Katsuk Butte

Katsuk Butte Research Natural Area (RNA) was chosen to represent cinder cone ecosystems within the mountain hemlock zone.  Most of the RNA is occupied by Katsuk Butte and Talapus Butte, each with a deep summit crater. Mountain Hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) dry, mixed conifer dry, and lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) dry are the three major plant association groups of the RNA. The mountain hemlock/grouse huckleberry (Vaccinium scoparium) plant association is common on cold, well-drained sites with low species diversity and sparse understory vegetation.  The mixed conifer/snowbrush (Ceanothus velutinus)/long-stolon sedge plant association grows on well drained soils of outwash plains, butte toeslopes, and escarpments.  The lodgepole pine/long-rhizome sedge plant association is common on excessively drained, pumice soils on flats and in basins. The lodgepole pine/grouse huckleberry plant association occurs on cold, well-drained sites.