Establishing capacity for long-term monitoring of the American pika, a sentinel species, by citizen scientists in Rocky Mountain National Park

Whipple, Ashley; Garroutte, Erica; Mueller, Megan; Ray, Chris

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Long-term monitoring of sentinel species and their habitats can inform strategies for the stewardship of park resources, and monitoring vulnerable species can facilitate timely interventions. This project cements a partnership and sustainable strategy for long-term monitoring of the American pika, a vulnerable sentinel of alpine and subalpine habitats throughout Rocky Mountain National Park. A previous plan for volunteer monitoring of pika (developed under TA P16AC00704/UCOB-112) was fully implemented under the current agreement by partnering with the Front Range Pika Project. Safety and monitoring protocols as well as plots targeted for monitoring—all based on the NPS Pikas-in-Peril study—were ground-tested and updated in response to input from volunteers. Volunteers were recruited, trained and assisted in the field by Front Range Pika Project organizers and researchers from the University of Colorado-Boulder, who used these experiences to further develop volunteer training and data management systems for this project, including on-line resources and databasing. In 2018 and 2019, 47 new and returning volunteers were trained to execute a pika survey protocol specific to the park and based on the Pikas-in-Peril protocol. With guidance from Front Range Pika Project and University of Colorado personnel, these volunteers surveyed 45 plots in the park, quadrupling the number of plots known to be safely accessible for independent surveys by returning volunteers. The successful implementation of this citizen science initiative provides the foundation and framework needed to ensure the long-term, large-scale monitoring of pika populations and habitats needed to inform management and conservation of related park resources.

Establishing capacity for long-term monitoring of the American pika, a sentinel species, by citizen scientists in Rocky Mountain National Park

Collections