas. Drosera rotundifolia is locally common.Significance—Shoofly Meadows is a large, undisturbedcomplex of marshes, wet meadows, and poor fens.Excellent research opportunities are afforded by thesite. The area is protected as a Research Natural Area.Conservation—The wetlands and surrounding areahave been proposed as a Research Natural Area.

Windfall Creek FenFlathead National Forest, Swan Lake Ranger District.Description—Windfall Creek Fen occupies a small,shallow basin formed by glacial scouring. The center ofthe basin is a sedge meadow dominated by a nearlypure stand of Carex lasiocarpa, with smaller amountsof C. buxbaumii and Dulichium arundinaceum. Mar-gins of the basin support C. buxbaumii, C. interior, andvarious brown mosses such as Aulacomnium palustreand Bryum pseudotriquetrum. Notable is the presenceof Lycopodium inundatum and Drosera rotundifolia.Conservation—The site is not formally protected.

Powell County

Butcher Mountain FensFlathead National Forest, Spotted Bear Ranger District.Description—Butcher Mountain Fens are in the BobMarshall Wilderness of northwestern Montana, withinthe South Fork Flathead River drainage. The site is1.5 km south of Big Prairie Guard Station on the westside of the South Fork. Butcher Mountain Fens are a


pristine rich peatland complex located at the north-eastern base of Butcher Mountain. The fens occur ongently sloping terrain drained by Butcher Creek, whichflows through the site. Mean elevation of the site is1,450 m. The entire surrounding area is underlain bylimestone. The open fens are bordered by moist Piceaengelmannii forest communities. The ecotone betweenforest and open fen is dominated by various species ofSalix and Ledum glandulosum. The fen contains sph-agnum and other mosses, plus numerous carices in-cluding Carex interior and C. livida. Mosses have notbeen collected.Conservation— Butcher Mountain Fens are in theBob Marshall Wilderness.

Ravalli County

Lost Trail Pass FenBitterroot National Forest, Sula Ranger District.Description—Lost Trail Pass Fen is in the BitterrootMountains of western Montana near Lost Trail Pass,just north of the Montana-Idaho Stateline. Elevationof the site is 2,150 m. Lost Trail Pass Fen is a peatlandformed by organic matter infilling a small glacialdepression. Sphagnum fuscum predominates theground layer; other mosses include Calliergonstramineum and Warnstorfia fluitans. Mimulusprimuloides is present, and a large population of theuncommon Drosera anglica occurs on the sphagnummoss hummocks. The peatland margins support aVaccinium occidentale community.Conservation—The site is adjacent to the Lost TrailPass Ski Area and is subject to infilling from theparking lot. The area has been proposed as a BotanicalArea.

Rock Creek WetlandBitterroot National Forest, Darby Ranger District.Description—Rock Creek Wetland is on the westernedge of the Bitterroot Valley of west-central Montana.The site is along Rock Creek, a tributary of the Bitter-root River, 1.5 km east of Lake Como, and 10 kmnorthwest of Darby. Rock Creek Wetland is on anoutwash fan near the mouth of Rock Creek Canyon.The west end of the wetland features extensive shrubcarr communities on wet organic soil. The east end isdrier with less peat accumulation. The main watersource for the wetland appears to be a channel of RockCreek originating at the dam on Lake Como. Waterflows through the wetland in a number of small streams.Betula glandulosa and scattered conifers (Piceaengelmannii, Pinus contorta) are dominant woodyspecies. Common undergrowth species include Carexutriculata, C. interior, Calamagrostis canadensis, andBidens cernua. Peat-forming sphagnum mosses(Sphagnum fuscum, S. magellanicum) dominate the

ground layer at the west end of the wetland. The brownmoss Aulacomnium palustre is also common.Significance—The site is a unique occurrence of alow-elevation valley peatland (400 ft) in an area largelyaltered by agriculture and housing developments.Two Northern Region sensitive plant species are knownfrom the site: Carex paupercula and Dryopteris cristata.Meesia triquetra, an uncommon moss usually found incalcareous peatlands, is also present.Conservation—The site is not formally protected.

