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Spring must be around the corner as I'm already writing about our upcoming Bonanza. Our 7th annual Bonanza will be held on Saturday, March 5th at the Maranatha Church Auditorium, outside of Forest Lake.

One of the speakers at the Bonanza will be Ken Schroepfer who will conduct a class on moles, voles, and gophers. I will not try to steal Ken's thunder because I really am no expert on the subject. My hope is that you will want to come to Ken's class and learn more about these nasty critters.

Although they are rarely seen, moles are common in our area. They make their presence known by the raised tunnels and mounds of soil they leave behind in lawns, gardens, fields, and pastures.

There are two species of moles in the state. The common, eastern or prairie mole, is found mainly in the eastern and southern parts of the state. The star-nosed mole dwells primarily in the northern half of the state. Both are small, stout mammals about 7-8 inches long. Moles are often confused with mice, but they are not rodents. They lack the long, curved incisors teeth of rodents and are equipped instead with small sharp teeth suited to their diet of insects, grubs and worms. They have small, poorly developed eyes and ears.

You can distinguish moles from other small mammals by their soft, velvety fur and huge, flattened front feet armed with large broad claws for digging. Moles tunnel and live beneath the surface of the soil. The star-nosed mole prefers moist soils near water. It is an excellent swimmer and can often be found in the water. Because of its habitat, it rarely causes a problem.

The prairie mole favors drier upland soils that are loose and free of rocks. The prairie mole digs tunnels at several levels and can move through loose soil with surprising speed. The surface tunnels seen in lawns and open areas are feeding tunnels. Their residence are in tunnels 6-18 inches beneath the surface.

Voles are compact animals with stocky bodies, short legs and a short tail. Their eyes are small and their ears partially hidden. Their underfur is generally dense and covered with thicker, longer guard hairs. They usually are brown or gray, though many color variations exist.

There are seven species in the ten Great Plains states. The meadow vole is the species most common in our area. Its total length is from 5.5 to 7.5 inches long. Its fur is gray to yellow brown partly covered by black-tipped hairs. Northern subspecies may also have some red in their fur. Its underparts are gray with silver or buff and the tail is bicolored.

Voles occupy a wide variety of habitat. They prefer areas with heavy ground cover of grasses or grass-like plants. When two species are found together in an area, they usually occupy different habitats. If the vole population in an area is high they will also invade orchards and cultivated fields.

Pocket gophers are found only in the western hemisphere. There are three genera and sixteen species found in North America. Plains pocket gophers live in much of the area that was originally tall grass or mixed-grass prairie, including all but the northeastern third of Minnesota.

The plains pocket gopher has shiny brown fur, very small eyes and very large curved front claws. They can be up to ten inches long and weigh up to one-half pound, growing over their entire life span.

The common name "gopher" is often misapplied to the 13-lined ground squirrel. The 13-lined ground squirrel is a small rodent belonging to the squirrel family. It is from 4.5 to 6.5 inches long and weighs about 5 oz. in the spring to about 8 oz. before it hibernates. Its base color is tan or brown with a whitish belly and 13 light and dark-colored stripes or rows of spots running the full length of its back. Ground squirrels have large eyes, cheek pouches, four toes on the forefeet and five on the hind feet.

I hope you can attend our Bonanza and learn more about moles, voles, and gophers. To get a brochure, call the office at 651-674-4417. If you attended last year, you should receive a brochure in the mail this week.

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