Nevada mammals

Montane Vole in Nevada

Microtus montanus

Native to Nevada S4 Apparently Secure in Nevada

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

Montane vole peering out from lichen-covered alpine rocksMontane vole foraging on snow with its tail and whiskers visibleMontane vole partly hidden in dry meadow grassMontane vole on snow showing its short, sparsely furred tail
Photo: Cole Wolf · CC BY 4.0Montane vole peering out from lichen-covered alpine rocksPhoto: ecovore · CC BY 4.0A montane vole pauses on late-season snow in the Sierra Nevada foothills.Photo: Brodie Cass Talbott · CC BY 4.0A montane vole works through dry meadow grass in eastern Oregon.Photo: ecovore · CC BY 4.0The same Sierra Nevada vole, tail and whiskers visible against the snow.

Montane Vole in Nevada, by the numbers

Common in Nevada 26th most recorded of 142 mammals logged in Nevada

1,233 occurrence records
8 with iNaturalist photos
Aug 24, 2024 Last seen in Nevada

Records from 2000–2026.

1,233 total records count every Nevada occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 1,208 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Montane Vole in Nevada

Most sightings fall in July.

1,208 Nevada occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Nevada records (table)
MonthRecords
January36
February4
March38
April44
May196
June139
July345
August119
September192
October25
November14
December56

Monthly montane vole occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Nevada, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

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

Occurrence map

Where Montane Vole has been recorded in Nevada

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Nevada records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Great Basin National Park 42
Ruby Mountains Wilderness 15
Toiyabe National Forest 13
High Schells Wilderness 8
Humboldt National Forest 7
Pine Forest Range Wilderness Area 4
High Rock Lake Wilderness Area 1
Steptoe Valley Wildlife Management Area 1

Protected places with the most montane 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 Nevada

CountyRecords
Churchill County 245
Lander County 203
White Pine County 179
Elko County 128
Washoe County 107
Lincoln County 102
Mineral County 71
Nye County 59
Esmeralda County 46
Humboldt County 22
Lyon County 21
Eureka County 20
3 other counties 30

The complete county distribution, spread across 15 Nevada counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Nevada records for the montane vole are anchored by Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge and Basin and Range National Monument. They show where people have reported it, not how many animals live there.

These sites place the Nevada record pattern firmly in the state’s southern desert country. The protected lands also span springs, canyons, and open basin terrain. The strongest reporting falls in summer, when Nevada’s high country is easiest to reach but low deserts are hottest. That may shape where observers submit records.

The file combines 8 research-grade iNaturalist records and 1,230 GBIF records. Those 1,238 records measure documented encounters, not Nevada’s population size. It’s native to Nevada. Nevada doesn’t specifically list it under the state’s conservation framework, and the IUCN lists it as Least Concern.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Montane vole peering out from lichen-covered alpine rocks
Full species profile Montane Vole Microtus montanus Size 14–22 cm5.5–8.7 in Weight 35 g1.2 oz View the full profile

More mammals in Nevada 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"