Snowshoe hare occur year-round throughout the Taiga of Alaska and inhabit mixed spruce forests, wooded swamps and brushy areas. They prefer dense brush and forest cover, which provide protection from both avian and terrestrial predators. Their diet varies between summer and winter depending on forage availability. In the summer, forage consists mainly of grasses, buds, twigs and leaves, while in the winter, spruce twigs and needles, bark and willow buds are consumed.