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We monitored winter range use by elk in the Northern Sapphire Mountains of the Bitterroot Valley, Montana over the winters of 2011-2012 and 2012-13.  The goal of the project is to acquire data on elk habitat use and grazing preference on a former cattle ranch.   A herd of around 300 spends most of the winter on or near the study site.  The highest wintering elk numbers were recorded in November 2011, with 426.  Vegetation surveys were conducted on a grid pattern across the property during 2010 – 2012.  Of the 3,845 hectares within the property boundary, 2,130 hectares of rangeland include altered plant communities due to intensive grazing, exotic forage grass seeding, and herbicide applications. Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) dominates 32% of the rangeland area.  Seeded exotic forage grasses dominate 20% and perennial invaders dominate 6.8%.  Pristine or less-degraded plant communities dominated by native grasses cover 681 hectares.  We collected additional data for this project through observation, scat density surveys, diet analysis, and forage availability estimates through biomass collection.  During two field seasons, we conducted over 150 elk survey days with more than 450 locations. Elk locations and frequency of observation were assessed using habitat selectors that include dominant vegetation, slope, aspect, elevation, insolation, and proximity to water and roads.  Preliminary analyses of the data gathered to date will provide insights in assessing elk response to restoration efforts that seek to replace many weed-dominated communities with diverse native vegetation.