Frostburg State Leads Effort To Save Allegheny Woodrat

FROSTBURG, Md. (AP) -- Researchers at Frostburg State University are leading a multistate effort to help save the Allegheny woodrat.

Biology Professor Tom Serfass announced a nearly $100,000 federal grant Wednesday to help fund the two-year project involving researchers in Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Serfass says they'll study the animal's interaction with its habitat, and look for nearby raccoons. He says raccoon feces can carry roundworm, which could kill woodrats foraging for food on the forest floor.

The squirrel-sized animal is a state-endangered species in Maryland and New Jersey. It's listed as threatened in Pennsylvania.

The funds from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Office will be matched by various agencies and institutions, including Frostburg State, for total funding of about $200,000.

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