About the
Colorado Pika Project

We’re a community science program that engages volunteers in understanding the impacts of climate change on American pikas (Ochotona princeps) across Colorado. Our goals are:

– Determine the status of the American pika in Colorado.

– Better understand the impacts of climate change on pikas and the alpine ecosystem they call home.

– Provide accurate, reliable, and useful scientific data for researchers and land managers.

– Engage and educate the general public about pikas.

– Develop a model that can be used for future collaborative community science programs.

We connect the work of our volunteers (Pika Patrollers) with researchers and land managers to support our vision of a Southern Rockies with healthy alpine ecosystems.

Our program was initially launched in 2010 as the Front Range Pika Project, a partnership between Rocky Mountain Wild and the Denver Zoo. In 2018, we expanded our research to incorporate sites in Rocky Mountain National Park (the fifth most-visited National Park in the U.S.) and the White River National Forest (America’s most-visited National Forest).

In 2021, our volunteer Pika Patrollers voted to change our name to the Colorado Pika Project in order to reflect the growing geographies and demographics of this initiative — and where we’re hoping to expand in the future!

Learn more about how community science is helping pikas here.

Kristi Odom