Grasslands of the North Fork Valley, Glacier National Park, Montana

1971 ◽  
Vol 49 (9) ◽  
pp. 1627-1636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wayne D. Koterba ◽  
James R. Habeck
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
The United States ◽  
Grass Species ◽  
Glacier National Park ◽  
The North ◽  
Continental Divide ◽  
North Fork ◽  
Mountain Grasslands ◽  
Agropyron Spicatum

A series of 40 grassland communities occurring in the North Fork Valley in Glacier National Park was subjected to detailed phytosociological investigation. These grasslands are somewhat phytogeographically isolated from other northern Rocky Mountain grasslands in Washington, Idaho, and Montana in the United States, and from the Alberta fescue grasslands in Canada. Compositionally, the North Fork grasslands display features characteristic of grassland vegetation on both the west and east sides of the Continental Divide. The four major grass species achieving dominance in the North Fork Valley are Agropyron spicatum, Festuca idahoensis, Festuca scabrella, and Danthonia intermedia. Environmental factors possibly important in the distribution, composition, and maintenance of these grasslands are discussed.

Fire regimes of western larch – lodgepole pine forests in Glacier National Park, Montana

1991 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. 1711-1720 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen W. Barrett ◽  
Stephen F. Arno ◽  
Carl H. Key
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
Fire Suppression ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Fire Spread ◽  
Glacier National Park ◽  
Western Larch ◽  
The North ◽  
North Fork

We conducted a detailed investigation of fire frequencies, patterns of fire spread, and the effects of fire on tree succession in the western larch – lodgepole pine (Larixoccidentalis – Pinuscontorta var. latifolia) forests west of the Continental Divide in Glacier National Park, Montana. Master fire chronologies for 1650 to the present were constructed based on tree fire scars and fire-initiated age-classes. Two kinds of primeval fire regimes were identified: (i) a mixed-severity regime ranging from nonlethal underburns to stand-replacing fires at mean intervals of 25–75 years and (ii) a regime of infrequent stand-replacing fires at mean intervals of 140–340 years. The former regime is characteristic of the North Fork Flathead valley and appears to be linked to a relatively dry climate and gentler topography compared with the McDonald Creek – Apgar Mountains and Middle Fork Flathead areas, where the latter fire regime predominates. Fire frequency in the entire North Fork study area was 20 fire years per century prior to 1935 and 2 per century after 1935. In the other two study areas it was 3–5 per century both before and after 1935. We suggest that fire suppression has altered the primeval fire regime in the North Fork, but not in the central and southern areas.

scholarly journals Effects of Land Use Activities on the North Fork of the Flathead River Basin within Glacier National Park

1986 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 71-76
Author(s):  
Catherine Raley ◽  
Wayne Hubert ◽  
Stanley Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
National Park ◽  
Bald Eagle ◽  
Qualitative Assessment ◽  
Glacier National Park ◽  
Cause And Effect ◽  
The North ◽  
Effect Model ◽  
North Fork ◽  
Flathead River

At least 56 external threats which endanger the ecology of Glacier National Park (GNP) have been identified (National Park Service 1980). And while this is a park wide situation, Park managers have identified the North Fork Basin of the Flathead River as a region that is particularly sensitive to external land use activities, and as a unique unit within the Park. This area possesses substantial wilderness features (solitude, primitiveness), and provides habitat for threatened and endangered species such as the grizzly bear, gray wolf, and bald eagle, as well as other species of special interest like the westslope cutthroat and bull trout. We proposed a problem solving analysis to develop a cause and effect model for evaluating the impacts of external land use activities on the North Fork system within GNP. The cause and effect model would provide a qualitative assessment of the impacts on the natural resources of the Park, as well as on recreational quality. The specific objectives of this project were: 1. Identify the problem that exists in the North Fork region; 2. Identify the causes and effects of the environmental problem; 3. Identify tasks to help solve the problem; and 4. Provide a methodology which could be used to help organize and solve problems that the involved agencies might encounter.

Genetic Identification of Cutthroat Trout, Salmo clarki, in Glacier National Park, Montana

1987 ◽  
Vol 44 (11) ◽  
pp. 1830-1839 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leo F. Marnell ◽  
Robert J., Behnke ◽  
Fred W. Allendorf
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Introgressive Hybridization ◽  
Cutthroat Trout ◽  
Genetic Identification ◽  
Glacier National Park ◽  
The North ◽  
Continental Divide ◽  
Headwater Lakes ◽  
Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout ◽  
Salmo Clarki

Trout populations in 29 lakes in Glacier National Park were identified by meristic and electrophoretic analyses to assess the extent of introgressive hybridization between introduced nonnative trout and the indigenous cutthroat trout, Salmo clarki lewisi. Native cutthroat trout remain in 16 lakes draining to the North and Middle forks of the Flathead River; no native trout were found east of the Continental Divide. Introduced Yellowstone cutthroat trout, Salmo clarki bouvieri, occur in six headwater lakes. Hybrid populations, including both S. c. lewisi × bouvieri and S. clarki × S. gairdneri, inhabit six lakes. Hybridization between native and introduced trouts has been minimal, apparently due to strong selective pressures favoring the indigenous genotype. Close agreement was observed between the meristic and electrophoretic results.

