Montana's Rocky Mountain Front
Subtitle: vegetation map and type descriptions
By: by Gregory M. Kudray and Stephen V. Cooper
Contributors: Cooper, Stephen V.; Montana Natural Heritage Program; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Publisher: Montana Natural Heritage Program
Published: 2006
Place of publication: Helena, Mont
Language: eng
Subjects: Conservation of natural resources; Vegetation mapping; Vegetation classification
Description: The Montana Rocky Mountain Front is a landscape of national importance, noteworthy for not only it's scenic beauty, but also for the high-quality and diverse wetland, prairie, riparian and montane habitats found there in abundance.  Planning to conserve habitat on the Front requires a good understanding of what habitats are present and where they occur.  The intent of this project is to better classify and map ecosystem types along the Front with a focus on the ecologically important upland grassland communities critical for some declining species of grassland birds and many other animal species. Existing maps were not very detailed or accurate and had mapping units that were not based on ecological habitats.  This report, along with an associated map, provides a conservation baseline with mapping types defined ecologically and linked to the information-rich National Vegetation Classification System.
Notes: "Prepared for: United States Fish and Wildlife Service; agreement number: 1448-60181-02-J555."