New Mexico sits at the low end of the plains harvest mouse’s range: only 35 of the species’ 508 range-wide records come from the state, fewer than every other state it’s mapped in except Nebraska. Kiowa National Grassland, Capulin Volcano National Monument, and Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge anchor the state’s scattered grassland and wetland-edge sightings.
The most recent confirmed New Mexico record dates to 2018, several years stale compared to most small-mammal sightings statewide, pointing to a gap in recent survey effort rather than a shrinking population.
March stands out as the clearest peak in the monthly counts, with secondary bumps in June and August, though a total of only 35 records makes any single month’s count easy to shift with a few extra trapping surveys. NatureServe still rates the species S4, Apparently Secure, statewide.
Full species profile
