Pikas, Mountain Goats, and Global Warming

The American Pika may represent the "canary in a coal mine" for climate change impacts, and their plight should not be ignored.  See this recent story:

https://www.kuer.org/science-environment/2026-04-08/these-fuzzy-alpine-animals-are-feeling-the-heat-of-utahs-hot-dry-winter

As also indicated in this article:

"Other research has begun studying the effects of mountain goat grazing on pika habitat, too. Goats aren’t native to the La Sals, but the state introduced them there starting in 2013. Some environmental groups have argued that adding mountain goats threatens the fragile alpine ecosystem."

The Utah Native Plant Society has been one of those "environmental" groups opposed to these non-native mountain goat introductions. But the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources remains committed to introducing them where they don't belong throughout the state.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) as well as the state of California have failed to conclude that any of the subspecies of the America Pika are eligible for listing under federal and state laws.  The original American Pika ESA (Endangered Species Act) petition was filed over 15 years ago.

The conclusion reached in 2010 by the USFWS (see link below) that these animals were not likely in danger of extinction or likely to be become endangered in the foreseeable future throughout all of a significant portion of the range was in my opinion flawed. There is always a lack of data but at some point you have to act in the best interest of the species and not just push decisions down the road when we know that worldwide temperatures are increasing every year and faster than expected and that the human influence on global warming is only getting worse year after year.  And until human populations stabilize and given now also extreme anti-environmental policies, species decline and likelihood of extinctions should be obvious.

Here is the USFWS 2010 decision concluding that none of the subspecies were eligible for listing:

https://www.fws.gov/sites/default/files/federal_register_document/2010-2405.pdf

See also:

https://www.aspentimes.com/news/federal-agency-denies-protections-for-tiny-pika/

https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/mammals/American_pika/action_timeline.html

However, very recent research is again indicating that they are in fact at potentially severe  and imminent risk:

https://www.colorado.edu/today/2025/11/18/new-pika-research-finds-troubling-signs-iconic-rocky-mountain-animal

Ochotona princeps subsp. uinta which is only known to occur in Utah (Wasatch Range and Uinta Mtns - has still not being ranked to Utah) and Wyoming (S1 NatureServe rank)

https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.898829/Ochotona_princeps_uinta

Subsp. uinta as well as subsp. schisticeps should have been listed in 2010.  

The current T4 rank makes little sense with respect to subsp. schisticeps, also with no NatureServe rank for Utah:

https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.895817/Ochotona_princeps_sch

See comments below regarding subsp. saxatillis which should also be receiving conservation attention; these subspecies need priority attention or they may be lost.

Pictures and more information

 

Ochotona princeps subsp. princeps (Wasatch range) Sept. 2014
(photo by Tony Frates)

The five subspecies of the American Pika:

Journal of Mammalogy, Volume 91, Issue 2, 16 April 2010, Pages 401–417,
https://doi.org/10.1644/09-MAMM-A-277.1

Four of the five subspecies occur in Utah:

Subsp. princeps -  occurs in the Wasatch Range and overall occupies the northern portion of the range of the species.   Has a brighter, more rusty-brown or cinnamon color in summer.

Subsp. schisticeps  - occurs in Great Basin.  Has grayish markings in its summer fur and less cinnamon tones.  Adapted to drier habitats.

Subsp uinta -  occurs in the Uinta Mountains and Wasatch Range.  Intermediate in size and color as compared to the coastal (dark) and southern Rocky Mountain (light) subspecies. 

Subsp saxatilis - only occurs in Utah in the La Sal  Mountains where it is disjunct from where it occurs in Colorado and New Mexico.  Generally larger than the other subspecies  and lighter in color (more grayish and light brown).   This subspecies should have a high priority conservation status in Utah given its sparse distribution and the impacts of global warming and introduced mountain goats.   While this subspecies has been considered as secure in Colorado, recent research as noted previously suggests that it may in be fact in decline.  More information:

https://nwt.lternet.edu/featured-publications/2025/11/03/long-term-data-suggest-a-severe-decline-in-recruitment-of-the-american-pika-on-niwot-ridge-boulder-county-colorado

While NatureServe currently ranks the species as a whole as  S4 for Utah, all of the subspecies are SNR (not ranked) which doesn't make much sense.

Why isn't the Utah DWR giving these subspecies more attention?  They should all have state NatureServe ranks.