Attachment 3 RFSS list and habitats as of 2023_2.docx

Oliverian Orchard Overstory Removal RFSS Plant Habitats & Effects Evaluation Summary template Note: Plants are grouped according to their primary habitats or communities and may occur occasionally in other habitats. Consult the detailed habitat requirement description provided below, project level assessments of habitats, distribution of the species on the Forest, and summary of potential occurrence for each plant within the project area.

Note the following seven species are proposed for listing and are expected to be officially added to the 2024 Region 9 updated RFSS list. Final list is expected to be announced and officially available in early 2024.

1. Cutler’s goldenrod (Solidago leiocarpa) - alpine

2. Grass-of-Parnassus – (Parnassia glauca) – seepy wet openings, natural or disturbed settings

3. Baked appleberry or Cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus) – alpine and subalpine bogs and partially open high-elevation balsam fir swamps

4. Canada rockcress (Boechera stricta, or Arabis stricta) – cliffs, talus, bases of ledges and dry openings

5. Glaucous blue grass (Poa glauca) – alpine

6. Northern woodrush (Luzula confusa) – alpine

7. Black tupelo, black gum (Nyssa sylvatica) – poor swamps and wet pockets on southern and eastern edge of WMNF

PLANTS

Forests, Wetlands, and Riparian Habitats

Rich Hardwood Forests and Talus Slopes

Climbing Fumatory Adlumia fungosa In northern New England, primarily in mesic to dry-mesic, enriched hardwood forests, including rich talus and other rocky slopes; reports in the region of occurrence on burned sites (not known on WMNF presently).

Smooth Rock-cress Arabis laevigata Rocky, open forests and woodlands of rich mesic or dry-mesic slopes, particularly on talus slopes on southern side of the Forest. Typically south or west-facing slopes below 1,500 ft. elev.

Missouri Rock-cress Arabis missouriensis Likely restricted on the WMNF to semi-open conditions of richer sites, particularly on talus slopes on southern side of the Forest. Typically south or west-facing slopes below 1,500 ft. elev. Associated species include red oak, ash, basswood, sugar maple.

Cutleaf Toothwort Cardamine concatenata Rich woods species. In Maine, typical habitats are rich woods, wooded bottoms and calcareous rocky banks. In New Hampshire, habitats include nutrient rich mesic forests, talus slopes, and cliffs/ledges. Often growing in association with other spring ephemerals such as spring beauty (Claytonia caroliniana) and trout lily (Erythronium americanum).

Pubescent Sedge Carex hirtifolia Mesic, typically rich, upland and riparian, deciduous forests; possibly in meadows.

Fogg’s Goosefoot Chenopodium foggii Cliff bases, rocky talus slopes and outcrops, and in sparsely wooded areas; apparently associated with circumneutral habitats.

Greater Yellow Lady’s-slipper Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens Rich forests and wetlands. In NH, occurs in dry-mesic to wet, nutrient-rich forests, woodlands, and seepage wetlands.

Butternut Juglans cinerea Rich, moist, alluvial soils and dry, rocky hillsides (talus) influenced by calcium-rich bedrock. Old farmsteads.

Mountain Sweet-Cicely Osmorhiza berteroi Rich to semi-rich, moist, deciduous, montane woods in northern New Hampshire; also roadside embankments within these forests.

American Ginseng Panax quinquefolius Moist, rich or semi-rich deciduous woods often rocky or on thick humus in colluvial settings.

Three-leaved Black Snake Root Sanicula trifoliata Limy deciduous woods below 1500’. Most occurrences on steep slopes. Appears associated w/ dense, lush ground cover and relatively closed canopy but has been found near clearcuts and cliffs which may indicate tolerance of gap conditions.

Hardwood and Mixed Forests (< ~2000 ft elev.)

Autumn Coralroot Corallorhiza odontorhiza Can be found in a variety of deciduous and mixed forest habitats. Requires mycorrhizal host, but details unknown.

Nodding Pogonia Triphora trianthophora Mid-elevation beech hardwoods usually on south-facing slopes. Deep leaf litter with humus.

High-Elevation Spruce-Fir Forests

Northern Comandra Geocaulon lividum High elevation boggy habitats and damp humus in high-elevation balsam fir and spruce-fir forests, typically with peaty/mossy cover and semi-open canopy (including fir waves). Most sites (n=8) at 3300 – 4300 feet elevation; two at 2200-2400.

Forest Seeps and Swamps (mostly above 2,000 ft.; within hardwood, spruce-fir or mixed forests)

Boreal Bedstraw Galium kamtschaticum Prefers cool, somewhat rich seep habitat in the mountains with non-channelized flowing near-surface water within wet hardwood, mixed, or conifer woods, swamps, and streamsides.

Broad-leaved Twayblade Listera convallarioides Wet, cold woods, usually in deep shade; peaty glades, spruce/fir woods; thickets, nutrient poor mossy-forested seeps.

