Colorado Pika Project.
Engaging community scientists to conserve the American pika and safeguard the health of alpine ecosystems in Colorado
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What is the Colorado Pika Project?
In the face of a climate crisis, the Colorado Pika Project (CPP, previously known as Front Range Pika Project) is engaging community scientists to conserve the American pika and safeguard the health of alpine ecosystems in Colorado.
The Colorado Pika Project is a collaborative research project implemented by community scientists across Colorado and managed by Denver Zoo and Rocky Mountain Wild with assistance from researchers at the University of Colorado, Natural Resources Ecology Laboratory at Colorado State University, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and Warren Wilson College. Through long-term monitoring, the CPP investigates the potential impacts of climate change on the American pika (Ochotona princeps) and Colorado’s alpine ecosystems. We provide critical data to researchers and land managers, and do so in a way that educates and engages Coloradans in conservation and the local impacts of climate change.
Volunteer community scientists (known as Pika Patrollers) hike to high-altitude field sites to collect data on the presence of pikas and the characteristics of their habitat. Our community scientists have been visiting some of these sites for a decade, which has provided critical data to land managers and researchers about the distribution and habitat use of pika. Through the dedication of CPP volunteers, we can not only track how climate change is impacting pika, but find solutions to any potential threats.
Become a Community Scientist:
There are two ways to be a community scientist in this project. One way is to register to collect pika data at our long-term monitor sites on the Front Range, Rocky Mountain National Park, and White River National Forest. This is our traditional volunteering option that we’ve been doing since 2010! This option requires attending a ~5 hours summer training session and follows a multi-step scientific protocol.
The other is to download the Pika Patrol App to record pika observations wherever you see them! This method uses a smartphone app that is available for both Apple and Android. There is no formal training session required as all the training you’ll need is available in the app. It has a very simple protocol: you just take photos and sound recordings of pika signs and upload them into the app.
Support Colorado Pika Project with a pika adoption:
Your adoption of an American pika will help ensure that the ‘Eeep!’ of the pika will continue to ring out across our Colorado mountains. Adoptions only cost $35.
The Adopt A Pika project helps us to fund our pika field research, train community scientists, and develop conservation strategies for protecting this amazing little critter. Pika adoptions include an adorable American pika plush animal and a personalized certificate of adoption. And the plush pikas are stuffed with a sustainable fill from certified 100% recycled PET bottles!
Your plush pika represents a real pika in the wild! Upon request, we can tell you where a real pika yours represents lives! And if you want to name your pika, we will keep that name on file.
Recent results, updates, and news:
