- As of December 2025, the population is estimated at approximately 234 individuals, holding steady despite a dry calendar year
- They are tiny, weighing about 8 ounces and measuring roughly 8 inches in length with a 6-inch tail ... they are grayish-brown with rusty markings on their backs and a white belly; unlike other red squirrels, they lack a white-fringed tail
- Their diet primarily consists of conifer seeds from pine, fir, and spruce cones, as well as mushrooms and fungi
- Both males and females are highly territorial, defending a midden—a large central food cache made of cone scales where they store seeds for winter
- Unique among red squirrels, they are largely silent except when sounding an alarm, which is described as an explosive, ratchet-like call
- This subspecies was thought to be extinct in the 1950s but was rediscovered in the 1970s and listed as endangered in 1987 ... following the 2017 Frye Fire, which destroyed much of their old-growth habitat, the population plummeted to just 35 individuals