June 21, 2025By Maria Luisa Figueroa
After nearly eight years of not being observed in the San Joaquin Valley, the region it calls home, the endangered riparian woodrat was feared to be extinct. That is until River Partners and other project partners discovered a pair of riparian woodrats (a male and female) in a couple of traps in the previously restored San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge last year.
“The riparian woodrat is adorable. Some people may have this bad connotation with rats, they give people the heebie-jeebies. [The riparian woodrats] are really beautiful animals, they have a coat that’s gray and cinnamon brown on the back and white bellies, they have big ears, big eyes, and big round bodies.”
River Partners Restoration Science Ecologist Haley Mirts
