They tend to exclude other chipmunks such as Tamias minimus from lodgepole pine forests, its preferred habitat. Single brooded, their litters are born in June after a gestation period of a month. 3-7 young per litter are born per female. Nests are built in cavities in trees, snags, stumps, and underground burrows. One of the more vulnerable chipmunks to heat stress, it is excluded from arid, hot habitats of sagebrush, pinyon-juniper and alpine habitats.
Major predators are weasels, raptors, coyotes, foxes, bobcats and martins.
About a third of their potential range is at extreme fire risk.