Wyoming ______________________

Park County

Sawtooth PeatbedsShoshone National Forest.Description—Sawtooth Peatbeds is a subalpine fenin the Beartooth Mountains of northwestern Wyo-ming at an elevation of 2,950 m. The site features apalsa, an accumulation of peat overlying permafrost(Collins and others 1984). The palsa is raised 1 mabove a surrounding fen and wet meadow dominatedby Carex scopulorum, C. aquatilis, and C. illota.Deschampsia cespitosa occurs atop drier hummocks.The permafrost layer occurs at a depth of about 40 cmbelow the peat surface. The palsa surface is sparselyvegetated; scattered clumps of Deschampsia cespitosaand plants of Rumex paucifolius and Selaginella densaare the predominant vascular plant species. Mossesare present but have not been identified. Sphagnummosses are absent.Significance—Sawtooth Peatbeds is the only knownoccurrence of a palsa known from the 48 contiguousstates (palsas are typically found in tundra areas athigh latitudes).Conservation—Cattle grazing has occurred at thesite. The site is not formally protected.

Swamp LakeShoshone National Forest, Clarks Fork RangerDistrict.Description—Swamp Lake is at the base of theCathedral Cliffs in the Absaroka Mountains of north-western Wyoming, 3.2 km east of Crandall RangerStation. Swamp Lake features three peatland types(Elliott 1997): a calcareous marl fen, a Picea glaucapeatland, and a sedge and shrub fen. Common speciesof the marl fen are Carex microglochin, Kobresiasimpliuscula, and Scirpus pumilus. Undergrowthspecies of the Picea glauca fen include Linnaea borea-lis, Equisetum arvense, Carex utriculata, andCalamagrostis canadensis. Species of the sedge andshrub fen include Carex utriculata, C. aquatilis, C.simulata, Triglochin maritimum, Betula glandulosa,and Potentilla fruticosa. The site also features


several species widely disjunct from their ranges inboreal Canada. Rare mosses include Scorpidiumscorpioides and Cinclidium stygium, the latter spe-cies known only from two fens in the WesternUnited States, Swamp Lake and Pine Butte Fen inMontana. Other mosses include Aulacomniumpalustre, Bryum pseudotriquetrum, Campyliumstellatum, Calliergon cordifolium, Drepanocladusaduncus, Hypnum revolutum, Palustriellacommutata, Tomentypnum nitens, and Warnstorfiaexannulata.

Significance—Swamp Lake supports populations ofa number of species widely disjunct from their mainranges further north (Evert and others 1986). Theseinclude Arctostaphylos rubra, Carex limosa, C. livida,C. microglochin, C. scirpiformis, Orchis rotundifolia,Kobresia simpliciuscula, Primula egalikensis, Salixmyrtillifolia var. myrtillifolia, and Scirpus pumilus.Conservation—Human disturbance is evident atthis site (including logging in the immediate vicinity),and measures are recommended to protect this uniqueconcentration of rare plants restricted to highly cal-careous environments.


Appendix C: Invertebrates Associated with Peatlands in the Northern RockyMountains _______________________________________________________

This summary of invertebrate fauna of peatlandsand similar habitats is arranged by taxonomic groups.The information is intended to give the reader an ideaof the types of organisms that are associated withaquatic portions of peatlands. It is not our intention toprovide a comprehensive, site-by-site description foreach area. Some of the discussion compares inverte-brate species composition of wetland ponds (includingpeatland ponds or marsh ponds). Refer to the refer-ences for more detailed information. This informationwas provided by Dr. Fred Rabe, retired professor fromthe University of Idaho, and Russell C. Biggham.

Phylum Porifera (sponges)Freshwater sponges (Spongilla lacustris) wereabundant in Hoskins Lake (Kootenai National Forest;Rabe and Chadde 1995). Clusters grew erect andprostrate from submerged tree branches, rocks, anddead leaf stems of Nuphar polysepalum . The spongeis a filter feeder. No sponges were noted in the largepond adjacent to Hoskins Lake. An isolated spongecolony was observed in Bottle Lake Research NaturalArea (Kaniksu National Forest). Spongilla lacustrisis associated with clean environments. It hasdisappeared in several lakes in north Idaho wherewater quality has decreased.

Phylum Cnidaria (hydra)Hydra are common in shallow areas of standing andrunning water and uncommon in swift currents orwave-swept shores (Thop and Covich 1991). They donot occur on soft substrates and require debris asan attachment site. These organisms feed onmicrocrustaceans and often contain greenzoochlorellae-like freshwater sponges. They have alow tolerance to water pollution.

Phylum Platyhelminthes (flatworms)Most flatworm species in the Northern RockyMountains are associated with spring-fed streams.Two genera (Phagocata spp. and Polycelis coronata)were identified in Huckleberry Creek in the SawtoothValley Peatlands Research Natural Area of Idaho(Moseley and others 1994). Polycelis coronata isassociated with small montane streams. It is collectedon the undersides of rocks and is not tolerant of poorwater quality.

