Tall Forbs

Photographer: Teresa Prendusi

Note: Tall forbs, for which the Conservation Alternative proposes forest management in the Herblands section, is a rare plant community in Utah.  The MLNF proposed Management Plan only mentions tall forbs as being a part of the Elk Knoll Research Natural Area:

Relatively level bench supporting subalpine tall forb vegetation; forests on adjacent slopes of subalpine fir and Engelmann spruce.

GOALS

Conservation Alternative Goals (FW-HERB -GL): 01

1. As meadows are frequently intensively used by recreationists, livestock, and wild ungulates, management of meadow vegetation will focus primarily on retention and restoration of native species.

DESIRED CONDITIONS

Conservation Alternative Desired Conditions (FW-HERB-DC): 01-03

1. The ecological status of meadow vegetation is late seral.

   
   

2. Fifty percent or more of the relative cover of grasslands is native graminoids.

   
   

3. Tall forbs with seedheads intact are forming an important part of the subalpine mosaic with spruce-fir forests, aspen, and mixed conifer.

OBJECTIVES

Conservation Alternative Objectives (FW-HERB-OB): 01-04

1. Within three years of plan approval identify meadow patches larger than 5 acres where the cover of non-native herbaceous species and/or species unpalatable to ungulates (i.e., “increasers”) is greater than 40% cover.

   
   

2. Annually undertake one project (including as necessary, protection from ungulates) in one mesic meadow to increase the native species diversity (i.e., species richness and evenness) where species unpalatable to ungulates have increased to more than 40% cover. 

   
   

3. Restore the native composition and structure of 100-300 acres of impaired meadows every 10 years. 

Within ten years of plan approval, increase the cover of native herbaceous vegetation within tall forb meadows to at least 60%.

STANDARDS

Conservation Alternative Standards (FW-POLLINATOR-ST): 01

1. Livestock grazing shall be excluded from pastures containing two or more patches of tall forb communities of >1 acre exhibiting <50% of tall forbs with seedheads or 50% bare ground

GUIDELINES

Conservation Alternative Guidelines (FW-NPM-GD): 01

1. Prioritize relocation of non-motorized trails and closure or relocation of motorized routes within tall forb meadows.

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ABOUT THIS COMPARISON

All text in this chart is copied and pasted from the Conservation Alternative, the proposed Management Plan, and the DEIS except for any text in brackets and in italics font.

YELLOW HIGHLIGHTED TEXT

Management elements for conservation of Tall Forbs that were submitted in the Conservation Alternative.

Yellow-masked text: Conservation Alternative provisions that are particularly important, but since the Conservation Alternative was not included in the DEIS, they have not been offered to the public as options for their comment.

Note: “Tall Forbs” is not a section by itself in the Management Plan.  However, it is a rare plant community of tall wildflowers that was greatly diminished by early cattle grazing on the Manti portion of the Manti-La Sal NF.  Most of the remaining tall forbs in the MLNF remain in sheep- and cattle-grazed areas. The Rocky Mountain Research Station of the Forest Service sponsored a 3-day tall forbs conference September 11-13, 2023 at the Great Basin Experimental Station, and Manti-La Sal NF botanists attended. However, no management elements are directed toward tall forbs in the Management Plan. They are mentioned as being present in the Elk Knoll Research Natural Area.

The Forest Service describes the tall forb community on its website:

1 Among the most unexpected and rarest of the high elevation plant communities is one dominated solely by large, luxuriant wildflowers, commonly referred to as the Tall Forb Community type. In the Tall Forb community trees and shrubs are relegated to the peripheral edges and don't invade or become established within the large tall forb "meadows" themselves. See Tall Forb (SRM 409) Cover Type [Excerpt] (PDF, 166 KB) from Rangeland Cover Types of the United States.

Probably the most striking feature of the Tall Forb Community is the abundance and remarkable variety of tall, luxuriant perennial wildflowers that make up the largest component of this community type. Up to 80 percent of the plant community composition is comprised of 16 inch to 48 inch tall wildflowers.

1 USDA Forest Service. What is a Tall Forb Community?

Orange patches are the remaining tall forb communities in Utah (Source: Forest Service)