The western meadow vole is a recent taxonomic split from the widespread meadow vole complex, which is part of why its global conservation status is still listed as Not Evaluated. Illinois’ records reflect that same unsettled picture: only 90 statewide reports since 2000, the smallest record set among the state’s more frequently logged small mammals.
What records exist come mostly from wetland edges, including Cache River State Natural Area, Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge, and the Upper Mississippi River refuge lands, and don’t show one dominant season, with loose peaks around July and November. With a record set this thin, that pattern says more about limited survey effort than the vole’s actual yearly rhythm.
Like most Illinois voles, it builds runways through dense grass and spends much of its life hidden under stems, which likely keeps its true numbers well ahead of what so few records can show.
Full species profile
