Abstract

Risk Assessment to State Rare Mountain Bugbane in Western Maryland
Track: Environmental Management
Authors: John Churchill, James Howell, Sunshine Brosi

Mountain bugbane is an herbaceous plant associated with eastern hemlock in the southern and central Appalachians. It is rare in Maryland (10
occurrences) (NatureServe 2010) and is restricted to the westernmost county.It is found with the vegetatively similar and more common black cohosh which is wild-harvested for many ailments including menopausal symptoms. Amidst development pressure and hemlock decline, incidental collection may increase the vulnerability of mountain bugbane. We used black cohosh monitoring data, from western Maryland state forests, and GIS layers ranking sites for accessibility and disturbance risk. Many sites are close to roads, trails and campsites. For example, of 139 black cohosh sites, 76 were within 100m of roads, 60 were within 100m of trails, and 7 were within 100m of campsites. This analysis provides recommendations to managers regarding permitting for herb collection, priority areas for hemlock woolly adelgid control, and limiting access to remote areas.