Amargosa Vole Conservation Project

Amargosa Vole Conservation Project The Amargosa vole is a critically endangered small mammal native to the Mojave desert. They live amon

The Amargosa Vole Conservation Project is a collaborative endeavor with UCDavis School of Veterinary Medicine, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the UC Berkeley Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, the Bureau of Land Management, The Amargosa Conservancy and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. This endangered species is the subject of our group's recovery efforts and intensive research. The Am

argosa vole (Microtus californicus scirpensis) is a highly specialized, critically endangered small mammal subspecies that lives only in isolated wetland patches surrounded by the Mojave Desert east of Death Valley National Park. All of its habitat lies within the Bureau of Land Management’s Amargosa River Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) and Wild and Scenic River (WSR) management areas. Compared to other North American mammals, the vole, which requires habitat dominated by bulrush and a permanent water source, occupies one of the rarest available habitat types in the Mojave Desert. Our research team is working to identify the major threats to recovery for the vole and through our captive breeding program, plans to return healthy populations to the region in 2015!

Happy Groundhog Day!
02/02/2026

Happy Groundhog Day!

12/09/2025

🗓 Save the Date!

Our 3rd Annual celebration of the iconic Amargosa vole 🐭🌿 returns to Shoshone & Tecopa on Saturday, March 21st 2026!

This year's theme is "Celebrating Desert Communities" 🏜🎉

More to come soon as we finalize the schedule and all the details that will make this Vole Fest the most memorable yet ✨️ 🌌

To stay in the loop on all things Vole Fest and FAB:

🌐 friendsoftheamargosabasin.org

📨 Become a Friend today and receive email updates! https://friendsoftheamargosabasin.org/become-a-friend/

08/19/2025

Awesome work by the NASA-DEVELOP program!

08/07/2025

When we're not tirelessly advocating for National Monument status for the Amargosa Basin, we sometimes work on local restoration projects, such as this one in the Shoshone marsh 🌿. And we couldn't do it without the partnership of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service 🐟 and dedicated volunteers! 🙋‍♂️

This restoration project seeks to transform a wetland area in town from one that is dominated by invasive common reed to native three-square bulrush habitat for the Amargosa Vole and other species.

Interested in joining us for future volunteer events? Let us know!
The best way is to sign up as a friend on our website to receive timely updates on when opportunities come up.

06/28/2025

Life moves pretty fast in Chicago — if you don't stop and study rodent skulls once in a while, you could miss evolution in action.

In a new paper, Field Museum researchers compared the anatomy of chipmunks and voles collected from the Chicagoland area over the last 125 years. 🐿️

They noticed that the chipmunks’ skulls became larger over time while the row of teeth along the sides of their mouths became shorter. Bony bumps in the voles’ skulls that house the inner ear shrank over time. 📊

After looking back at how Chicago itself has changed over the past century, they spotted the root cause of the rodents' adaptation: urbanization and a new city diet! 🍽️

Read more via Popular Science. ➡️ https://fieldmuseum.io/PopSciChipmunk25

Come work with us!
06/28/2025

Come work with us!

NOW HIRING: We are seeking a Field Scientist to help lead research and conservation efforts for the endangered Amargosa vole in Southern California.This position will focus on wetlands habitat restoration, animal community assessments, and strategic conservation planning to reduce extinction risk and enhance public awareness.

This is a unique opportunity to make a real impact on endangered species conservation through applied science and ecosystem restoration.

Application Deadline: July 8, 2025

➡️ ohi.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/careers

02/08/2025
Another opportunity to help out with fish and wildlife conservation in the Amargosa Basin!
12/23/2024

Another opportunity to help out with fish and wildlife conservation in the Amargosa Basin!

New publication alert! Check out this recently published work analyzing different methods for detecting Amargosa voles :...
11/05/2024

New publication alert! Check out this recently published work analyzing different methods for detecting Amargosa voles :)

FULL RESEARCH ARTICLE Austin Roy1,2*, Arielle Crews1,3, Stephanie Castle1,4, Robert Klinger5, Deana Clifford2, and Janet Foley1 1 University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine, 132…

Looking to get involved with vole conservation? Come help out with some habitat work in Shoshone, CA (11/22-11/23)!
10/07/2024

Looking to get involved with vole conservation? Come help out with some habitat work in Shoshone, CA (11/22-11/23)!

Our biologists got to observe some unique wildlife on this last trip. Bobcats are native predator and important aspect o...
09/03/2024

Our biologists got to observe some unique wildlife on this last trip. Bobcats are native predator and important aspect of Amargosa vole ecology. Glad to see they are doing well in the area!

Many thanks to the awesome Shoshone Village and USFWS volunteers that braved the early hours and bugs to aid us with vol...
08/28/2024

Many thanks to the awesome Shoshone Village and USFWS volunteers that braved the early hours and bugs to aid us with vole trapping in the restored Shoshone wetlands earlier this month!

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