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Montana Field Guides

Western Heather Vole - Phenacomys intermedius

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Native Species

Global Rank: G5
State Rank: S5
(see State Rank Reason below)


Agency Status
USFWS:
USFS:
BLM:


 

External Links

State Rank Reason (see State Rank above)
Species is uncommon in Mountainous areas, may be stable and faces no known threats
Western Heather Vole (Phenacomys intermedius) Conservation Status Summary
State Rank: S5
Review Date = 09/24/2024
See the complete Conservation Status Rank Report
How we calculate Conservation Status Ranks
 
General Description
The adult Western Heather Vole is 4 1/2 to 6 inches long, weighing a little over an ounce. It is gray with a brown to dark-brown cast to the fur, white face, and silvery belly.

Species Range
Montana Range Range Descriptions

Native

Western Hemisphere Range

 


Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 125

(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version) Map Help and Descriptions
Relative Density

Recency

 

(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)



Habitat
Most common in subalpine spruce/fir forest with evergreen shrub ground cover, also in timberline krummholz, alpine tundra. Sometimes in montane yellowpine/Douglas-fir forests with bearberry/twinflower understory (Hoffmann and Pattie 1968).

National Vegetation Classification System Groups Associated with this Species
Alpine
Alpine - Vegetated
Alpine Dwarf-Shrubland and Krummholz
Alpine Turf and Fellfield
Forest and Woodland
Deciduous Forest and Woodland
Rocky Mountain Aspen Forest and Woodland
Low Elevation - Xeric Forest and Woodland
Rocky Mountain Ponderosa Pine Forest and Woodland
Montane - Subalpine Forest and Woodland
Cedar - Hemlock Forest
Dry Spruce-fir Forest
Interior PNW Douglas-fir Forest and Woodland
Lodgepole Pine Forest
Mesic Spruce-fir Forest
Montane Mesic Coniferous (Grand Fir - Douglas-fir - Western Larch) Forest
Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir Forest
Whitebark Pine - Subalpine Larch Forest and Woodland
Shrubland
Foothills - Montane Shrubland
Lowland - Montane Shrubland
Montane - Subalpine Mesic Shrubland
Grassland
Montane - Subalpine Grassland
Montane - Subalpine Dry Grassland
Montane - Subalpine Mesic Grassland and Meadow
Wetland and Riparian
Alpine Riparian and Wetland
Alpine - Subalpine Herbaceous and Dwarf-Shrub Riparian and Wetland
Peatland
Rocky Mountain Acidic Fen
Rocky Mountain Alkaline Fen
Riparian and Wetland Forest
Lowland - Montane Riparian Deciduous Forest
Montane - Subalpine Riparian Forest
Montane Forested Wetland
Riparian Shrubland
Montane - Subalpine Riparian and Seep Shrubland
Wet Meadow and Marsh
Montane Wet Meadow and Marsh
Recently Disturbed or Modified
Harvested Forest
Recently Logged
Insect-Killed Forest
Recent Insect/Disease Damage
Recently Burned
Recently Burned Forest

Food Habits
Prepares caches of food for winter - twigs and berries (Banfield 1974).

Ecology
Winter nest is a hollow sphere of twigs and lichens about 6 inches diameter, above ground in protected spot. Summer nest 4 to 10 in. underground (Banfield 1974). Does not tend to construct runways. Red feces.


