blackfoot-valley

usual vegetation maps farther north than Wyoming and southern Idaho. Sur- prisingly, here it is found right in the middle of western Montana, the two-or- three-foot-high plants found along the roadsides, on the moraines, and even here and there in the woods. Its essence is used in many aromatic products: lotions, shampoos, etc. When rubbing the leathery leaves of sagebrush be- tween your fingers, you may recognize its aroma. The surrounding valley region is a vegetation transition area between the Great Plains east of the mountains where short grass dominates, and the heavily forested northern Rockies that extend into northern Idaho and north- eastern Washington (and of course, into B.C. in Canada). The Ranch lands have impressive stands of both. Whether grass or forest dominates depends locally on terrain and exposure. Forest covers mountain slopes, while grass and shrub predominate in the lower and more level valleys, including the gla- cial moraines. The dominant forest trees are conifers, especially pines such as ponderosa, lodgepole (the latter, as the name implies, slender and of lim- ited size) and white pine. Other conifers found here are douglas fir, spruce, and western hemlock. One kind of tree deserves special mention: the larch, also known by some as “tamarack pines.” It’s of a type unheard-of almost everywhere else in the country: a deciduous conifer whose needles turn golden and drop every autumn. Here they occur in distinct patches among the evergreen needleleaf conifers, especially on the north and east facing slopes of the mountains. On the Ranch, one particularly impressive larch stand is seen across Wales Lake from a spot popular for picnicking alongside the narrow road a few hundred yards behind the dam. In the summer, the larch cannot be distinguished at a distance from the evergreen conifers. At their peak of color in October, they are visually stunning. When backlit, they positively glow a metallic gold, quite distinct from the broadleaf trees that turn color. They make a most striking contrast with the dark evergreens around them. No photograph can do them justice. Most of those who grew up in this part of Montana and take larch for granted can scarcely appreciate how rare it is to find this tree in the United States. Aside from this area on the Ranch, it is found in isolated spots in northern Idaho, northeastern Washington, Minnesota, and Michigan. Western Montana is the only part of the United States where these magnificent trees can be seen in all their autumn glory. The larch region does extend across the Canadian border to include a 33