Utah Juniper/Big Sagebrush
(4) Utah Juniper/Big Sagebrush Plant Community
(Juniperus osteosperma/Artemisia tridentata)
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PLANT LIST for Utah Juniper/Big Sagebrush Plant Community»
In the Pryor Mountains, the Utah Juniper/Big Sage community type occurs along Crooked Creek Road near Demijohn Flats flowing along the landscape like a sea of green. Utah Juniper also occurs at higher elevation in the Pryors with mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius) as the dominant shrub.

In our study area along Crooked Creek the only observed disturbance on the vegetation community are tracks from motorized use. All twenty-three species we recorded in our plots are plants native to Montana, indicating that the Utah Juniper plant community is in excellent condition at this time.
Potential negative impacts to the health of the Utah Juniper woodlands could result from loss of seed dispersers, a change in the level of insect damage and unusual impacts from other herbivore predators or an invasion by exotic plant species. Studies in the Great Basin show that invasion by annual cheat grass species, particularly Bromus tectorum, impact Utah Juniper communities by competing for surface water that the shallow root systems of Utah Juniper rely upon or by creating dangerous wild fire conditions. So far the Pryor Mountain Utah Juniper plant communities show little evidence of cheat grass invasion but ongoing monitoring is important for identifying changes and preventing habitat degradation.
Return to the main Botanical Guide to Special Places in the Pryors.
Refer the printable Botanical Guide version of the Pryor Mountain Map Set.
This study community (#4) is west of Crooked Creek Road about 4.5 miles north of the junction with Helt Rd., and 1.8 miles south of the junction with Pryor Mountain Rd. There is a small turnout on the east side of the road to park.
GPS Coordinates: N 45.0655°, W 108.4162°.Elevation: about 5,375 feet.
(Site #4 is about 2.0 miles north of plant community #3, and 1.3 miles south of plant community #5.)
Trees
Utah Juniper (Juniperus osteosperma)
Shrubs
Black Sagebrush (Artemisia nova)
Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata)
Broom Snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae)
Hood’s Phlox (Phlox hoodii)
Forbs
Capitate or Ballhead Sandwort (Arenaria congesta)
Hooker’s Sandwort (Arenaria hookeri)
Tufted or Draba Milkvetch (Astragalus spatulatus)
Desert Indian Paintbrush or Northwest Paintbrush (Castilleja angustifolia)
Buff Fleabane (Erigeron ochroleucus)
Oval-leaved or Cushion Buckwheat (Eriogonum ovalifolium)
Rabbit Buckwheat or Few-Flowered Wild Buckwheat (Eriogonum brevicaule var. canum)
Spiked Ipomopsis or Spicate Gilia (Ipomopsis spicata var. spicata)
Plains Prickly-Pear (Opuntia polyacantha)
Stiff-leaf Penstemon (Penstemon aridus)
Stemless Mock Goldenweed (Stenotus acaulis)
Mountain or Meadow Death-Camas (Zigadenus venenosus)
Grasses and Sedges
Bluebunch Wheatgrass (Agropyron spicatum)
Purple (or Red) Three-awn (Aristida purpurea)
Canadian Single-Spike Sedge (Carex scirpoidea)
Prairie Junegrass (Koeleria macrantha)
Sandberg’s Bluegrass (Poa secunda)
Needle-and-Thread (Stipa comata)