Washington mammals

American water shrew in Washington

Sorex palustris

Native to Washington

Not listed as nonindigenous in Washington by USGS NAS; treated as native to its mapped Washington range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

American water shrew swimming at the surface of a stream, seen from aboveAmerican water shrew swimming just below the surface of Pebble CreekAmerican water shrew paddling across a shallow, foam-edged stream
Photo: NPS / April Henderson · Public domainAmerican water shrew swimming at the surface of a stream, seen from abovePhoto: NPS / April Henderson · Public domainAmerican water shrew swimming in Pebble Creek, Yellowstone National ParkPhoto: NPS / April Henderson · Public domainAmerican water shrew crossing a foam-edged stretch of Pebble Creek

American water shrew in Washington, by the numbers

Occasional in Washington 58th most recorded of 145 mammals logged in Washington

160 occurrence records

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the American water shrew in Washington

Most sightings fall in July to August.

160 Washington occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Washington records (table)
MonthRecords
January1
February1
March0
April3
May17
June24
July35
August51
September12
October11
November3
December2

Monthly american water shrew occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Washington, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Washington, with recorded sightings peaking in July–August.

Occurrence map

Where American water shrew has been recorded in Washington

160 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

160 Washington records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Mount Rainier National Park 15
Daniel J. Evans Wilderness Area 13
Washington State Department of Natural Resources (WADNR) State Resource Management Area 8
Ross Lake National Recreation Area 4
Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness 4
William O. Douglas Wilderness 2
Mount Adams Wilderness 2
Pasayten Wilderness 2

Protected places with the most american water shrew sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in Washington

CountyRecords
Clallam County 24
Pend Oreille County 20
Pierce County 19
Columbia County 19
Stevens County 14
Whatcom County 11
Lewis County 9
Yakima County 9
Jefferson County 7
King County 6
Skamania County 5
Kittitas County 5
7 other counties 12

The complete county distribution, spread across 19 Washington counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

In this state overlay, american water shrew appears in 160 occurrence records. All come from GBIF; there are no iNaturalist records in the overlay.

Its clearest calendar contrast is August’s 51 records versus March in 0. Named places with records include Mount Rainier National Park and the Daniel J. Evans Wilderness Area. Observer access, surveys, and archives shape this pattern, so it should not be called abundance.

American water shrew swimming at the surface of a stream, seen from above
Full species profile American water shrew Sorex palustris Size 8 cm3.1 in Weight 8–18 g0.3–0.6 oz Lifespan Up to 1.5 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Washington in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"