Salt+Marsh+Harvest+Mouse+2010

By: Cory P.

The Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse lives in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. There are two different subspecies of the Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse; one species is the northern species. The northern species is lighter in color and lives in the North marshes of the bay. The other species is the southern species; it lives in the South and East bay marshes. Both species are similar to their parents the Western harvest mouse. It’s endangered due to their limited range, historic decline in population and continuing threat to habitat because of development encroachment around the San Francisco Bay. This species is nocturnal with noted activity on moonlight nights. The Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse can swim and climb very well. Its many predators contain hawks, snakes, owl species, and some domestic cat issues due to development encroachment by humans at the perimeter of the San Francisco. The mice eat seeds, plants, (especially pickle weed), and glasswort. Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse is becoming extinct because of development encroachment. We can save them by establishing a shoreline setback. That will prevent any land development like the people in San Rafael, California did.