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Tenderfoot Creek Experimental Forest
The Tenderfoot Creek Experimental Forest, established
in 1961, is representative of the vast expanses of
lodgepole pine found east of the Continental Divide in
Montana, southwest Alberta, and Wyoming. Lodgepole
pine stands on the forest form a mosaic typical of the
fire-prone forests at moderate to high altitudes in the
northern Rocky Mountains. The forest stands are
classified as one-aged (47 percent of the forested area)
and two-aged (53 percent) that were created by past
stand replacement and mixed severity fires. Engelmann
spruce and subalpine fir grow in the area's sparse but
species-rich wetlands, whereas whitebark pine, lodgepole
pine and subalpine fir grace the higher ridgetops. The
forest encompasses 3,692 ha of the headwaters of
Tenderfoot Creek in the Little Belt Mountains on the
Lewis and Clark National Forest in Meagher County,
Montana. It is approximately 64 km north of White
Sulphur Springs, Montana, and 114 km southeast of
Great Falls, Montana. Lodgepole pine and mixed
lodgepole pine with Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir
stands occupy 3,513 ha, wet meadows cover 126 ha, and
drier grass and scree slopes make up another 84 ha.
Elevations range from 1,840 to 2,420 m.
Climate
The climate is generally continental with occasional
influence of the Pacific maritime climate along the
Continental Divide from Marias Pass south. Annual
precipitation averages 880 mm, and ranges from 594 to
1,050 mm from the lowest to highest elevations.
Monthly precipitation generally peaks in December or
January at 100 to 125 mm per month and declines to 50
to 60 mm per month from late July through October.
About 70 percent of the annual precipitation falls during
the November through May period, usually as snow.
Intense summer thunderstorms are relatively rare, and
most overland flow and associated soil erosion are
associated with snowmelt.
Mountain soils generally are at field capacity at the
beginning of plant growth in early spring. At lower
elevations and on dry south-facing slopes, soil-moisture
stress stops plant growth for shallow rooted plants by
mid-July. At higher elevations, growing seasons are
shorter and killing frosts rather than moisture stress limit
growth. Freezing temperatures and snow can occur every
month of the year at Tenderfoot Creek and throughout
the Little Belt range. For hardy native plants, growing
seasons average 45 to 75 days, decreasing to 30 to 45
days on the higher ridges.
Soils
The most extensive soil groups are the loamy skeletal,
mixed Typic Cryochrepts and clayey, mixed Aquic
Cryoboralfs. Rock talus slopes are prominent on the
perimeter of the landscape, but rock outcrops are
confined chiefly to areas adjacent to main stream
channels. Soils in the grassland parks range from well to
poorly drained. Seeps and springs are common over the
entire forest.
The geology of Tenderfoot Creek is characterized by
igneous intrusive sills of quartz porphyry, Wolsey shales,
Flathead quartzite, and granite gneiss. The northern part
of the forest occupies the highest elevations and steepest
upland topography and is underlain by igneous intrusive
granitic rocks. The arched bedrock in the area was
formed from metasediments of Cambrian Age consisting
mainly of argillites and quartzites. Glaciation has
influenced the landform, producing broad basins in
which the streams are beginning to regain a water-carved
dendritic pattern.
Vegetation
Four forest habitat types are present at Tenderfoot Creek:
subalpine fir/grouse whortleberry; subalpine fir, blue
huckleberry; subalpine fir, bluejoint; subalpine firwhitebark
pine/grouse whortleberry. Besides these four
climax types, a portion of the Tenderfoot Creek is
dominated by the lodgepole pine/huckleberry
community type. In this case, however, the community
type is attributable to the subalpine fir/grouse
whortleberry habitat type because of the extensive and
continuous presence of fir regeneration and old growth
throughout the forest. Within each habitat type are
stands of different age classes occurring intermittently.
There are also four other general land descriptions
classified for the forest: talus slopes, rock outcrops,
grassland parks, and wet meadows.
Long-Term Data Bases
Long-term data bases maintained at Tenderfoot Creek
include information on: timber inventory (1957 and
1963), soil types and maps (1966), fuels analysis (1974
and 1999), ecological habitat type descriptions (1975),
GIS layers (current through 2003), streamflow (1992 to
present), water quality, sediment, climate, and vegetation
(current through 2003).
Research, Past and Present
There was no research at Tenderfoot Creek before 1991
other than the collection of basic data on soils, timber
inventory, and habitat typing. Hydrologic and climatic
monitoring sites and equipment were installed in the
early 1990s to develop pretreatment baseline information
for the Tenderfoot Research Project, which is testing an
array of management treatments for regenerating and
restoring healthy lodgepole pine forests through
emulation of natural disturbance processes but avoiding
catastrophic-scale disturbances. Prescribed burning for
seedbed preparation and fuels reduction is a major
portion of the research project.
Major Research Accomplishments
and Effects on Management
Research treatments were completed in 2000 and
prescribed burning as part of the over all research design
was mostly completed in 2002 with the remainder
completed in the fall of 2003. Posttreatment data were
collected on water quantity, sediment production, water
nutrients, fuel loading, noxious weeds, populations of
pollinating insects, windthrow, understory and overstory
vegetation response, and snow loading.
Collaborators
Collaborators working at Tenderfoot Creek include
scientists from the Lewis and Clark, Helena, Gallatin,
Beaverhead-Deerlodge, and Bitterroot National Forests;
USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service;
Montana State Departments of Water Quality and Fish,
Wildlife and Parks; Montana State University; University
of Montana; Bitterroot Ecosystem Management Research
Project; USDI Geological Survey, and Mississippi Basin
Carbon Project.
Research Opportunities
Opportunities for research at Tenderfoot Creek abound
for those interested in evaluating new techniques and
options for managing lodgepole pine communities in the
northern Rockies, including fuels management, and
vegetation response and development following
harvesting, prescribed burning, water production, water
quality, and associated ecological processes.
Facilities
Permanent structures at Tenderfoot Creek include 10
flumes, one open-channel measurement site and two
SNOTEL sites. Three travel trailers parked near the
forest during summers provide temporary quarters for
field crews; a fourth equipment trailer is located on site.
Other features include internal access roads for stream
monitoring (Tenderfoot Creek and Lonesome Creek)
and for access to new research. All other roads are within
or on the border of three of the four boundaries of
Tenderfoot Creek. The western boundary is accessed by
trails only. The main road along Tenderfoot Creek is
closed to motorized vehicles except for administrative
use.
Lat. 46°55' N, long. 110°53' W
Contact Information
Tenderfoot Creek Experimental Forest
US Forest Service
Rocky Mountain Research Station
Forestry Sciences Laboratory
800 East Beckwith, PO Box 8089
Missoula, MT 59807
Tel: (406) 329-2125
Forest website
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The material for the Experimental Forests pages was originally published in:
Adams, Mary Beth; Loughry, Linda; Plaugher, Linda, comps. 2004.
Experimental Forests and Ranges of the USDA Forest Service.
Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-321. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station. 178 p.
GTR-NE-321 - 5.5 mb pdf
Information has been updated since original publication.
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