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• 2. Vegetative characteristics a. Availability of important browse species b. Protection offered by shrub density and shrub height 3. Weather patterns a. Potential of site to accumulate deep snag during winter b. EScposure of site to prevailing wind 4. Availability of water MAM7ALLIN PRIDATOR SURVEY Nanmalian predators were surveyed during October, 1979 by the scent-station visitation technique (see Results, page 40!. The United States Fish and Wildlife Seiti~ice (USFWS) has used this survey method for the past eight years to determine indices of predator abundance in the western United States. • The scent-station visitation technique was developed in New York state by Cook (1949), who suggested that records of fox sign at scent posts provided a practical index to the relative abundance of foxes between areas and from year to year. The scent-station visitation technique has been standardized by the Denver Wildlife Research Center (Linhart and Knowlton 1973) and has been used each year since 1972 to survey predators in 17 western states. The results of this program, including statistical analysis, are available from the Denver Wildlife Research Center and were crompared to data gathered at the project site to determine predator abundance indices. The scent-station visitation technique cronsists of a survey route comprised of 50 scent stations, located 0.3 mi apart. Due to the small area encrony~assed by the Nucla Nine study area, the number of stations in the predator survey line was reduced to 95. This was tre maxirmun number of stations t]~.at mold be spaced at 0.3 mi intervals traversing all vegetation and topographic types on or within 2 miles of the study azea. • -9- ~ U M 1 1 1980