Western gray squirrels are getting harder and harder to find in Washington state. They are the largest species of tree squirrels, and traditionally make their homes in low to mid-elevation forests, where historically they could find plenty of oaks, pines and Douglas firs. That habitat is disappearing and changing due to timber harvests, wildfires, land conversion and climate change.
Mary Linders is a wildlife biologist with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. She tells us more about this large tree squirrel and what it will mean for them if Washington changes their status from “threatened” to “endangered.”