The North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) currently occupies a wide range of terrestrial habitats across the United States and is expanding its range to include much of the North American continent (Ilse and Hellgren, 2001). It is the only porcupine in North America, and its habitat includes hemlock and deciduous forests, which often brings it into close contact with humans who have monopolized such areas for development and agriculture (Roze, 1989).

The purpose of this project was to determine the nonwinter and winter home ranges of porcupines in a mixed hardwood forest in northern New York and to monitor den activity to determine daily and seasonal changes in den use. Primarily, I a) measured the home range of three radio collared porcupines to determine seasonal and yearly variability; b) monitored den usage to determine time of day of peak activity, seasonal activity differences, and instances of den sharing; and c) observed sexual differences in home range and den usage.

This study was meant to determine the habitat preference of porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum) at the second (home range), third (forest stand), and fourth (tree species) order of selection. I measured tree species composition, stand density, tree height, canopy width, and soil depth for a 100 hectare area of the Kip Tract in Canton NY. I calculated relative frequency, relative abundance, and relative dominance of each tree species. I tracked porcupines for six months using radio telemetry.