Pika-Inspired Solutions to Changing Snowpack and Habitat Management

Presentation: “Pika-Inspired Solutions to Changing Snowpack and Habitat Management” by Dr. Erik Beever, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)

& Montana State University

September 2nd (Tuesday), 6 p.m., Social half-hour; please join us from 5:30-6:00 to enjoy free soft drinks and appetizers before our talk begins!

Live at the Teton County Library & Via Zoom (online)

Unfortunately, Dr. Beever cannot attend this event in person, instead he will present via Zoom, simulcast to the library. Please join us for Pizza at 5:30 to show your support for U.S. government scientists! R.S.V.P. to GJHPresident@gmail.com would be appreciated (so we know how much pizza to order) but is NOT required.

Contemporary global change has wrought innumerable changes to socio-ecological systems in recent years. On one hand, new shipping lanes have created new economic opportunities, and some higher-latitude areas are experiencing increases in agricultural productivity. On the other hand, increased frequency and intensity of extreme-weather events (e.g., heat domes, droughts, wildfires, hurricanes, deluges, snow droughts, rain-on-snow events) are having profound economic, cultural, and ecological influences on agriculture, recreation, ecosystem services such as erosion control; pollination; production of food, fiber, and drinking water; and viewable wildlife. 

Drawing on his ecological data collected across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and western USA from 1994 to the present, Dr. Beever will share his observations and context-dependent results from that span, as well as frameworks and strategies for finding solutions amidst resultant ecological challenges, at multiple spatial and temporal scales. Although he’ll draw from numerous other examples, he will use the American Pika as a model organism to take the pulse of mountain ecosystems that are not being appreciably affected by habitat loss or degradation. He will use Grand Teton National Park and surroundings as a system from which he and his teams are trying to transfer lessons for finding solutions to other ecosystems, western USA-wide.

Topic: Pika-Inspired Solutions to Changing Snowpack and Habitat Management

Time: Tuesday, September 2nd, 2025, 06:00 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4555651818?pwd=U09ObDNZOEIyZmRtMEtsdUowQnJqdz09
Meeting ID: 455 565 1818
Passcode: 576063