New Hampshire has 246 documented meadow vole records, drawn from iNaturalist and GBIF. That’s a measure of where and when people found this vole’s runways and burrows, not a count of how many actually live in the state.
Grass country beats the high peaks
Meadow voles build networks of surface runways and shallow tunnels through dense grass and sedge, cover they need to stay hidden from hawks, foxes, and owls. The Merrimack Valley’s hayfields and the wet meadows and marsh edges around Great Bay and the Lakes Region give them exactly that kind of ground. The rocky, forested slopes of the White Mountains and the Presidential Range offer far less open grassy cover, so the thin scatter of records there likely reflects real habitat limits rather than under-reporting.
Active through the New Hampshire winter
Unlike many small mammals, meadow voles don’t hibernate. They keep running their tunnels and girdling stems and bark under the snow all winter, which is why New Hampshire logs a handful of records even in the coldest months. Reports jump sharply in July, more likely tracking when field surveys and casual observers are both out in force than any sudden summer-only burst of activity.
Status in New Hampshire
NatureServe ranks the meadow vole S5, secure, and it’s native to New Hampshire. It remains a steady presence in the grassy, low-lying ground the state’s farms, marshes, and lakeshores provide.