Heartleaf Twayblade Listera cordata Seeps and wet, cold woods, sphagnum bogs, and ascending to sub-alpine scrub; bases of wet, seepy ledges, outcrops/cliffs, spruce/fir woods on lime.

Swamps and Open Wetlands

Dragon’s Mouth Arethusa bulbosa Most often found in open, wet sphagnum bogs, in full sunlight. Commonly associated with such minerotrophs as alder, sweet gale (Myrica gale), several sedges (Carex sp.), bog rosemary and leather leaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata).

Bailey’s Sedge Carex baileyi Wetland species of circumneutral fens, swampy woods and meadows. Ditches and disturbed openings in regions of calcium-rich bedrock.

Wiegand’s Sedge Carex wiegandii Boggy or peaty soils, including montane bogs; acidic soils of drier, shrubby, sometimes disturbed, margins of acidic Sphagnum bogs or poor fens.

Northern Adder’s Tongue Ophioglossum pusillum Variety of early-successional, seasonally moist to wet habitats, including open fens, bogs, marsh edges, pastures, old fields, grassy shores, wet thickets, cedar and hardwood swamps, floodplain woods, wet swales, damp sand, and roadside ditches. WMNF occurrence is in an old log landing that has been mowed during roadside mowing.

Sweet Colt’s-foot Petasites frigidus var palmatus Swampy woods, meadows with circumneutral or rich soils. White cedar swamps.

Anderson's sphagnum Sphagnum andersonianum Low hummocks in very poor ericaceous fens. Largely high elevation.

Angerman's Sphagnum Sphagnum angermanicum Poor fens, including at edges of ponds. Largely high elevation.

Sphagnum Sphagnum flavicomans Medium to tall hummocks in bogs and poor fens. Occurs in Sphagnum rubellum/Vaccinium oxycoccus dwarf heath moss lawn in New Hampshire

Riparian (Streams, Rivers, Alluvium)

Auricled Twayblade Listera auriculata Temporarily flooded and seasonally ice-scoured riverbanks with calcareous soils. Stream banks, mossy woods, alder thickets, boggy alluvial woods, cedar swamps, gravel riverbank, and lake and pond shores

Pink Wintergreen Pyrola asarifolia Rich or moist woods and swamps; moist alluvial woods of low river terrace forests. In broader region, in calcium-rich soil areas, including northern white cedar swamps

Rocky or Sandy Habitats

Rocky Ridges or Sandplains

Piled-up Sedge Carex cumulata Open ledges, dry sandy soils; open oak forests or hardwood talus; clearings; burned oak-pine rocky summit woodlands.

White Mountain Silverling Paronychia argyrocoma Mid-elevation, bare rocky summits, ledges, and cliffs; sand/gravel barrens of Saco River between Bartlett and Fryeberg.

Canada Mountain Ricegrass Piptatherum canadense Dry, rocky openings just below treeline into krummholz zone, and on moderate elevation rocky ridges and talus slopes; sandy deciduous woodlands; early successional plant communities; along sandy roadsides, and on open, sparsely brushy ground.

Douglas Knotweed Polygonum douglasii Prefers exposed rocky-gravelly slopes and hillside ledges in well-drained soil where little other vegetation grows. Can also grow in nutrient-enriched hardwood forests if the canopy is open enough; often associated with rocks even in forest.

Cliffs

Robbins’ milkvetch Astragalus robbinsii var. minor In northern New England, this species is found on calcareous or circumneutral cliffs and ledges, sometimes in riverside settings.

Fragrant Fern Dryopteris fragrans var. remotiuscula Prefers cracks on typically cool, seasonally dry, shaded, overhanging cliffs influenced by periodic calcium-rich seepage. Associated species include Woodsia ilvensis, Campanula rotundifolia, Cystopteris fragilis, C. tenuis, Diervilla lonicera and various calciphilic bryophytes.

Creeping Juniper Juniperus horizontalis In NH, restricted to exposed cliff-tops and faces on calcium-bearing rocks; otherwise mainly coastal in northern New England, including headlands, cliffs, and sandy or rocky fields.

Prairie Goldenrod Oligoneuron album Occurs primarily on dry, calcareous cliffs and ledges. May also occur in open fields and roadsides. All known NH occurrences are on calcium-rich soil or bedrock.

Alpine Bearberry Arctostaphylos alpina Typically on the exposed end of the dry/mesic heath meadow system of alpine communities. Arctostaphylos alpina is usually found in small, isolated populations on ridgelines of the Presidentials

Scirpus-like Sedge Carex scirpoidea Strongly associated with circumneutral or calcareous rocky summits, outcrops, and cliffs. In NH, only known from open ledges and subalpine habitats.

Sitka clubmoss Lycopodium sitchense Alpine to subalpine barrens in open, stony, or well-drained habitats. In Maine alpine, summits of snowbank gullies.

