Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Climate change takes toll on American pika’s Western lands
SALT LAKE CITY — Populations of a rabbitlike animal known as the American pika are vanishing in many mountainous areas of the West as climate change alters its habitat, according to findings released last week by the U.S. Geological Survey.
The range for the mountain-dwelling herbivore is decreasing in southern Utah, northeastern California and in the Great Basin that covers most of Nevada and parts of Utah, Oregon, Idaho and California, the federal agency concluded after studying the cuddly looking critter from 2012-2015.
This study’s conclusion marks a more authoritative statement about the role of global warming on the animal compared with research released in 2003 that found climate change was at least partly contributing to the animal’s decline.
“The longer we go along, the evidence continues to suggest that climate is the single strongest factor,” said Erik Beever, a research ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey and lead author.
The pika’s habitat on mountain slopes, known as talus, are hotter and drier in the summer and more harsh in the winter with less snowpack to serve as an insulator, Beever said.
The study bolsters the case for wildlife advocacy groups pushing for years to have the animal added to the endangered species list amid concerns about global warming.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rejected a request in 2010, saying not all populations were declining. A new request was made this April.
A preliminary decision on that request is due in early September.
The study didn’t quantify how many total American pika still exist but honed in on several areas where the small animal has historically roamed eating grass, weeds and wildflowers.
The animal is thriving in a few places, such as the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon and Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, but overall is suffering, Beever said.