Amargosa Vole Conservation Project

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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 Amargosa 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!

07/22/2026
New project underway! We are starting baseline surveys of vole abundance and occupancy to understand how to both increas...
05/18/2026

New project underway! We are starting baseline surveys of vole abundance and occupancy to understand how to both increase and improve Amargosa Vole marsh habitat. This work is funded by the California Wildlife Conservation Board and in collaboration with Amargosa Conservancy, River Partners, American Bird Conservancy & Roux Inc. Stay tuned for updates!

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!

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Davis, CA
95616

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