Washington mammals

Townsend's Chipmunk in Washington

Neotamias townsendii

Native to Washington S5 Secure in Washington

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

Neotamias townsendiiTownsend's Chipmunk (Neotamias townsendii)Live Townsend's chipmunk feeding on leaves while perched on a branchLive Townsend's chipmunk sitting upright on a moss-covered boulder, striped back visibleLive Townsend's chipmunk close-up on the forest floor, cheek stripes and large dark eye visible
Photo: Ludovic Hirlimann from 's-Gravenhage, The Netherlands · CC BY-SA 2.0Neotamias townsendiiPhoto: Walter Siegmund (talk) · CC BY-SA 3.0Townsend's Chipmunk (Neotamias townsendii)Photo: Eric Habisch · CC BY 4.0Live Townsend's chipmunk feeding on leaves while perched on a branchPhoto: Sean Haight · CC0Live Townsend's chipmunk sitting upright on a moss-covered boulder, striped back visiblePhoto: John Hibbard · CC BY 4.0Live Townsend's chipmunk close-up on the forest floor, cheek stripes and large dark eye visible

Townsend's Chipmunk in Washington, by the numbers

Common in Washington 18th most recorded of 145 mammals logged in Washington

3,370 occurrence records
1,605 with iNaturalist photos
Jul 10, 2026 Last seen in Washington

Records from 2000–2026.

3,370 total records count every Washington occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 3,359 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Townsend's Chipmunk in Washington

Most sightings fall in June to August.

3,359 Washington occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Washington records (table)
MonthRecords
January4
February14
March65
April168
May255
June557
July827
August812
September406
October208
November32
December11

Monthly townsend's chipmunk occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Washington, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Washington, with recorded sightings peaking in June–August.

Occurrence map

Where Townsend's Chipmunk has been recorded in Washington

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

297 Washington records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Washington State Department of Natural Resources (WADNR) State Resource Management Area 323
Mount Rainier National Park 287
Daniel J. Evans Wilderness Area 178
Olympic National Park 69
Deception Pass 35
Alpine Lakes Wilderness 33
Ross Lake National Recreation Area 29
Mount Si Natural Resources Conservation Area 28

Protected places with the most townsend's chipmunk 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 Washington

CountyRecords
Skamania County 438
King County 408
Clallam County 345
Pierce County 340
Clark County 317
Lewis County 195
Thurston County 148
Kittitas County 136
Jefferson County 135
Snohomish County 133
Chelan County 128
Whatcom County 97
15 other counties 550

The complete county distribution, spread across 27 Washington counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Townsend’s chipmunk records run from the Olympic Peninsula and Nisqually lowlands to Mount Rainier and the North Cascades. That west-side Washington pattern captures moist forest and brushy edge across a large elevation range, while popular parks inevitably contribute more observations.

The dataset includes records in every month but is dominated by June through September submissions. Summer activity and trail access make chipmunks easier to document; the peak should not be interpreted as population abundance.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist.

Neotamias townsendii
Full species profile Townsend's Chipmunk Neotamias townsendii Size 15 cm5.9 in Weight 79 g2.8 oz Lifespan Up to 9.3 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Washington 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"