SUMMARY 



Song-playback surveys conducted in forested habitats of southwestern 

 Montana during the winter of 1989 yielded 29 owl responses. Nine boreal owl 

 responses were heard, representing eight different owls, during seven of the 

 thirty surveys. Boreal owls were heard in either Picea englemanii , Abies 

 lasiocarpa , Pseudotsuga menziesii , or Pinus contorta forest types between 6,000 

 and 7.800 ft elevation. Five and three owls were heard on the west and east 

 sides of the Continental Divide respectively. Owl calling sites were between 

 12 and 120 ft from forest openings and within 300 ft of water. Suggestions are 

 made for future research on boreal owls to comply with monitoring and 

 management regulations defined in the National Forest Management Act of 1976. 



Analysis of stand structure at primary calling sites indicated number of 

 canopy levels ranging from one to four with canopy closure estimates from kO to 

 80 percent. All stands contained from 2 to 10 snags per acre. Ages of 

 dominant trees ranged from 80 to 200 years, with DBH values between 11 and 2k 

 inches and heights from 5^ to 90 feet. 



