DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Achnatherum richardsonii | Richardson Needlegrass 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Richardson needlegrass is distributed from British Columbia, Alberta,
Saskatchewan, and parts of Yukon Territory [18,36] south through Montana
to Colorado and west to eastern Washington [14,18].  Scattered
populations occur in the Black Hills of South Dakota [14].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES20  Douglas-fir
   FRES21  Ponderosa pine
   FRES26  Lodgepole pine
   FRES29  Sagebrush
   FRES36  Mountain grasslands
   FRES37  Mountain meadows
   FRES38  Plains grasslands


STATES : 
     CO  ID  MT  SD  WA  WY  AB  BC  SK  YT


ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : 
     BIHO  GLAC  GRTE  YELL


BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
    8  Northern Rocky Mountains
    9  Middle Rocky Mountains
   10  Wyoming Basin
   11  Southern Rocky Mountains
   15  Black Hills Uplift
   16  Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K011  Western ponderosa forest
   K012  Douglas-fir forest
   K016  Eastern ponderosa forest
   K017  Black Hills pine forest
   K018  Pine - Douglas-fir forest
   K024  Juniper steppe woodland
   K050  Fescue - wheatgrass
   K051  Wheatgrass - bluegrass
   K055  Sagebrush steppe
   K056  Wheatgrass - needlegrass shrubsteppe
   K063  Foothills prairie
   K064  Grama - needlegrass - wheatgrass
   K066  Wheatgrass - needlegrass


SAF COVER TYPES : 
   201  White spruce
   210  Interior Douglas-fir
   217  Aspen
   218  Lodgepole pine
   219  Limber pine
   220  Rocky Mountain juniper
   237  Interior ponderosa pine
   238  Western juniper
   251  White spruce - aspen


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
Richardson needlegrass is found in intermontane valley grasslands and
meadows [24].  It is also common in bottomlands, on rocky or wooded
slopes, and on hillsides in mature pine (Pinus spp.) forests [12,14].
In British Columbia, Richardson needlegrass commonly occurs on warm, dry
sites scattered througout major valleys of the sub-boreal zone [25].

Published classifications describing Richardson needlegrass as a
codominant in community types are listed below:

Grasslands of the North Fork Valley, Glacier National Park, Montana [16].
Fescue grasslands of western Canada [19].

Common plant associates of Richardson needlegrass not listed in
Distribution and Occurrence are:  Canada bluegrass (Poa compressa),
prairie junegrass (Koeleria cristata), rough fescue (Festuca scabrella),
Idaho fescue (F. idahoensis), bearded wheatgrass (Elymus caninus),
western needlegrass (Achnatherum occidentalis), timber danthonia (Danthonia
intermedia), tufted hairgrass (Deschampsia cespitosa), sedges (Carex
spp.), shrubby cinqefoil (Potentilla fruticosa), bearberry
(Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), timothy (Phleum pratense), common yarrow
(Achillea millefolium), prairiesmoke avens (Geum triflorum), northern
bedstraw (Galium boreale), Hood's phlox (Phlox hoodii), and bluebell
(Campanula rotundifolia) [21,23,30,34].
   

Related categories for Species: Achnatherum richardsonii | Richardson Needlegrass