EEP!
You’ve likely heard this call hiking past boulder fields in the Cascade mountains. You may have even seen the critter that made the sound – the American pika, a small, vocal, rabbit-like mammal often found with its mouth full of grasses it has collected to store for winter.
Because of their mountain habitats and sensitivity to high temperatures, pikas may be vulnerable to climate change. Monitoring pikas is one of the ways citizen scientists are contributing to their conservation, and it’s a way you can help too!
On June 3rd, join Dr. Johanna “Pika Jo” Varner for a presentation on these adorable critters and how you can help contribute to their survival. Dr. Varner helped start the Cascades Pika Watch science program at the Oregon Zoo, and continues to serve as its science advisor and training lead. Cascades Pika Watch engages volunteers to locate and map pikas across the Pacific Northwest, with a special focus on low-elevation habitats in the Columbia River Gorge and monitoring the recovery of this special population following the Eagle Creek Fire.
We hope you’ll tune in to learn more about these tiny critters and efforts to conserve them.
We will be raffling off Oregon Wild merch. Tickets are $5 and are an optional purchase below. Raffle tickets not only help us continue these Wednesday presentations but also support our work safeguarding Oregon’s wildlands, wildlife, and waters.
About the presenter:
Dr. Johanna “Pika Jo” Varner is a pika biologist from Grand Junction, CO. During the school year, she teaches at Colorado Mesa University, but during the summer, she can be found in the mountains looking for pikas, placing temperature sensors in their habitats, and collecting scat samples to analyze for stress. During graduate school, she helped start the Cascades Pika Watch participatory science program at the Oregon Zoo, and continues to serve as its science advisor and training lead. Before she was a pika biologist, Dr. Varner was a biomedical engineer, a baker, and a blueberry farmer. She also dabbles in homebrewing from time to time. But she likes studying pikas best because they are adorable and live in beautiful places.
