Meadow voles gnaw and girdle trees and saplings at the ground level. The rodents wear down visible runways in the grass as they travel between burrows and feeding sites. With their high reproductive potential, any remaining voles could repopulate an area quickly. Range. When it is in association with the prairie vole or montane vole, it is generally in moister habitats. Habitat: Meadows, fields, grassy marshes, grassy woodlands. Woodland Voles range through the eastern section of the US except for Florida and Maine. In rare cases, where there is more than one female in a territory with one of them being much larger than the others, they are the mother living together with their daughters. Thumbnail Medium Original. The meadow vole is the most widely distributed vole species in the United States, and is found in the northern United States and Canada. They need a heavy layer of dead leaves, matted grasses, or other ground litter, and loose, moist, workable soils. In Southeast Alaska it occurs only on the mainland and on Admiralty Island. Lifespan: Less than one year. The surface runways are 1 to 2 inches in width and are often littered with droppings and grass cuttings. Its tail is longer than its hind legs. Size : Total Length: 5 ″ to 7 ¾ ″ Head and body: 3 ½ ″ to 5 ″ Tail: 1 5 ⁄ 16 ″ to 2 ½ ″ Identification : This is the largest vole found in Minnesota and the most widely distributed mole in North America. The meadow vole is typically more active during the night, and they have larger home ranges than pine voles. (Credit: Andrew Hope, USGS. Meadow voles live in moist, low areas with thick grasses, and in drier grasslands near streams, lakes, or swamps. It prefers low wetlands, open grasslands, and orchards. Habitat. Meadow voles prefer grassy areas, but can convert a pine vole's tunnel into a runway of their own. When snow cover is present, voles are protected from predators and their activity can go undetected until it is too late. This is called girdling. Habitat Management. It does not occur on Kodiak Island or on the Alaska Peninsula. Wet meadows and open grassland near streams, lakes, ponds and swamps. The meadow vole (M. pennsylvanicus) is found in Interior and Southcentral Alaska west to Bristol Bay. Range and Habitat. These voles almost exclusively use early successional habitats, which also include agricultural fields, sedge marshes, and open-canopied bogs. Habitat selection is largely influenced by relative ground cover of grasses and forbs; soil temperature, moisture, sodium, potassium, and pH levels; humidity; and interspecific competition. The damage they can do to ornamental plants, trees, and garden plants can be quite severe and take several years to replace. There are 124 species, 23 of which are native to the United States. Meadow voles are active during all times of the day but are mostly nocturnal during summer and diurnal during winter. Effective action involves using the Vole Control Bait Station System, habitat modification, and regular monitoring in the fall and spring with the "Apple Sign Test" to detect any resurgence from surrounding areas. From May until August it eats green and succulent vegetation. The meadow vole (M. pennsylvanicus) is found in Interior and Southcentral Alaska west to Bristol Bay. Meadow voles are found in grassy areas across their geographic range. South of the Canadian border, its western limit is the Rocky mountains. They are often restricted to the wetter microsites when they occur in sympatry with prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) or montane voles. Microtus pennsylvanicus Status . Habitat.