The latest findings from Cascades Pika Watch — a collaboration of organizations and individual pika researchers convened by the Oregon Zoo — show the pint-sized mammals are alive and well in the wake of the Eagle Creek Fire.  The fire burned through much of the pika habitat on the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge. This summer Cascades Pika Watch set out to see how pikas were faring in the areas most affected by the fire and detected pikas at 18 sites out of 45 surveyed — an expected decrease from previous years, but still promising.  American pikas are small mammals related to rabbits, known for their distinctive high-pitched calls.  They’re often found in rugged high-elevation mountain habitats, so pikas in the Gorge are of particular interest because they live at a much lower elevation than any other pika population in the United States.