If you love to look for adorable critters in nature, this could be the volunteer gig of your dreams. Oregon’s pika watch event is coming back to the Columbia River Gorge this summer, and volunteers are needed to help look for and document the tiny, big-eared animals. Pikas are small, potato-sized members of the rabbit family known for their distinctive chirps, squeaks and screams that are used to protect their territory, typically found in rocky talus slopes. While the American pika is usually seen at higher elevations, there is a lower-level population in the Columbia Gorge that was threatened by the 2017 Eagle Creek fire. Read more at the link in our bio. 📸: Shervin Hess, courtesy of Oregon Zoo #pika #pikawatch2026 #pikawatch #oregon #columbiarivergorge #nature #theoregonian