Washington mammals

Montane Vole in Washington

Microtus montanus

Native to Washington S5 Secure in Washington

Not listed as nonindigenous in Washington by USGS NAS; native to its Washington 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 Washington, by the numbers

Rare in Washington 99th most recorded of 145 mammals logged in Washington

1,169 occurrence records
6 with iNaturalist photos
May 15, 2026 Last seen in Washington

Records from 2000–2026.

1,169 total records count every Washington occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 1,159 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Montane Vole in Washington

Most sightings fall in October.

1,159 Washington occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Washington records (table)
MonthRecords
January43
February66
March183
April60
May142
June89
July33
August63
September47
October208
November117
December108

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

Seasonality

Year-round in Washington, with recorded sightings peaking in October, with a smaller rise in March and May.

Occurrence map

Where Montane Vole has been recorded in Washington

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Washington records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Washington State Department of Natural Resources (WADNR) State Resource Management Area 26
Gifford Pinchot National Forest 10
Glacier Peak Wilderness 6
Wenas Wildlife Area Complex 4
Mount Rainier National Park 3
Kaniksu National Forest 2
Sunnyside-Snake River Wildlife Area Complex 1
Sun Lakes-Dry Falls 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 Washington

CountyRecords
Whitman County 578
Walla Walla County 223
Yakima County 90
Douglas County 37
Kittitas County 35
Chelan County 28
Spokane County 27
Grant County 26
Pend Oreille County 22
Adams County 17
Klickitat County 17
Lincoln County 16
9 other counties 53

The complete county distribution, spread across 21 Washington counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Across the Washington overlay, montane vole is represented by 1,169 records. Source coverage is uneven: 6 records come through iNaturalist and 1,168 through GBIF. In the record-volume ordering, not a population census, it falls at rank 89 of 126.

Seasonally, October leads with 208 records, while July has 33. Named search areas include Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge and Palouse Falls State Park; neither is quantified as a hotspot here. Observer access, surveys, and archives shape this pattern, so it should not be called abundance.

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 Washington 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"