(= Diphasiastrum sitchense)

Mountain Sorrel Oxyria digyna Typically occurs in snowbank communities and on rocky slopes and ledges of headwalls. May occur near alpine streamsides. Above 3500’ in northern New England.

Robbin’s Cinquefoil Potentilla robbinsiana Alpine zone in Presidential Range of WMNF.

Boott’s Rattlesnake Root Prenanthes boottii Variety of alpine habitats, moist tundra, steep cirque ledges and crests, and disturbed alpine sites such as trail-sides and hut areas

Alpine Meadow Grass Poa pratensis ssp. alpigena In NH, occupies nutrient poor soils in alpine/subalpine dry-mesic heath and meadow communities, including Bigelow sedge meadows.

Little Yellow Rattle Rhinanthus minor ssp. groenlandicus Open alpine habitats; extant locations have moderate human disturbance, although historic locations included natural settings.

Moss Campion Silene acaulis var exscapa Moist, alpine meadows. Gravelly barrens.

Boreal Blueberry Vaccinium boreale Alpine and subalpine meadows, heaths, and bogs, often exposed gravelly or rocky sites.

Wet Alpine (snowbanks, streams, and bogs) or both Wet & Mesic Alpine

Arnica Arnica lanceolata Alpine ravines, damp banks and rock ledges. At low elevations on rocky river banks, gravel bars, beaches, and alluvial flats of rivers and streams at low elevations.

Dwarf White Birch Betula minor Bogs and wet, rocky alpine slopes, summits and gullies. Acidic rocky barrens and peaks.

Langsdorf’s Blue Joint Calamagrostis canadensis var. langsdorfii Wet-mesic snowbank habitat in alpine ravines and near alpine lakes or streams.

Alpine Bitter Cress Cardamine bellidifolia Cold ravines or on wet mossy rocks in the alpine area.

Black Sedge Carex atratiformis In New England, wet alpine or subalpine open habitat, such as wet cliffs, calcareous alpine seeps, river shores, ravines, and open meadows. On WMNF, restricted to wet or damp alpine habitats, including brooks and ravine snowbanks.

Hair-like Sedge Carex capillaris NH plants are ssp. fuscidula, which occur in wet-mesic alpine meadows. Elsewhere in NE, the ssp. capillaris occurs in high-pH boreal cliffs, seeps, and Rivershore outcrops.

Head-like Sedge Carex capitata ssp. arctogena Wet, acidic, rocky or gravely soil in the alpine. May also occur in similar dry habitats.

Pale painted cup Castilleja septentrionalis In New Hampshire and Maine, alpine snowbank and rill habitats, particularly on alpine ravine headwalls and brooks; rarely adventive at lower elevations (historically).

Oakes’ Eyebright Euphrasia oakesii Alpine. Exposed gravelly slopes or ledges or open ledgy areas.

Proliferous Fescue Festuca prolifera Alpine, in cool, wet snowbank ravine settings, and along alpine brooks.

Mountain Avens Geum peckii Moist alpine areas. Snowbank, wet meadow, streamside communities in the alpine. Occurs rarely at low elevation sites, in rocky streams.

Moss Bell-heather Harrimanella hypnoides Snowbank communities, wet seeps, and crevices in alpine habitats.

Alpine Cudweed Omalotheca supina Gravelly slopes and ravines at high altitudes; exposed alpine areas and snowbank communities.

Wavy Bluegrass Poa laxa ssp. fernaldiana Typically found on high, wet cliffs, especially beneath little overhangs on cliffs; also in dry/mesic heath meadow system of alpine communities in NH, which includes an array of Carex meadows, strong heaths, Diapensia shrublands, fell fields, and barren rock.

Viviparous Knotweed Polygonum viviparum Snowbank communities, wet mossy rocks and seeps, and near streams in alpine and subalpine areas.

Silverleaf Willow Salix argyrocarpa Moist soils in alpine or subalpine streamside, ravine and snowbank habitats.

Dwarf Willow Salix herbacea In NH, typically occurs in cool, wet ravines, snowbank communities, and along alpine brooks. Grassy, sandy, or rocky places in alpine areas; often on thinner soils than other snowbank/wet ravine species.

White Mountain Saxifrage Saxifraga paniculata Typically alpine areas with exposed calcareous gravel and rocks. Can grow below alpine on limy, seepy, open cliffs.

Alpine Brook Saxifrage Saxifraga rivularis Alpine ravines, wet and mossy areas, wet cliffs, and some dry-mesic heath alpine/subalpine communities. May benefit from reduced competition associated with moderate disturbance. May be a nitrophile.

Arizona Cinquefoil Sibbaldia procumbens Snowbank/wet meadow/streamside alpine communities; only occurrence is at bottom of a snowfield.

Mountain Hairgrass Vahlodea atropurpurea In northern New England, is limited to the alpine/subalpine zone, especially herbaceous snowbanks communities.

American alpine speedwell Veronica wormskjoldii Wet, seepy, and sometimes rocky alpine ravine snowbank settings, including along brooks or rills.