Drove through Montazuma on I-90 yesterday, more houses than I have seen in a long time.

Very nice

Thats good to hear. Last few years there have been hardly any. Cattails were gone and the "flag" and purple lustrife had taken hold.
I was dating to woman from Lyons/Clyde area in the eighties and use to deer hunt in the refuge with her family
We're in severe drought here almost all ponds are half full or empty.
Was the Montezuma holding a lot of water?

Dale, heading west on the south side before the river looked like it was flooded good. Other side of the river both sides seemed like more water than I usually see.

We don't have any rats around here. The marsh I use to take 400 rats each year hasn't had a rat hut In It for at least 3 years.

Drought in most of Western Canada ; my rat locations are “drying up” Still some - but can’t I imagine what a dry 2025 might do to remaining water . Winter kill will be especially high this year as well. Had to “dig down” majority of 6 and 7” subs today just to get the underwater

I asked this question to a Montezuma 'rat trapper that gets over 1000 'rats a year there:

"Where do all of those muskrats live and have their babies in the summer when there are no houses and/or last winter's houses are gone/flattened????

He said: "I don't know"

So, since all of these huts JUST got built for the fall/winter, where do they live before this and where do the females have their multiple litters each summer?

MZ

I would guess Bank dens, as I understand it the rat houses are only for feeding.

Definitely bank dens.

So they have to move a LONG ways en masse since they are in the middle of a giant cattail marsh......

rat sign can be somewhat hard to see sometimes. If what we all judge populations is on rat houses we see -then we are definately missing opportunities for ones we think aren't there because we don't see rat houses.Some of my most productive spots over the years have been stinky gross smelling ditches that have zero rat houses anywhere. I just starting trapping a ditch about 20 feet wide and maybe 2 1/2 feet deep in the deepest spot I can find. Sign is all very old-almost didn't set it up. 62 rats on the first check on 72 traps-I was blown away-zero houses anywhere.Just saying ya gotta love bank dens for rats-my catches were all on floats

There are many deep spots in that marsh capable of holding rats and humps that offer breeding and rearing. When I use to hunt it you could walk on the humps then sink past your neck 4 feet away. And yes I took more than one swim there

I have seen what I would call "nests" of baby muskrats in wads of grass or weeds.