Re: Calif. rejects protection for pika

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eeek

Calif. rejects protection for pika
June 25, 2009 02:13PM

Admin
Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 17,111

The pika, a fist-sized relative of the rabbit, lives in high-elevation boulder fields in the Sierra Nevada and is sensitive to warm weather. The Center for Biological Diversity asked the California Fish and Game Commission to protect the species, citing evidence the pika is declining as its habitat shrinks due to climate change. The commission voted unanimously to reject the petition, calling the evidence inadequate to justify protection.

http://www.sacbee.com/capitolandcalifornia/story/1976783.html

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bpnjensen

Re: Calif. rejects protection for pika
June 26, 2009 03:54PM

Registered: 15 years ago
Posts: 179

<sigh> well, they'll just have to take it up again when the last pika in California is identified and see if they have a change of heart.

FWIW, The only place I have seen a pika in Yosemite is at Mt. Dana's summit. I suspect they are also up at Lyell, Conness, Matterhorn, Ritter and Banner Peak, as well as the more southerly Sierra peaks, maybe up at Shasta too, but overall the real estate above 12,500 feet is pretty limited statewide. It won't take much warming to eliminate 95% of the habitat available, and practically nothing more to kill the last 5%.

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