Western meadow vole reports in Utah cluster around the Great Salt Lake shoreline and the wet meadows of Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, with Antelope Island’s grassy flats offering similar cover nearby. This species needs dense, damp ground cover, wetland edges, sedge marshes, and streamside grass, to build its runway system, so the record pattern tracks Utah’s marsh and lakeshore habitat closely.
Reports peak in June, most likely reflecting when observers are out along the lakeshore rather than a true seasonal high. The vole stays active through winter under snow, tunneling instead of disappearing. Most Utah records come through iNaturalist rather than museum specimens, and the most recent sighting was logged in June 2026, a sign this population is still being actively watched.
Full species profile
