Montana mammals

Long-tailed Vole in Montana

Microtus longicaudus

Native to Montana S5 Secure in Montana

Not listed as nonindigenous in Montana by USGS NAS; native to its Montana range.

IUCN Red List status

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Photo: CK Kelly · CC BY 4.0Long-tailed vole peering from rocksPhoto: Eric Knight · CC BY 4.0Long-tailed vole using log cover.Photo: Rocky Mountain National Park · CC BY-SA 4.0Long-tailed vole moving through dry grass, tail trailing behind

Long-tailed vole under a fallen log — Photo: CK Kelly · CC BY 4.0Long-tailed vole peering from rocksPhoto: Eric Knight · CC BY 4.0Long-tailed vole using log cover.Photo: Rocky Mountain National Park · CC BY-SA 4.0Long-tailed vole moving through dry grass, tail trailing behind

Long-tailed Vole in Montana, by the numbers

Occasional in Montana 64th most recorded of 122 mammals logged in Montana

286 occurrence records

Records from 2000–2026.

286 total records count every Montana occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 284; the monthly chart covers the 282 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Long-tailed Vole in Montana

Most sightings fall in July.

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

Monthly Montana records (table)

Month	Records
January	4
February	0
March	4
April	1
May	1
June	40
July	118
August	58
September	18
October	22
November	10
December	6

Monthly long-tailed vole occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Montana, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Montana, with recorded sightings peaking in July.

Occurrence map

Where Long-tailed Vole has been recorded in Montana

284 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

284 Montana records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monument	iNaturalist records
Glacier National Park	10
Lolo National Forest	7
Montana State Trust Lands	4
Kootenai National Forest	3
Flathead Lake Biological Station	2
Blacktail Meadows Fishing Access Site	1
Scapegoat Wilderness	1
Bob Marshall Wilderness	1

Protected places with the most long-tailed vole 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 Montana

County	Records
Missoula County	50
Ravalli County	23
Beaverhead County	21
Lincoln County	21
Carbon County	21
Fergus County	20
Glacier County	14
Gallatin County	14
Sanders County	11
Granite County	10
Lake County	10
Judith Basin County	7
20 other counties	64

The complete county distribution, spread across 32 Montana counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Long-tailed vole holds a substantial 286-record showing in Montana, reaching from Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge to Flathead Lake and the Missouri River corridor, a spread that reflects a habitat generalist found in moist meadow, streamside, and forest-edge cover across much of the state.

Records jump from single digits in spring to 118 in July, the sharpest spike in this rank band, almost certainly reflecting small-mammal trapping-survey timing rather than a true midsummer population surge. NatureServe ranks the species S5, Secure, in Montana.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Full species profile Long-tailed Vole Microtus longicaudus Size 13.5 cm5.3 in Weight 50 g1.8 oz Lifespan Up to 1.2 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Montana 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
NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
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"