BLM C A Amargosa Vole Conservation and Habitat Resiliency

Amargosa vole -Microtus californicus scirpensis, vole, is a narrow endemic mammal that is listed as endangered under the federal and State Endangered Species Acts. The vole is only found in desert marshes in Shoshone and Tecopa California along the Amargosa River. In 2013 vole populations suffered a dramatic decline due in part to drought and agencies decided to remove a few voles form the wild and start an assurance colony at the University of California Davis to guard against extinction. BLM is currently working in partnership with University of California Davis and Berkley, California Fish and Wildlife- CDFW, United State Fish and Wildlife Service -FWS, United States Geological Survey -USGS, Amargosa Conservancy -AC, The Nature Conservancy -TNC, Purdue University, and private land owners. In 2011, CDFW conducted surveys and discovered a mite infesting voles in a key habitat patch. In 2012 until recently CDFW, Davis, and USGS led periodic vole surveys.