High in the Tushar Mountains, with a stunning view of the lake and rolling hills below, wildlife technicians make their way to a talus field — a sloping mass of broken rocks. … Development isn’t much of a threat to the species due to their preference for harsh, alpine environments, Chipman said. However, pikas are considered an indicator species due to their temperature sensitivity. … The Center for Biological Diversity describes climate change as pikas’ “gravest threat,” not only from the risk that high temperatures bring, but also due to projected “increases in droughts and floods, reduced snowpack leading to ‘false spring’ conditions, and earlier seasonal runoff” that could impact alpine vegetation.