Voles

Detail below..

“ While most rodents sleep away the winter, voles go about their business of caring for fields and forests, night and day throughout the year. They dig extensive subsurface tunnels, and in winter, their tunneling activities take place at ground level, at the base of the snow pack. In summer, they burrow just below the ground. Thus they play a very important role in caring for the soil by aerating it. Their food gathering habits contribute to plant diversity by distributing bulbs and seeds throughout the varied habitats they live in. ”

An excerpt from Bill Kitzmiller's Kachemak Wilderness Notes.