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A study was conducted during May-September 1974 as an integral part of a comprehensive population analysis of black bears (Ursus americanus Pallas) in Trinity County, California, by the California Department of Fish and Game. Habitat types on the study area were delineated and evaluated, and the selection and use of each type by black bears were estimated from all fresh bear sign encountered during trapping and radiotracking activities. Scats were collected and analyzed for frequency of occurrence and percentage volume of food items. Bear sign in wet meadows accounted for 55 percent of all sign found during May although wet meadows comprised less than 1 percent of the study area. Mixed conifer forest received heavy bear use during all periods except late August, when bears foraged for insects in decayed logs and stumps in high-elevation partial cuts. Black bears used manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp.) brush habitats extensively during late summer and fall to feed on manzanita berries. A failure of the manzanita berry crop in 1973 was believed to have caused a higher rate of subadult mortality and a lower rate of cub production in 1974.