Vegetation inventory project report: Big Hole National Battlefield [and associated files]

Erixson, John; Cogan, Dan

Big Hole National Battlefield (BIHO) is located in southeast Montana near the town of Wisdom. Established in 1910 and expanded over the years, the 665 acre site preserves and memorializes the tragic battle on August 9-10, 1877 between the U.S. Army, some Montana volunteers, and the Nez Perce people. The battle was part of a five-month conflict between the Nez Perce and the U.S. Army that culminated with the Nez Perce surrender on October 4, 1877. Today the National Park Service manages the sight of the battle in the Big Hole Valley next to the North Fork of the Big Hole River. The BIHO landscape is comprised of mostly natural vegetation that closely mirrors the battlefield conditions during the time of the conflict. Bisecting the battlefield is the confluence of Trail and Ruby Creeks that form the beginning of the North Fork of the Big Hole River. The river meanders through the center of BIHO creating a broad floodplain bordered by the steep eastern-slope of Battle Mountain to the west and a flat upland bench to the east. Vegetation at this site varies by location with the dry mountain slope containing second growth conifer trees and sagebrush steppe vegetation, willow and grass-like marshes are prominent in the floodplain, and the bench area is covered by sagebrush and various grasses. Dominant mountain-side plant species at BIHO include lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana), bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata), Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis), and arrowleaf balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata). Shining willow shrubs and trees (Salix lucida) along with shrubby-cinquefoil (Dasiphora fruticosa ssp. floribunda) sedges (Carex spp.), Baltic rush (Juncus balticus), meadow barley, (Hordeum brachyantherum), timber oatgrass (Danthonia intermedia), slender wheatgrass (Elymus trachycaulus), and tufted hairgrass (Deschampsia cespitosa) are common in the floodplain. Small forest ravines also occur at BIHO containing small bands of lodgepole pine and patches of black cottonwood (Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa) and quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) trees. The eastern bench area is also dominated by mountain big sagebrush with bluebunch wheatgrass, Idaho fescue and various other grasses. To better understand the ecology and distribution of these species, and BIHO’s vegetation as a whole, the project described in this report was initiated by the NPS Vegetation Inventory Program (NVIP) in conjunction with the Upper Columbia Basin Inventory and Monitoring Network (UCBN). The three-year was directed by UCBN staff in conjunction with Northwest Management Incorporated (NMI) and Cogan Technology Incorporated (CTI). Project deliverables include: The Final Report including keys to the vegetation types and imagery signatures, AA information, and a summary of the methods and results; a Spatial GIS Database containing spatial data for the vegetation units, classification plots, and AA points; Digital Photos from sample plots and miscellaneous park views; Metadata for all spatial data; Vegetation Descriptions and Photo-Signature Key to the map units and plant associations/vegetation alliances.

Vegetation inventory project report: Big Hole National Battlefield [and associated files]

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