Pikas recovering from effects of 2017 Gorge fire

Published 8:58 am Wednesday, November 8, 2023

PORTLAND — Recent surveys show that American pikas, a tiny mammal that typically lives in rockslides at high elevations, including in the Wallowas and other mountains of Northeastern Oregon, are thriving even at relatively low elevations in the Columbia Gorge near Portland.

According to the Oregon Zoo, pikas have recovered from the effects of the 2017 Eagle Creek fire near Bonneville Dam.

Each summer, volunteers from Cascades Pika Watch — a collaboration of organizations and researchers convened by the Oregon Zoo — monitor pika populations.

Although the animals, which somewhat resemble miniature rabbits but without the fuzzy tail, spend much of their time in their dens beneath rocks, they can be tracked by their distinctive squeaky call.

Biologists have been focusing on pikas in the areas where the Eagle Creek fire, started by fireworks, burned.

This year, volunteers found pikas at 23 of 31 sites surveyed, an increase of more than 50% from 2018, the first year after the fire.

“The population in those areas hasn’t quite reached its pre-fire distribution, but it’s getting close,” said Dr. Johanna Varner, scientific adviser for Pika Watch program. “This is very encouraging news for everyone monitoring the Gorge pika population.”

In addition to the reported increase in pikas reported this year, Cascades Pika Watch benefited from a record number of volunteers: 168 trained citizen scientists spent 1,620 hours searching for the tiny mammals. No easy feat, considering how difficult pikas can be to spot.

“Because they are small and blend in so well with their rocky habitat, (pikas) can be hard to find,” Varner said. “Especially if you don’t know what to look — or listen — for. We’re extremely grateful to have so many dedicated volunteers who are trained to find them.”

Cascades Pika Watch will return in 2024, and aspiring pika watchers are encouraged to sign up for a free in-person or online training. Sites are accessed via public hiking trails, and no special skills are required. The training schedule will be announced in spring 2024.

Patient hikers likely will see, or at least hear, pikas while crossing rockslides in the Eagle Cap Wilderness, as well as parts of the Elkhorn and Strawberry mountains.

The little mammals, about the size of a chipmunk, spend the brief alpine summer harvesting grass and forbs, spreading the vegetation on rocks to cure into hay. Pikas then store the hay in their dens beneath the boulders, relying on it for food during the long winter, as they don’t hibernate.