NESTING AND SUMMER HABITAT USE BY TRANSLOCATED SAGE GROUSE (CENTROCERCUS-UROPHASIANUS) IN CENTRAL IDAHO

We translocated 196 Sage Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) into Sawto oth Valley, Idaho, during March-April 1986-87 to augment a small resid ent population. Forty-four grouse equipped with radio transmitters wer e monitored through spring and summer. Nest sites (n = 6) had greater (P = .032) horizontal cover than did independent random plots (n = 7). During summer, grouse used sites (n = 50) with taller live and dead s hrub heights, greater shrub canopy cover, and more ground litter (P < .009) than were found on dependent random plots (n = 50) 50-300 m from use sites. Distance to edge and mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tri dentata vaseyana) density best separated use sites from independent ra ndom plots in logistic regression analysis and correctly classified 64 % of the use sites and 78% of the independent random plots. Sage Grous e used sites that had narrower frequency distributions for many variab les than did independently plots (P < .04), suggesting selection for u niform habitat.