Colorado is the only state in Region 2 in which significant populations of Abert’s squirrels (Sciurus aberti) exist. Populations of the squirrel have fluctuated widely over the past 100 years, but the species’ viability does not appear to be threatened, nor is the species in danger of extinction at a landscape or forest level anywhere in Colorado. It is normal for the abundance of Abert’s squirrels to vary greatly and frequently due to weather conditions and food supplies. Numbers change over longer periods with forest management practices that alter squirrel habitat condition. Large wildfires have eliminated squirrels and squirrel habitat over vast areas, but such losses do not threaten the species’ viability in Colorado. The species currently seems quite secure in Region 2.
