Editing Wasatch Range (section)

==Ecology==
The Wasatch Range is part of the Wasatch and Uinta Mountains Level 3 Ecoregion,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/pp1794A9 |title=USGS Wasatch and Uinta Mountains Level 3 Ecoregion |doi=10.3133/pp1794A9 |access-date=18 September 2017 |archive-date=9 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709134116/https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/pp1794A9 |url-status=live }}</ref> a [[temperate coniferous forest]]. Common trees include [[Douglas fir]] (''Pseudotsuga menziesii''), [[subalpine fir]] (''Abies bifolia''), [[Engelmann spruce]] (''Picea engelmannii''), [[Colorado blue spruce]] (''Picea pungens''), and [[quaking aspen]] (''Populus tremuloides''). [[Gambel oak]] (''Quercus gambelii'') is common on the foothills of the range from just south of [[Brigham City, Utah|Brigham City]] in the north, to the southern extension of the Wasatch Range. It is not found in the northern portion of the Range. [[Ponderosa pine]] (''Pinus ponderosa''), while abundant elsewhere in Utah is not common in this mountain range, except in plantations in [[Big Cottonwood Canyon]] southeast of Salt Lake City and in [[Logan Canyon]], east of Logan. Some individual trees have been found in remote areas of the Wasatch Range that appear to be relic individuals from past populations.

Subspecies of [[big sagebrush]] (''Artemisia tridentata'') dominate drier portions of the landscapes. Most of the sagebrush that occurs in the Wasatch Range is [[mountain big sagebrush]] (''Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana''). Many of the valley bottoms at one time were occupied by [[basin big sagebrush]] (''Artemisia tridentata ssp. tridentata''). Most of this subspecies has been removed, however, because it occurred on what constitutes prime agricultural lands. In upper elevations, and on slightly more mesic sites than that of mountain big sagebrush, one can find subalpine big sagebrush (''Artemisia tridenta ssp. spiciformis'').<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=ARTRS2 |title=USDA-ARTRS2 |access-date=13 March 2015 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402124930/http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=ARTRS2 |url-status=live }}</ref> This subspecies occupies productive sites and often has a lush understory of wildflowers and grasses. [[Wyoming big sagebrush]] (''Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis'') occurs at the lowest and driest elevations, although much of the Wasatch Range is above the elevation where this subspecies occurs.<ref>Winward, A.H. 2004. Sagebrush of Colorado: taxonomy, distribution, ecology and management. Colorado Division of Wildlife. Denver, CO. 46 p.</ref> All sagebrush species, combined, provide critical habitat to [[greater sage grouse]], a species under consideration for listing by the [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]].

The Wasatch Range is home to several plants that occur nowhere other than in this area. Several of these are rare and restricted to narrow geological formations, while others are more widely distributed throughout the area. Some of the less rare endemics include five-petal cliffbush (''[[Jamesia americana]]'' var. ''macrocalyx''),<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=JAAMM |title=USDA-JAAMM |access-date=13 March 2015 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402151404/http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=JAAMM |url-status=live }}</ref> Sierra fumewort (''[[Corydalis caseana]]'' ssp. ''brachycarpa''),<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=COCAB |title=USDA - COCAB |access-date=13 March 2015 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402111957/http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=COCAB |url-status=live }}</ref> and Utah angelica (''[[Angelica wheeleri]]'').<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=ANWH |title=USDA-ANWH |access-date=13 March 2015 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402120327/http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=ANWH |url-status=live }}</ref>