Oregon’s 3,480 eastern gray squirrel records belong almost entirely to the Willamette Valley, and that is no accident of habitat. This is a squirrel of the eastern hardwood forest, released in Oregon towns and cities, and Multnomah, Marion, and Washington counties, the corridor from Portland to Salem, hold most of the state’s records.
A city squirrel that came west
Gray squirrels thrive where people plant big oaks and maples, so their Oregon strongholds are parks, campuses, and shady neighborhoods rather than wild forest. The busiest named place in the record is the Oregon State Capitol State Park in Salem, with Pacific University, the Willamette River Greenway’s riverside corridors, and the Sauvie Island Wildlife Area adding more.
Hoarders with no quiet season
A gray squirrel buries acorns one at a time and finds them again by memory and smell, a scatter-hoarding habit that makes autumn its busiest season. Oregon’s records stay high from fall through spring, cresting in October, and only midsummer runs lighter, when food in the canopy keeps the animals high and quiet.
Status in Oregon
NatureServe marks the eastern gray squirrel SNA in Oregon, not ranked, because the species is exotic in the state. It is well established in the valley’s cities and towns.
Full species profile
