n any of various small mouselike rodents of the family Cricetidae (especially of genus Microtus) having a stout short-tailed body and inconspicuous ears and inhabiting fields or meadows
Beck in News-Review It was so poorly designed that it provided more protection for non-listed and very common species, like the red tree vole, than was provided for a listed species (under the Endangered Species Act) like the northern spotted owl,Beck wrote.