North Dakota’s 420 Richardson’s ground squirrel records spread across the whole state. They run from Williams County on the Montana line to Grand Forks on the Red River. That’s what you’d expect from a prairie ground squirrel near the core of its range. Stutsman County leads with 89 reports. Ward, Kidder, Burleigh, and Bottineau all contribute solid counts, a mix of pothole grassland, pasture, and town-edge colonies. This is one species where the record genuinely looks statewide rather than observer-limited.
Timing tells its own story. Reports begin in March, crest in June with 201, and vanish after September. That tracks the squirrels’ long underground season. Adults start disappearing below ground by midsummer, so the late records lean heavily on juveniles. NatureServe hasn’t assigned a state rank. But the breadth and recency of the record, with observations logged into August 2026, speaks for a species holding its own in North Dakota.
Full species profile
