Oregon mammals

Townsend's Vole in Oregon

Microtus townsendii

Native to Oregon S4 Apparently Secure in Oregon

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

Twnsend's Vole 9247aTownsend's Vole (Microtus townsendii)Live Townsend's vole seen from above walking through short grass
Photo: Vickie J Anderson, http://www.wildlifeimagesupclose.com · CC BY-SA 4.0Twnsend's Vole 9247aPhoto: The High Fin Sperm Whale · CC BY-SA 3.0Townsend's Vole (Microtus townsendii)Photo: Carolyn Prentice · CC0Live Townsend's vole seen from above walking through short grass

Townsend's Vole in Oregon, by the numbers

Occasional in Oregon 80th most recorded of 178 mammals logged in Oregon

475 occurrence records
51 with iNaturalist photos
Jul 11, 2026 Last seen in Oregon

Records from 2000–2026.

475 total records count every Oregon occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 471 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Townsend's Vole in Oregon

Most sightings fall in July to August.

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

Monthly Oregon records (table)
MonthRecords
January39
February34
March26
April26
May27
June35
July70
August92
September20
October40
November33
December29

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

Seasonality

Year-round in Oregon, with recorded sightings peaking in July–August.

Occurrence map

Where Townsend's Vole has been recorded in Oregon

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Oregon records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Siuslaw National Forest 5
Gifford Pinchot National Forest 4
Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness Area 4
Government Island State Recreation Area 1
Crater Lake National Park 1

Protected places with the most townsend's 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 Oregon

CountyRecords
Benton County 75
Multnomah County 70
Tillamook County 54
Coos County 53
Lane County 37
Clackamas County 31
Clatsop County 22
Lincoln County 21
Curry County 17
Douglas County 15
Columbia County 15
Jackson County 13
9 other counties 52

The complete county distribution, spread across 21 Oregon counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Townsend’s vole records favor Oregon’s wet west side, from Willamette Valley lowlands to coastal marshes and the Oregon Dunes corridor. August is the dominant month in the series and October supplies a smaller second peak, while most spring and early-summer totals are low. The data chiefly describe when specimens or sightings entered occurrence collections, not vole abundance in western Oregon wetlands.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Twnsend's Vole 9247a
Full species profile Townsend's Vole Microtus townsendii Size 15 cm5.9 in Weight 48–73 g1.7–2.6 oz View the full profile

More mammals in Oregon 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"