Utah mammals

Sagebrush Vole in Utah

Lemmiscus curtatus

Native to Utah S3 Vulnerable in Utah

Not listed as nonindigenous in Utah by USGS NAS; native to its Utah 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.

Sagebrush vole partly hidden in low shrub coverSagebrush vole on rocky soil with short furred tail visibleSagebrush vole walking across pale gravelSagebrush vole under sagebrush roots at night
Photo: elik03 · CC BY 4.0Sagebrush vole partly hidden in low shrub coverPhoto: Matt Berger · CC BY 4.0A sagebrush vole showing the compact body, small rounded ears, and stubby tail typical of the species.Photo: Tait Sougstad · CC0A small sagebrush vole crossing open gravel between patches of cover.Photo: randomtruth · CC BY-SA 2.0A sagebrush vole tucked under low sagebrush cover.

Sagebrush Vole in Utah, by the numbers

Rare in Utah 98th most recorded of 141 mammals logged in Utah

215 occurrence records
3 with iNaturalist photos
Jun 20, 2024 Last seen in Utah

Records from 2000–2026.

215 total records count every Utah occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the monthly chart covers the 212 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Sagebrush Vole in Utah

Most sightings fall in June to July.

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

Monthly Utah records (table)
MonthRecords
January8
February4
March7
April3
May21
June40
July58
August30
September17
October15
November5
December4

Monthly sagebrush vole occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Utah, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Utah, with recorded sightings peaking in June–July.

Occurrence map

Where Sagebrush Vole has been recorded in Utah

215 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

215 Utah records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Bryce Canyon National Park 6
State Trust Lands Johns Valley Block 1
Dinosaur National Monument 1
Utah State Department of Wildlife Resources 116 1
State Trust Lands I-80 Block 1
Wasatch National Forest 1
Sawtooth National Forest 1

Protected places with the most sagebrush 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 Utah

CountyRecords
Tooele County 43
Sevier County 24
Juab County 22
Uintah County 20
Garfield County 18
Washington County 15
Daggett County 10
Carbon County 9
Rich County 9
Summit County 8
Box Elder County 6
Utah County 5
11 other counties 26

The complete county distribution, spread across 23 Utah counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

In Utah the sagebrush vole shows up around Bears Ears National Monument, Book Cliffs, and Capitol Reef National Park, high desert and canyon country where sagebrush flats and low shrub cover give it the tunnels and runways it depends on. Its lemming-like body and short tail suit tight cover close to the ground, not open rock.

Utah’s 215 records, almost all from GBIF rather than iNaturalist, run year-round but climb sharply in July, when 58 sightings were logged, likely reflecting when field surveys and shrub cover overlap rather than a true summer peak in activity. Utah ranks this species rare, in the 31st percentile of records among the state’s small mammals.

NatureServe lists the sagebrush vole S3, Vulnerable, in Utah, a status worth taking seriously given how thin the record count already is here.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Sagebrush vole partly hidden in low shrub cover
Full species profile Sagebrush Vole Lemmiscus curtatus Size 11–14 cm4.3–5.5 in Weight 28 g1 oz View the full profile

More mammals in Utah 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"