In Oregon, the Columbian ground squirrel is a northeastern species, and the county list draws that boundary sharply. Wallowa County holds 151 of the state’s 330 records since 2000, with Baker (56), Grant (47), Union (43), and Umatilla (30) wrapping around the Blue and Wallowa mountains. The Eagle Cap Wilderness alone carries 25 reports. West of the Blues, the record thins to single records in Crook and Harney counties, and the Cascades and coast are empty.
The seasonal swing is just as sharp. Reports are essentially absent from October through March, while the squirrels hibernate, then build from April into a July crest, when the high bunchgrass slopes are full of animals fattening for the next long sleep. NatureServe ranks the species apparently secure in Oregon. The Wallowa-Whitman high country is where the record is densest, though that density reflects hiker traffic on summer trails as much as squirrel numbers. Still, 330 reports across seven counties leave little doubt about where in Oregon this animal lives.
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