3 

 The state-wide status and viability of Ferruginous 

 Hawks in Montana is poorly known with studies to date 

 centered in extreme southeastern, extreme southwestern, and 

 north-central Montana (Ensign 1983; Myers 1987; Restani 

 1989, 1991; Harmata 1991; Wittenhagen 1991). Montana 

 appears to support a relatively stable population of 

 breeding Ferruginous Hawks, second in size only to Wyoming 

 in the United States (Ure et al. 1991, USFWS 1992) . Myers 

 (1987) documented a very high density of nesting pairs in 

 Beaverhead and Madison counties, rivalled by few other 

 populations region-wide. However, similar to other portions 

 of its breeding range, apparently suitable habitat in 

 southwestern Montana remains unoccupied by breeding 

 Ferruginous Hawks (Fitzner et a_l. 1977, E. C. Atkinson pers . 

 observ.) and the number of active territories has likely 

 declined historically in Montana as a result of homesteading 

 and the concurrent conversion of native grasslands to 

 agriculture (Dennis Flath pers. comm. ) . Just to our north 

 in Alberta, Ferruginous Hawks presently occupy only 60% of 

 the area in which they historically nested, a situation that 

 is strongly tied to increases in land area used for 

 agriculture and the increases of woody species associated 

 with fire suppression (Houston and Bechard 1984; Schmutz 

 1984, 1987a) . 



This study was a continuation of the surveys of public 

 land in southwest Montana performed in 1985 and 1986 by 