References
  • Literature Cited AboveLegend:   View Online Publication
    • Banfield, A.W.F. 1974. The mammals of Canada. University of Toronto Press for National Museum of Natural Science and the National Museums of Canada, 438 pp.
    • Hoffmann, R.S. and D.L. Pattie. 1968. A guide to Montana mammals: identification, habitat, distribution, and abundance. Missoula, MT: University of Montana. 133 p.
  • Additional ReferencesLegend:   View Online Publication
    Do you know of a citation we're missing?
    • Craighead, A.C. 2000. Pellet and scat analysis as indicators of present and past habitats. M.Sc. Theses. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 219 p.
    • Foresman, K.R. 2001. The wild mammals of Montana. American Society of Mammalogists, Special Publication Number 12. Lawrence, KS. 278 pp.
    • Foresman, K.R. 2012. Mammals of Montana. Second edition. Mountain Press Publishing, Missoula, Montana. 429 pp.
    • Halvoison, C. H. 1982. Rodent occurrence, habitat disturbance and seed fall in a larch-fir forest. Ecology 63(2):423-433.
    • Hanauska-Brown, L., B.A. Maxell, A. Petersen, and S. Story. 2014. Diversity Monitoring in Montana 2008-2010 Final Report. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Helena, MT. 78 pp.
    • Hayward, G. D. and P. H. Hayward. 1995. Relative abundance and habitat associations of small mammals in the Chamberlain Basin, central Idaho. Northwest Sci. 69(2): 114-125.
    • Hodgson, J.R. 1970. Ecological distribution of Microtus montanus and Microtus pennsylvanicus in an area of geographic sympatry in southwestern Montana. Ph.D. Dissertation. Bozeman, Montana: Montana State University. 65 p.
    • Johnson, L.J. 1960. Mammal studies on the Lubrecht Forest, Montana: a preliminary report. Proc. Mont. Acad. Sci. 20: 40-47.
    • Joslin, Gayle, and Heidi B. Youmans. 1999. Effects of recreation on Rocky Mountain wildlife: a review for Montana. [Montana]: Montana Chapter of the Wildlife Society.
    • Joslin, Gayle. 1980. Wildlife inventory and hard rock mining impact analysis of the West Cabinet Mountains and Lake Creek Valley, Lincoln County, Montana. MTFWP 91 pgs + 47 pgs app.
    • Key, C.H. 1979. Mammalian utilization of floodplain habitats along the North Fork of the Flathead River in Glacier National Park, Montana. M.S. thesis. University of Montana, Missoula.
    • Kinsella, J. M. 1966. Helminths of Microtinae in western Montana. M.A. thesis. University of Montana, Missoula. 61 pp.
    • Kritzman, E.B. 1977. Little mammals of the Pacific Northwest. Pacific Search Press, Seattle, WA.
    • McAllister, J.A. and R.S. Hoffmann. 1988. Phenacomys intermedius. Mammalian Species 305:1-8.
    • McCaughey, W.W. 1990. Biotic and microsite factors affecting Pinus albicaulis establishment and survival. Ph.D. Dissertation. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 78 p.
    • Oechsli, L.M. 2000. Ex-urban development in the Rocky Mountain West: consequences for native vegetation, wildlife diversity, and land-use planning in Big Sky, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Montana State University, Bozeman. 73 p.
    • Pattie, D.L. and N.A. M. Verbeek. 1967. Alpine mammals of the Beartooth Plateau. Northwest Science 41(3): 110-117.
    • Plopper, C.E. 1968. Insular and mainland populations of Peromyscus maniculatus at Flathead Lake, Montana. M.S. thesis. University of Montana, Missoula. 91 pp.
    • Ramirez, Pedro, Jr. 1977. Small Populations in Different-Aged Clearcuts and Uncut Forests in Northwestern Montana. M. S. thesis. 72 pp.
    • Reichel, J.D. and S.G. Beckstrom. 1993. Northern bog lemming survey: 1992. Unpublished report. Montana Natural Heritage Program, Helena, MT. 64 p.
    • Reichel, J.D. and S.G. Beckstrom. 1994. Northern bog lemming survey: 1993. Unpublished report. Montana Natural Heritage Program. Helena, MT. 87 pp.
    • Reid, F. 2006. Peterson Field Guide to Mammals of North America, 4th Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston and New York, 608 pp.
    • Rust, H. J. 1946. Mammals of northern Idaho. J. Mammal. 27(4): 308-327.
    • Stearns-Roger Inc., 1975, Environmental baseline information of the Mount Vernon Region, Montana. January 31, 1975.
    • Thompson, L.S. 1982. Distribution of Montana amphibians, reptiles, and mammals. Bozeman: Montana Audubon Council. 24 pp.
    • Thompson, Richard W., Western Resource Dev. Corp., Boulder, CO., 1996, Wildlife baseline report for the Montana [Montanore] Project, Lincoln and Sanders counties, Montana. In Application for a Hard Rock Operating Permit and Proposed Plan of Operation, Montanore Project, Lincoln and Sanders Counties, Montana. Vol. 5. Stroiazzo, John. Noranda Minerals Corp., Libby, MT. Revised September 1996.
    • Weckwerth, R.P. 1957. The relationship between the marten population and the abundance of small mammals in Glacier National Park. M.S. thesis. University of Montana, Missoula. 76 pp.
    • Williams, O. 1955. Distribution of mice and shrews in a Colorado montane forest. J. Mammal. 36(2): 221-231.
  • Web Search Engines for Articles on "Western Heather Vole"
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Citation for data on this website:
Western Heather Vole — Phenacomys intermedius.  Montana Field Guide.  .  Retrieved on , from