The Northern Idaho Ground Squirrel pictured here in Mud Creek, Payette National Forest, Idaho on April 30, 2011, is found only in Adams and Valley Counties in the Central Idaho Mountains.
This species was listed as Threatened April 3, 2000 and is one of the rarest mammals in N. America.
Habitat restoration for the NIDGS has been underway since 1997 on the Payette National Forest. When the species was listed in 2000 the estimated population was 350 individuals, current population estimate 1500 individuals. The squirrel is limited to one of the smallest geographic ranges of any ground squirrel in the world and is the only mammal endemic to Idaho, “A True Idaho Native”. (Forest Service photo by Bill Rautsaw). Original public domain image from Flickr