Phylum Annelida (leeches and aquatic earthworms)Leeches (Class Hirudinea) occurred in about the samefrequency in peatland ponds as marsh ponds. Up tofour different species were identified in some of the

marsh ponds compared to no more than one species inpeatland ponds except in Hoskins Pond (KootenaiNational Forest) where three species were noted(Bractracobdella picta, Dina parva, Haemopsismarmorata). This may have been due to the morealkaline water at this site. Leech cocoons affixed to thebottom side of the floating leaves of Nupharpolysepalum are common at many wetland sites.These cocoons contain several eggs that hatch 3 to 4weeks after they are laid (Barnes 1980). The majorityof peatland ponds sampled to date contain no leeches.

Aquatic earthworms (Class Oligochaeta) were notrecorded because most of these worms occur in bottomsediments that have not been sampled.

Phylum Mollusca (snails and clams)Fingernail clams (Family Sphaeridae) were commonin the majority of wetland ponds (peatland andmarsh). They consisted of species of Sphaerium andPisidium. These ponds do not contain larger musselsbecause the proper host fishes for the glochidia are notpresent and the waters are poor in calcium (Pennak1989).

Snails (Class Gastropoda) were observed as often inpeatland ponds as marsh ponds. However, there wereno more than two species at an individual peatlandsite compared to a maximum of eight taxa in marshponds. The majority of species and largest numbers ofindividuals occurred in alkaline conditions. Marshponds containing from 3 to 8 species of snails hadalkalinity readings (in terms of equivalent CaC03) of104 to 187 mg/l and alkaline pHs of 8.4 to 9.3. Incomparison, peatland ponds had alkalinity readings of3 to 30 mg/l with pHs close to 7.0. No clams or snailswere found in samples from Iron Bog peatland(alkalinity of 0 and pH 4.2).

The following gastropods were identified frompeatland ponds. All forms except Promentus areclassed as scrapers, feeding mostly on periphytonscraped off the leaves of macrophytes in the water.Promentus is a collector-gatherer: Ferrisia sp.,Gyraulus parvis, Physa gyrina, Physella sp.,Planorbella campanulata, P. trivolvis, Promentusexacuous, and P. umbilicatellus.

Phylum Crustacea (scuds, clam shrimp,microcrustaceans)Scuds or freshwater shrimp (Hyallela azteca) werecommon in shallow areas of all wetland pondssampled. Gammurus lacustrus, another amphipod


larger in size, is found only in more alkaline marshponds. Freshwater shrimp are either omnivorous,general scavengers, or detritus feeders (Pennak 1989).Individuals occurring in aquatic vegetation may oftenbe observed browsing on the film of microscopic plants,animals, and organic debris covering leaves, stems,and other substrates. They are benthic and often restamong vegetation (McCafferty 1983).

Clam shrimp (Order Conchostraca) were found earlyin the spring at sites such as Hager Lake. The entirebody of a clam shrimp is enclosed within a bivalvecarapace so the organism looks like a small clam(Pennak 1989). They are filter feeders and belong tothe class Eubranchiopoda together with the SuborderCladocera, which contains Daphnia.

Members of the Order Cladocera and Class Copepodaare microcrustaceans comprising zooplankton foundin the water column. Cladocera were common in allwetland ponds. The number of cladocera species on theaverage were substantially greater in peatland pondsthan marsh ponds. A maximum of eight or nine specieswere identified from individual peatland sitescompared to a maximum of five or six from marshponds. Cladocerans are filter feeders.

There is a major difference between the distribution ofmicrocrustaceans in vegetated and nonvegetated sitesin a peatland (Rabe and Gibson 1984). Smaller speciesless than 0.5 mm in length were much more abundantthan Daphnia at vegetated sites. Daphnia occurredmost frequently in deep water away from vegetation.However, later in the season they are most common inshallow sites. The shift to these locations coincideswith decreasing plant biomass in the shallow waterdue to senescence and waterfowl foraging. In contrast,small cladocerans show an opposite shift to deeperwater where macrophyte density is greater.

Peatland ponds dominated by Nuphar polysepalumwere sampled for cladocerans during midsummer(Rabe and others 1990). Generally, the most commonspecies of open water areas were Daphnia and anotherlarge cladoceran species, Holopedium, whereas smallspecies such as Ceriodaphnia, Polyphemus, and Alonaoccurred mostly among the Nuphar plants.

In Iron Bog, Chydorus sphaericus was the onlycladoceran collected in the pond’s highly acidic waters(pH 4.2).

