Cascades Pika Watch Wraps Up Record-Breaking Season

It's a good time to be a pika in Oregon, or a volunteer trained to spot them. New survey data from Cascades Pika Watch shows numbers of the potato-sized mammals - as well as the people who survey them - are on the rise.

Pikas, tiny rabbit relatives known for their distinctive, squeak-toy-like calls, typically live on mountain slopes at elevations above 6,000 feet, but a unique low-elevation population is living at the Columbia River Gorge, just a half hour from Portland.

Since the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire, surveys indicate the pika population in the area has been steadily increasing. Last year, volunteers spotted pikas at more than two-thirds of the sites surveyed, and that number rose even higher in 2025.

"This year we found pikas at 82% of sites surveyed, which is close to the pre-fire population numbers," said Dr. Johanna Varner, scientific adviser for the Cascades Pika Watch program. "This is great news for the Gorge pika population."

There is growing concern among scientists about the future of pikas, as climate change has caused population declines and local extinctions in parts of the pika's range. But Varner says the season's results are very encouraging - particularly in the Gorge.

"The data from this program tell us this population might be more resilient than some others," Varner said. "We're really hopeful that pikas in Oregon continue to thrive."

For the first time, Cascades Pika Watch ventured east as well this year, partnering with the High Desert Museum and Discover Your Forest to survey for pikas in Central Oregon. Trained volunteers detected pikas at 11 out of 27 sites in the region.

"We're excited to begin the process of monitoring pikas in Central Oregon," said Jon Nelson, who oversees citizen science programming at the High Desert Museum. "Pikas may be small, but they can tell us a lot about the larger ecosystems where they live."

Pikas aren't the only creatures increasing in number this year - the ranks of pika watchers grew as well. More than 287 trained citizen scientists submitted 683 surveys from 109 locations throughout the Gorge and Central Oregon. In the Gorge, that's a 62% increase in survey respondents from last year, which was itself a record-breaking year for the program.

Every summer, volunteers from Cascades Pika Watch - a program of the Oregon Zoo - head into the field with binoculars to stake out pika hot spots, record their locations and listen for the pika's telltale squeak. Then they upload their data to a website, helping biologists to better understand where pikas live and whether their range is shifting.

"Each year this program has gotten bigger and better," Varner said. "The future of Cascades Pika Watch is really bright, and there's still plenty of room for more people to get involved."

Cascades Pika Watch will return next year, and aspiring pika watchers are encouraged to sign up for free in-person or online trainings. Sites are accessed via public hiking trails, and no special skills are required. Sign up for updates at oregonzoo.org/pika.