Montane voles live boom-and-bust lives, and Wyoming’s record count shows it. With 1,276 records logged, this is one of the better-documented small mammals in the state, and the pattern of when those reports come in matches a species known for population swings tied to grass growth. July alone accounts for 671 of them, more than half the total, likely a mix of peak grassland activity and the season when field crews are out running traps across the sagebrush basins near Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge and the Red Desert.
The runways this species wears through grass and low sagebrush are often easier to find than the vole itself, and Wyoming’s river corridors and basin floors give it exactly that cover. NatureServe lists it S5, Secure, statewide, and only one of the 1,276 records came from iNaturalist, a reminder that most of what’s known here comes from wildlife surveys rather than casual observers documenting a small, shy grassland rodent.
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