scholarly journals An Investigation into Marmot Migration in Grand Teton National Park

1996 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 78-82
Author(s):  
George Montopoli ◽  
Nick Visser ◽  
Hank Harlow
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Movement Patterns ◽  
Snow Melt ◽  
Marmota Flaviventris ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
The North ◽  
North Fork ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Long Distance Movement

In 1994 and 1995, a high abundant winter snowfall at higher elevations appeared to result in long distance movement patterns by yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris) over snow to lower, snowfree elevations where food was more available. As the snow melted and food became abundant, the marmots return to higher altitudes. In 1996, we continued to investigate the potential for migrational movements, by studying two study sites at different elevations in the North Fork of Cascade Canyon. Four marmots at each site were implanted with intraperitoneal tracking transmitters. Of eight marmots that were equipped with intraperitoneal transmitters, six demonstrated significant movements of greater than 0.5 km, one did not, and one most likely died as a result of predation before any movement could be observed. Of the six that demonstrated significant movements within the canyon, only one moved distances greater than 1 km. Marmots, after emerging from hibernation, migrated down canyon to snowfree areas as they become available. With progressive snow melt, most marmots move upward to higher elevations, but not to the extent originally expected. Instead, they moved to the first available habitat where food was obtainable, and other (dominant) marmots accepted their presence. This movement is exhibited in both males and females, yearlings and adults, and melanistic and normal colored marmots.

scholarly journals First Report of Summer Patch of Kentucky Bluegrass Caused by Magnaporthe poae in Colorado

Plant Disease ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 91 (11) ◽  
pp. 1519-1519 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. E. Swift ◽  
A. Blessinger ◽  
N. Brandt ◽  
N. Tisserat
Keyword(s):  
Poa Pratensis ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Kentucky Bluegrass ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mountain Region ◽  
First Report ◽  
Magnaporthe Poae ◽  
Rocky Mountain Region ◽  
Continental Divide ◽  
Species Specific

The ectotrophic, root-infecting fungus Magnaporthe poae is the cause of summer patch of Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis). The disease is widely distributed in the mid-Atlantic Region of the United States and west to central Nebraska and Kansas (2). It also has been found in certain locations of Washington and California (2) but has not been confirmed in the Rocky Mountain Region. In August 2005 and 2006, tan patches and rings of dead turf ranging from 10 to 30 cm in diameter were observed in Kentucky bluegrass swards in Grand Junction and Greeley, CO, respectively. The sites, separated by approximately 360 km, are located west and east of the Continental Divide. A network of ectotrophic hyphae were observed on diseased root segments collected from both sites. A fungus morphologically similar to M. poae (2) was consistently isolated from these segments. DNA was extracted from mycelium of one isolate from each location and amplified by PCR with the M. poae species-specific primers MP1 and MP2 (1). A 453-bp DNA fragment was consistently amplified from DNA of both isolates, diagnostic of M. poae. To our knowledge, this is the first report of summer patch in Colorado and indicates that M. poae may be widely distributed in the central Rocky Mountain Region. References: (1) T. E. Bunting et al. Phytopathology 86:398, 1996. (2) B. B. Clarke and A. B. Gould, eds. Turfgrass Patch Diseases Caused by Ectotrophic Root-Infecting Fungi. The American Phytopathological Society, St. Paul, MN, 1993.

Holocene tephrostratigraphy and glacial fluctuations in Waterton Lakes and Glacier national parks, Alberta and Montana

1985 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 1093-1101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald Osborn
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
National Parks ◽  
Rocky Mountains ◽  
National Park ◽  
Glacier National Park ◽  
Glacial Deposits ◽  
Canadian Rockies ◽  
Continental Divide ◽  
Minimum Age ◽  
Waterton Lakes National Park

Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta and Glacier National Park in Montana lie along adjacent sections of the continental divide in the Rocky Mountains. In cirques or near divides there is evidence for two ages of glacial deposits. Younger deposits are generally well preserved, poorly vegetated, and bear no tephra and no or very small lichens. Older deposits are more poorly preserved, better vegetated, bear Rhizocarpon sp. lichens at least up to 92 mm in diameter, and bear tephra. The tephra often occurs in two different coloured horizons, but both are compositionally equivalent to Mazama tephra.The older advance has a minimum age of about 6800 14C years BP and a probable maximum age of about 12 000 14C years BP. It is correlated with the pre-Mazama Crowfoot Advance of the Canadian Rockies. Deposits of the younger advance are probably not too much older than mid-19th century, because some glaciers began retreating from the deposits about then. The younger advance is correlated to the Cavell Advance of the Canadian Rockies and the Gannett Peak Advance of the American Rockies.Both advances were minor. The older advance left moraines about 1.5 km or less beyond present glacier margins and depressed ELA's an average of 40 m below modern values.