A high degree of similarity existed betweencrustacean species in peatland and marsh ponds. Lakespecies were slightly different. Cladocerans found inpeatland ponds include: Acoperus harpae, Alona sp.,Alonella sp., Camptocercus sp., Ceriodaphnia sp.,Chydorus ovalis, Chydorus sp., Daphnia schodleri, D.similis, Daphnia sp., Holopedium sp., Macrothricidae,

Pleuroxis sp., Polyphemus sp., Scapholeberis sp., Sidasp., Simocephalus sp.

Class Copepoda is well represented in thezooplankton. Larger calanoid copepods reachinglengths of 34 mm inhabit mostly open water and wereinfrequent amongst aquatic vegetation (Rabe andothers 1990). Smaller cyclipoid copepods were notedmostly in the vicinity of large aquatic plants. Thissame pattern was exhibited by cladocerans where thelarger individuals were concentrated outside the plantmass apparently to avoid predation (Johnson andothers 1986).

Class Ostracoda (seed shrimp) are primarily benthiccrustaceans most commonly associated with aquaticvegetation and silt bottoms occurring where there islittle current (McCafferty 1983). Some feed on algaeand decomposing vegetation (Barnes 1980).

Hydracarina (water mites) belong to the Class Acarithat also includes ticks. The most common water mitesin peatland ponds were red and are classified as higherwater mites. These parasitize immature insects inthe water such as damselflies and dragonflies(McCafferty 1983). After considerable growth as aparasite larvae the mite transforms to a nymph stageand then to an adult. In these free-living stages itbecomes carnivorous or omnivorous.

Phylum Uniramia/Subphyllum Hexapoda (ClassInsecta)

Order Ephemeroptera (mayflies)Mayfly taxa found in peatland ponds were: Baetishageni, Caenis lattipennis, Caenis sp., Callibaetis sp.,Centroptilum sp., Cinygma integrum, Siphlonurus sp.Mayflies occurred in 68 percent of the peatland pondssampled and averaged 1.7 species per site (Rabe andChadde 1995; Rabe and others 1990). Callibaetis sp.was the most common taxon. They are widelydistributed, occurring in peatlands and in extremehabitats including warm desert springs and sewagetreatment ponds (McCafferty 1983). Centroptilum sp.and Baetis sp. were each found at one site. They belongto the same family as Callibaetis but are much lesstolerant and live primarily in a lotic environment(Merritt and Cummins 1984). Caenis sp. is typically apond dweller and is associated with silt bottoms ordense, filamentous plant growths.

Order Trichoptera (caddisflies)Caddisfly taxa found in peatland ponds include:Banksiola crotchii, Chyranda sp., Desmona sp.,Dicosmoecus sp., Glyphopsyche irrorata, Lenarchussp., Lepidostoma sp., Limnephilus sp., Mystacides sp.,Ocetis sp., Oxyethira sp., Phryganea cinera,Polycentropus sp., Psychoglypha sp., Synclita sp., andTriaenodes sp. Caddisflies were found at 87 percent of


the sample sites and averaged 2.3 taxa per pond. Themost common taxa were Oxyethira, Polycentropus,Banksiola and Phryganea. Oxyethira frequents sub-merged beds of aquatic plants where they feed onfilamentous algae by puncturing the cells and eatingthe contents. Polycentropus is primarily a predatoradapted to warm lentic conditions and can survivevernal conditions (Wiggins 1977). Banksiola feedslargely on filamentous algae and constructs cases ofplant materials arranged spirally, often with someends trailing. Phryganea lives in a wide variety ofhabitats. Larvae ingest dead and living plant andanimal materials (Wiggins 1977).

Order Odonata (dragonflies)Dragonflies and damselflies occurred at 87 percent ofthe sampled peatlands and averaged 3.2 species persite. Dominant genera were Leucorrhinia, Aeshna,and Enallagma. Leucorrhinia sprawls along thebottom and climbs on vegetation (McCafferty 1983).Other odonates that occurred in peatland pondsinclude: Aeshna interrupta, Aeshna sp., Anax junius,Cordulia sp., Enallagma boreale, Ischeura perparva,Ischeura sp., Lestes disjunctus, Leucorrhiniahudsonica, Libellula sp., Ludsonia sp., Somatochlorasp., and Sympetrum obtusum.

Aeshna actively stalk their prey, which includesinvertebrates and small fish. They are sometimescannabalistic. The damselfly Enallagma is found inboth lentic and lotic environments. Johnson andothers (1986) and Coughlan and others (1985)reported that older instars of Enallagma wereprimarily responsible for regulating the growth rate ofthe microcrustacean Daphnia schodleri. If access tothe water column is provided by aquatic plant growth,damselflies, which are substrate dependent, become“sit and wait” predators for prey species such asDaphnia.

