Cascades Pika Watch
Volunteer monitoring of Pikas across The Cascades.
American pikas are considered to be sensitive indicators of climate change due to their extreme heat sensitivity and limited dispersal ability; however, it remains unclear how climate change is affecting the species across its entire range. The Cascades are home to one of the five subspecies of pika, but no long-term monitoring or historical resurveys have been conducted for pikas in the region. In Cascades Pika Watch, volunteers contribute opportunistic pika sightings in the region and monitor a group of core sites in and around the Columbia River Gorge. More information on this project can be found at: Cascades Pika Watch
Keywords:
Topic - pikas, climate change, mammals
Audience - K-12, volunteers, general audiences
Location - Pacific Northwest, Columbia River Gorge, Oregon, Washington, Cascades
Goals - education, research
Collaborators:
ABR, Inc. - Environmental Research & Services
The Columbia Gorge Ecology Institute
Jane Goodall Environmental Middle School
Contacts:
David Shepherdson, Dep. Conservation Manager, Oregon Zoo
Johanna Varner, Graduate Student, University of Utah