THE ATHABASCA VALLEY ERRATICS TRAIN, ALBERTA AND PLEISTOCENE ICE MOVEMENTS ACROSS THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE

1967 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 625-632 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Roed ◽  
E. W. Mountjoy ◽  
N. W. Rutter
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Rocky Mountains ◽  
Late Stage ◽  
National Park ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Metamorphic Rocks ◽  
Jasper National Park ◽  
Continental Divide ◽  
Park Area

The Athabasca Valley Erratics Train contains a variety of low- to medium- grade metamorphic rocks, the most abundant of which is talcose schist, with lesser amounts of garnet schist and biotite–quartz schist. This erratics train occurs in and west of the Athabasca Valley west of Edson, Alberta. It is probably a late stage deposit of the same glacier that carried and deposited the Erratics Train, Foothills of Alberta. The metamorphic erratics were incorporated into a glacier that originated in the northern part of the Monashee Mountains and Premier Range of British Columbia. This ice movement is also recorded by numerous U-shaped valleys, which extend across the Continental Divide. Thus, during a brief period in late(?) Wisconsin time, the Cordilleran ice in the Rocky Mountains of the Jasper National Park area was partly derived from west of the Continental Divide and the Rocky Mountain Trench. These data agree with the inferred ice movements shown on the 1958 Glacial Map of Canada.

The St. Eugene Formation and the Development of the Southern Rocky Mountain Trench

1974 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 916-938 ◽  
Author(s):  
John J. Clague
Keyword(s):  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Flood Plain ◽  
The United States ◽  
The North ◽  
Early Oligocene ◽  
Half Graben ◽  
History Of ◽  
Composition Structure ◽  
Southern Rocky Mountain ◽  
Block Faulting

The Tertiary history of the southern Rocky Mountain Trench is inferred from a study of the distribution, stratigraphy, fabric, lithologic composition, structure, and palynology of the Miocene St. Eugene Formation in southeastern British Columbia.The St. Eugene Formation consists of flood-plain and fan facies and represents the upper part of up to about 1500 m of sediments which accumulated in the proto-Rocky Mountain Trench upon cessation of Laramide deformation and after initiation of extension and block faulting in the eastern Cordillera during Eocene or early Oligocene time. Deep Tertiary basins in the southern Rocky Mountain Trench are bounded on the east and west by high-angle faults parallel to the Trench margins and on the north and south by faults transverse to the trend of the Trench. Block faulting of a half-graben style was probably contemporaneous with sediment deposition, but at least 600 m of displacement on the east boundary fault postdates deposition of the St. Eugene Formation. Although there is no present seismic activity along the Rocky Mountain Trench north of latitude 49°N, Holocene fault scarps and earthquakes in a zone along the Rocky Mountains of the United States attest to the continuation of block faulting south of 49°N.The St. Eugene microflora includes at least 39 genera of ferns, gymnosperms, and anthophytes. Phytogeographic reconstruction based upon the habitats of extant counter-parts indicates floral elements growing on poorly drained lowlands, adjacent slopes, and montane uplands; thus, there was moderate to high relief in southeastern British Columbia during St. Eugene time. The climate apparently was temperate, with warm summers, mild winters, and abundant, uniformly distributed precipitation. This contrasts with the present climate of the southern Rocky Mountain Trench which is semiarid with hot summers and cold winters, and suggests that the mountain barriers which presently restrict cool, moist, Pacific maritime air masses to the coast were lower during the Miocene, or that the polar seas were relatively warm.

scholarly journals Morrison Ecosystem Project

1994 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 152-155
Author(s):  
Christine Turner ◽  
Fred Peterson
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Late Jurassic ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
The United States ◽  
Morrison Formation ◽  
National Monument ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Rocky Mountain Region ◽  
Park Service ◽  
Recreation Area

The Late Jurassic Morrison Formation is one of science's best windows into the world of dinosaurs and Mesozoic ecosystems. The Morrison Formation has significant exposures in many units within the Rocky Mountain Region of the National Park Service. These include Arches National Park (ARCH), Bighorn National Recreation Area (BIRO), Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument (BLCA), Capitol Reef National Park (CARE), Colorado National Monument (COLO), Curecanti National Recreation Area (CURE), Dinosaur National Monument (DINO), Glacier National Park (GLAC), Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (GLCA), Hovenweep National Monument (HOVE), and Yellowstone National Park (YELL). The Morrison Formation Extinct Ecosystems Project, hereafter called the Morrison Project, began on June 1 of 1994. The project is a multidisciplinary endeavor to determine the nature, distribution, and evolution of the ancient ecosystems that existed in the Western Interior of the United States during the Late Jurassic Epoch when the Morrison Formation and related rocks were deposited. The information obtained from the research can be used to suggest appropriate resource management actions and the project will also provide an improved understanding of the geological and paleontological history of these NPS units and better information for interpretive programs and publications.

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