Order Diptera (flies)Fly larvae were present in 94 percent of the peatlandponds sampled and averaged 4.4 species per pond(Rabe and Chadde 1995; Rabe and others 1986; Rabeand others 1990). The family Chironomidae was thedominant group. Dipteran taxa included: Aedes sp.,Alluaudomyia sp., Anopheles sp., Bezzia sp., Chaoborussp., Chironomus sp., Chrysops sp., Corynoneura sp.,Cricotopus sp., Microspectra sp., Palpomyia sp.,Paradixa sp., Polypedilum sp., Prioncera sp.,Procladius sp., Pseudodiamesa sp., Pseudolimnophiliasp., and Simulium sp. This group is probably the mostwidely adapted of all aquatic insects and are repre-sented by herbivores, detritovores, and carnivores(McCafferty 1983). Bezzia, the biting midges known as“punkies” or “no-see-ums,” were collected at manysites. Chaoborus or phantom midge is a planktonicdiptera living in deep ponds such as Hager Lake and

Bottle Lake. It preys on zooplankton and insects, suchas mosquitoes. Chaoborus may remain on the bottomor burrow during daylight and move to more openwater locales at night or when light is reduced by snowor ice cover (McCafferty 1983). Specialized air blad-ders function as hydrostatic organs and aid in thisvertical movement.

Order Coleoptera (beetles)Beetle larvae and adults as a group were present in 94percent of the ponds sampled and averaged 2.9 taxaper pond. Taxa included: Acilius sp., Bidessus sp.,Cleptelmis sp., Crenitis sp., Cyphon sp., Deronectessp., Derovatellus sp., Donacia sp., Dytiscus sp.,Enochrus sp., Galerucella nymphaeae, Graphoderusliberus, Gyrinis consobrinus, Haliplus dorsomaculatus,H. gracilis, H. hoppingi, H. immaculata, H. insularis,H. irnmaculicollis, H. salinarus, H. subguttalus,Helophorus sp., Hydraena sp., Hydroporus sp.,Hygrotus sp., Ilybius sp., Laccobius sp., Peltodytes sp.,Rhantus sp., and Tropisternus lateralis.

A large share of the taxa were predaceous waterbeetles (Dytiscidae). Adults obtain air either bybreaking through the surface film or from bubblesattached to aquatic plants (Usinger 1963). Eggs arelaid in wet places just out of water, or more commonly,on or in plants under the water. The larvae, like theadults, are predaceous and sometimes cannibalistic.

Order Heteroptera (true bugs)True bugs were found in all peatland ponds sampled,averaging 3.9 species at each site (Rabe and Chadde1995; Rabe and others 1986; Rabe and others 1990).The following Heteroptera taxa were identified frompeatland ponds: Buenoa confusa, Callocorixa audeni,Gerris buenoi, G. incognitus, Gerris sp., Haliplus gra-cilis, H. immaculicollis, Haliplus sp., H. dorso-maculatus, Hesperocorixa atopodonta, H. laevigata,H. michiganensis, Lethocerus amencanus, Limnoporusnotabilis, Mesovelia mulsanti, Microvelia pulchella,Notonecta kirbyi, N. undulata, Ranatra fusca, Sigarasp., and Trichocorixa sp. Mesovelia mulsanti (watertreader) was commonly associated with Nupharpolysepalum. Even though they are green in colorsuggesting plant feeding, Mesovelia are predatory onsurface insects and ostracods that they spear(Lehmkuhl 1979).

During the course of sampling, three new Staterecords for Idaho were found in the order Heteroptera:Buenoa confusa (Kaniksu Marsh), Hesperocorixaatopodonata (Hager Lake), and H. michiganensis(Hager Lake and Kaniksu Marsh) (Rabe and others1986). The large numbers of H. michiganensisconstitute prey for Notonecta undulata at KaniksuMarsh.

Chadde, Steve W.; Shelly, J. Stephen; Bursik, Robert J.; Moseley, Robert K.; Evenden,Angela G.; Mantas, Maria; Rabe, Fred; Heidel, Bonnie. 1998. Peatlands on NationalForests of the Northern Rocky Mountains: ecology and conservation. Gen. Tech. Rep.RMRS-GTR-11. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, RockyMountain Research Station. 75 p.

This overview of peatland ecology and conservation on National Forests in the NorthernRocky Mountains describes physical components, vegetation, vascular and nonvascularflora, and invertebrate fauna on peatlands. Detailed site descriptions for 58 peatlands in Idaho,Montana, and northeastern Washington are included.

Keywords: wetlands, rare plants, fens, vascular flora, bryophytes, aquatic insects

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