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Columbian ground squirrel

Urocitellus columbianus · Squirrels · Small game

Columbian ground squirrel (Urocitellus columbianus): Stout body, total length 325-410 mm with tail 80-116 mm. Tawny nose and face; cinnamon-buff back over darker brown underfur. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and dateOpen the columbian ground squirrel map

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Columbian ground squirrel — verified North Ground species photograph
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Scientific name
Urocitellus columbianus
Family
Sciuridae
In North America
Native
Range
Central Rocky Mountains from southeastern British Columbia and southwestern Alberta south through northern and eastern Washington, northeastern Oregon, northern and central Idaho and western Montana; mainly 700-8,000 ft.
Biology

How to identify it

Stout body, total length 325-410 mm with tail 80-116 mm. [1][2]

Tawny nose and face; cinnamon-buff back over darker brown underfur. [1][2]

Eyes ringed with pale buff; legs and belly buffy; tail black. [1][2]

Field knowledge

Where it lives

Alpine and subalpine meadows and other open habitat: high grass plateaus, sagebrush plains, valley grasslands, openings in conifer forest, stream banks. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Colonial; about 70% of the year in hibernation [1][2]

Active season about 86 days at higher elevations, about 100 at lower; emerges February-April [1][2]

Active from about 20 minutes after sunrise [1][2]

Eats roots, bulbs, stems, leaves, seeds, berries and some insects, mice or dead fish; may climb into shrubs and trees for buds and fruit [1][2]

Regulatory handoff

Where it is listed for legal take

These authorities list this species for legal take in their own regulations.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Central Rocky Mountains from southeastern British Columbia and southwestern Alberta south through northern and eastern Washington, northeastern Oregon, northern and central Idaho and western Montana; mainly 700-8,000 ft.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology · reviewed 2026-09-30

    University of Michigan Museum of Zoology