Muskrats inhabit West Virginia’s marshes, farm ponds, slow river margins, and vegetated backwaters. Canaan Valley’s wetlands and Ohio River backwaters offer the clearest habitat, while quieter margins near Harpers Ferry can reveal bank burrows, feeding platforms, or a low-swimming animal.
They are present all year, with observations highest in March–April and June. Water-level changes and unobstructed shoreline views strongly affect detectability, so the record is less a measure of abundance than of where observers can see the water’s edge.
Full species profile
