6 

 the west half of the Absaroka Mountain Range and most of the west 

 side of the Crazy Mountains. 



The dominate forests on the district are lodgepole pine 

 (Pinus contorta) and Douglas fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii) . 

 Engelmann spruce (Picea enqelmannii ) , subalpine fir ( Abies 

 lasiocarpa ) and aspen ( Populus tremuloides ) occur on the wetter 

 sites. Whitebark pine ( Pinus albicaulis ) occurs at high 

 elevations. 



METHODS 



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< '~ 



Boreal owl and flammulated owl surveys were conducted on the 

 Livingston District of the Gallatin National Forest during the 

 spring of 1992. Survey routes were selected that represented a 

 variety of habitat types including; low elevation (below 6200 

 ft.), high elevation (above 6200 ft.), riparian, forests 

 fragmented by past timber harvest, and continuous forests (roaded 

 and roadless) . Routes were surveyed from snowmobiles, vehicles, 

 skis, snowshoes and foot between 26 February and 7 June. Surveys 

 were only conducted on nights with winds predicted at less than 

 10 mph. 



Surveys were started one half hour after sunset and lasted 

 2-7 hours. The call playback method was used to survey for owls 

 (Fuller and Mosher 1981) . Playback stations were one half to one 

 mile apart along the survey route. The spacing varied > widely on 

 some routes due to the topographic and/or habitat variation. At 



