Pikas won't be listed for protection, feds say

Pikas, the iconic squeakers of the high country, will not be listed for protection as a threatened or endangered species, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided after a yearlong population-status review.

Some wildlife advocates had petitioned for listing, warning that pikas, with their preference for cool habitat, are at risk for extinction throughout the West as the climate warms.

They sued in October 2007, demanding the agency determine if the animal should be protected under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Pikas, small furry creatures that are cousins of rabbits, can be killed by temperatures higher than 78 degrees Fahrenheit. They prefer the rugged, rocky habitat usually found at higher elevations.

Pikas are familiar creatures in every high-country hiker's summer, belting out one-note, high-pitched squeaks to defend their territory. They spend their summers haying fresh green vegetation, stowing it in burrows for winter nourishment.

The petition for listing was contentious. The San Francisco-based Center for Biological Diversity made the animal the polar bear of the Lower forty-eight, symbolizing the perils of climate change.

"We are very disappointed by the decision," said Shaye Wolfe, biologist in the center's climate-change program.

The group is considering whether to appeal.

In the 71-page decision released Thursday, the agency stated that many populations of the animal, including those in Washington, were secure.

Some populations, particularly in the interior West, are already extinct and others are at risk. But no population was found to be at risk entirely throughout its range.

The animals were also found to be capable of adapting by moving to higher elevation, or adapting their behavior as the climate warms by burrowing deeper into the rocky talus slopes they inhabit.

"For us, what it boils down to is the pika is a widespread species," said Larry Crist of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who helped lead the research undergirding the agency's decision.

"Although rising temps are being documented in these mountain areas, and there will be some declines and losses, they will not be at a scale to cause any extinctions."

Lynda V. Mapes: 206-464-2736 or lmapes@seattletimes.com