WILDLIFE DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Spermophilus townsendii | Townsend's Ground Squirrel 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
The Townsend's ground squirrel is distributed in the Great Basin and the
Columbia Plateau.  Its range includes south-central Washington, eastern
Oregon, southern Idaho, western Utah, most of Nevada, and extreme
eastern California [25].  Distribution of subspecies is [9]:

Spermophilus townsendii artemesiae - south-central Idaho
S. t. canus - eastern Oregon; northeastern corner of California; 
   northwestern corner of Nevada  
S. t. idahoensis - southwestern Idaho
S. t. mollis - eastern California; southeastern Oregon; southern Idaho;
   western Utah; Nevada; most widely distributed subspecies 
S. t. nancyae - south-central Washington 
S. t. townsendii - south-central Washington 
S. t. vigilis - Snake River Canyon bottomlands of east-central Oregon
   and west-central Idaho


ECOSYSTEMS : 
FRES29 Sagebrush
FRES30 Desert shrub


STATES : 


    
CA
    
ID
    
NV
    
OR
    
UT
    
WA
 



BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
    5  Columbia Plateau
    6  Upper Basin and Range
    7  Lower Basin and Range


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K038  Great Basin sagebrush
   K055  Sagebrush steppe
   K056  Wheatgrass-needlegrass shrubsteppe
   K040  Saltbush-greasewood


SAF COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
   104  Antelope bitterbrush-bluebunch wheatgrass
   105  Antelope bitterbrush-Idaho fescue
   314  Big sagebrush-bluebunch wheatgrass
   315  Big sagebrush-Idaho fescue
   401  Basin big sagebrush
   402  Mountain big sagebrush
   403  Wyoming big sagebrush
   414  Salt desert shrub
   422  Riparian
   501  Saltbush-greasewood


PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
Townsend's ground squirrels typically inhabit arid grasslands and
shrub-grasslands.  Malheur ground squirrels, however, inhabit the
relatively mesic and fertile Snake River Valley [25].  Plant communities
in which Townsend's ground squirrels occur that have not been previously
listed include crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum), big sagebrush
(Artemisia tridentata)-crested wheatgrass [15], and rabbitbrush
(Chrysothamnus spp.)-, shadscale (Atriplex confertifolia)-, and
winterfat (Kraschenninikovia lanata)-bunchgrasslands [21].

Yensen and others [28] found that on the Snake River Birds of Prey Study
Area (SRBPSA) of southeastern Idaho, density of active Townsend's ground
squirrel burrows was highest on winterfat-Sandberg bluegrass (Poa
secunda), intermediate in big sagebrush-Thurber needlegrass (Stipa
thurberiana), and lowest in shadscale-Indian ricegrass (Oryzopsis
hymenoides)-needle-and-thread grass (Stipa comata) communities.  Burrow
densities were highly variable in mixed exotic annual communities, and
negatively correlated with cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) communities.
Another study on the SRBPSA showed that Townsend's ground squirrel
density generally increased with increasing native grass cover.
Populations were unstable when native grass cover was extremely high,
however [16].


REFERENCES : 
NO-ENTRY

Related categories for Wildlife Species: Spermophilus townsendii | Townsend's Ground Squirrel