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Townsend’s Mole is one of Canada’s
rarest small mammals. The only place
it occurs in Canada is in British
Columbia, where its very restricted
range falls within the most heavily populated
region of the province – the Lower
Mainland. Townsend’s Moles live in a
small area along the international border
near Huntingdon in the lower Fraser Valley
and have likely always been uncommon.
Urban development and intensive
agriculture have reduced, fragmented and
altered their habitat, and jeopardize their
long term persistence.
Agriculture threatens the survival of
Townsend’s Mole in several ways. In the
1860s, the mole’s natural habitat was
dyked, drained and cleared to create
farm land. The manured pastures and
hayfields of dairy farms can provide
ideal mole habitat, but increasingly
popular cash crops,
such as raspberries
and vegetables, generally
provide poor
habitat. The average
size of farms in the
Abbotsford/Huntingdon
area is only
25 hectares, which
results in fragmentation
of favourable
habitat and isolation
of breeding populations.
New threats are emerging as prime
agricultural land is routinely converted
to urban uses. The human population
of the lower Fraser Valley is growing
rapidly and industrial activities have
increased significantly. The service
industry now exceeds agriculture as the
dominant employer in this region,
ensuring more habitat will be lost to
commercial interests in the future.
Sheehan, Timothy. 1999. Townsend's Mole. Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks. Species at Risk Brochure
Topic: Species and Ecosystems at Risk
Keywords: species at risk, sara, townsend's mole, scapanus townsendii
ISSN:
Scientific Name: Scapanus townsendii
ISBN: 0-7726-7669-0
English Name: Townsend's Mole
Other Identifier:
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