Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative

The Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, commonly known as Y2Y, is a transboundary Canada–United States not-for-profit conservation organization focused on maintaining and restoring ecological connectivity along the Rocky Mountain spine between the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem and Canada's Yukon Territory. Its geographic vision covers approximately 2,100 miles, or 3,400 kilometres, of mountain landscapes, watersheds, parks, private lands, Indigenous territories and working communities. Rather than treating protected areas as isolated units, Y2Y promotes a connected system of core habitats and wildlife corridors through which animals, plants, water and ecological processes can move over large distances. Y2Y's mission is to connect and protect habitat from Yellowstone to Yukon so that people and nature can thrive. Its work combines landscape-scale conservation with partnerships involving conservation organizations, government agencies, Indigenous governments, landowners, businesses, scientists, planners, economists, local communities and other groups. The initiative emphasizes that long-term ecological health depends not only on creating or enlarging protected areas, but also on maintaining connections between them and managing human infrastructure and development in ways that permit wildlife movement. The intellectual and organizational origins of the initiative are closely associated with research into the movements of Pluie, a radio-collared wolf from southern Alberta. Between 1991 and 1993, Pluie traveled across an area of roughly 40,000 square miles, crossing more than 30 political jurisdictions, including states, provinces, private properties and First Nations territories. The scale of the wolf's movements challenged assumptions about the amount of space required by wide-ranging species and helped demonstrate the importance of connected habitat across jurisdictional boundaries. Pluie was later killed in a legal hunt in 1995, but the research surrounding the animal became an influential illustration of the need for landscape-scale conservation. Since 1993, Y2Y and its partners have worked on habitat protection, wildlife crossings, corridor restoration, land conservation, scientific research, public policy and community engagement. The initiative reports that more than 700 partner groups have participated in the broader collaborative effort. Its projects have included support for wildlife crossings over and under highways, research and tracking involving species such as wolverines, and the acquisition of more than 500,000 acres of land intended to preserve important wildlife routes. Y2Y also works to connect conservation objectives with sustainable local economies and human needs. The organization structures its current approach around landscape protection, landscape connection, communities and conservation, policy and government relations, and the use of science together with Indigenous and local knowledge. Its stated 2030 priorities include protecting 30 percent of the Yellowstone-to-Yukon region, safeguarding four key wildlife corridors, improving animal movement across heavily traveled roads, advancing voluntary private-land conservation, and helping communities apply planning and management tools suited to the scale of the entire region. Y2Y also supports policy frameworks across Indigenous, municipal, provincial, territorial, state, federal and international levels. The initiative's work has received wider public attention through books, exhibitions and documentary media. A 2005 account of a journey from Yellowstone to Yukon described the region's landscapes and wildlife routes, while a 2011 exhibition and subsequent book brought together art, photography and stories from the corridor. Y2Y's work was also featured in a 2016 episode of the science documentary series NOVA. The initiative has additionally served as a model for other large-scale connectivity collaborations, including projects linking Algonquin with the Adirondacks, the Northern Appalachian-Acadian region, Australia's Great Eastern Ranges, and marine areas between Baja California and the Bering Sea.

The Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative emerged from a growing recognition that the Rocky Mountains' existing parks and wilderness areas could not by themselves guarantee the long-term survival of wide-ranging wildlife. During the early 1990s, research on Pluie, a radio-collared wolf in southern Alberta, provided a particularly compelling demonstration. From 1991 to 1993, the wolf moved across approximately 40,000 square miles and crossed more than 30 jurisdictions, including three U.S. states, two Canadian provinces, private lands and First Nations territories. Pluie's movements covered an area many times larger than either Yellowstone or Banff national park. The animal was subsequently killed in a legal hunt south of Kootenay National Park in December 1995, but the tracking data had already helped reshape debate about habitat scale and wildlife mobility. The research suggested that many species require access to interconnected landscapes rather than isolated protected areas. It helped inspire the idea of creating a continuous conservation network along the Rocky Mountain spine, extending from the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem northward to Yukon. Y2Y's approach treats the region as an ecological system that crosses national, state, provincial, territorial, Indigenous and private-land boundaries. Parks and wilderness areas form the system's protected cores, while additional conservation areas, special management zones and privately conserved lands can provide the corridors linking those cores. Since 1993, Y2Y has developed a collaborative model involving conservation groups, public agencies, Indigenous governments, landowners, scientists, planners, businesses, economists and local communities. The initiative does not operate as a single land-management authority. Instead, it identifies regionally important conservation needs, supports research and planning, works with decision-makers and partners on local projects, and promotes policies that improve ecological connectivity. Its activities have included helping establish or improve wildlife crossings at roads, supporting tracking and research on species such as wolverines, and purchasing more than 500,000 acres of land to preserve wildlife routes. The organization also draws attention to the relationship between habitat connectivity, sustainable economies and community well-being. Y2Y's program framework has developed around several mutually reinforcing areas: protecting important landscapes, connecting fragmented habitats, working with communities, engaging in policy and government relations, and integrating scientific evidence with Indigenous and local knowledge. Its stated 2030 objectives include protecting 30 percent of the broader region, safeguarding four priority wildlife corridors, restoring animal movement across major transportation routes, advancing voluntary conservation on private lands, and helping communities use planning tools that account for ecological processes at the Yellowstone-to-Yukon scale. The initiative reports that more than 700 partner groups have supported its shared mission since its early development. It has also reported substantial growth in protected areas across the region between 1993 and 2018: protected areas increased by 41,424 square miles, or 107,290 square kilometres, representing a 7.8 percent increase, while the organization characterized growth in key protected areas associated with its work and partnerships as 80.5 percent. The wider region has been described as one of the world's most intact and least developed mountain systems, although the proportion under formal protection remains limited relative to its ecological importance. Y2Y's concept has influenced conservation collaborations beyond the Rocky Mountains. Examples identified in reference material include the Algonquin to Adirondacks Collaborative, the Great Eastern Ranges Initiative in Australia, Two Countries-One Forest in the Northern Appalachian-Acadian region, and the Baja to Bering Marine Initiative. Public understanding of the Yellowstone-to-Yukon vision has also been supported by books, art and documentary media. Karsten Heuer's 2005 account described an extended journey through the corridor, and a 2011 exhibition organized with the National Museum of Wildlife Art, the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, artist Dwayne Harty and Y2Y brought regional landscapes and conservation stories to a broader audience. In 2016, NOVA's Wild Ways featured wildlife corridors and Y2Y-related conservation work.

• 2016

  Y2Y work appears in NOVA's Wild Ways

  [1]Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiativeen.wikipedia.org

  The documentary episode examined wildlife corridors and conservation approaches associated with the Yellowstone-to-Yukon landscape.

• 2011

  Yellowstone to Yukon: The Journey of Wildlife and Art

  [1]Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiativeen.wikipedia.org

  A collaborative exhibition presented images, art and stories from the Yellowstone-to-Yukon region and was later issued as a book.

• 2005

  Walking the Big Wild is published

  [1]Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiativeen.wikipedia.org

  Karsten Heuer published an account of an 18-month journey from Yellowstone to Yukon, describing the region's landscapes and wildlife routes.

• 1995

  Pluie is killed in a legal hunt

  [1]Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiativeen.wikipedia.org

  Pluie was killed south of Kootenay National Park in December, but the wolf's documented movements continued to influence the case for large-scale habitat connectivity.

• 1993

  Yellowstone-to-Yukon conservation initiative takes shape

  [1]Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiativeen.wikipedia.org

  Y2Y's collaborative conservation work dates from 1993, focusing on a connected system of habitats and corridors along the Rocky Mountains.

• 1991

  Pluie wolf tracking begins

  [1]Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiativeen.wikipedia.org

  Radio tracking of Pluie, a wolf in southern Alberta, began documenting movements across an exceptionally large and politically fragmented landscape.

A science-informed, partnership-based landscape conservation initiative focused on ecological connectivity, wildlife corridors, protected areas and coexistence between communities and nature across the Yellowstone-to-Yukon region.

• Yellowstone to Yukon landscape connectivity

  Canada · United States

  Y2Y's central conservation campaign seeks to connect and protect a 2,100-mile Rocky Mountain region by maintaining habitat cores, restoring corridors and improving wildlife movement across political and land-tenure boundaries.

  Outcome. The campaign has supported protected-area expansion, wildlife-crossing projects, land conservation, research and a broad partner network.

  Source
• 2030 conservation goals

  Canada · United States

  Y2Y's stated goals for 2030 include protecting 30 percent of the region, safeguarding four priority wildlife corridors, supporting private-land conservation, improving road-crossing conditions and strengthening community and policy tools.

  Source

• Adoption of a landscape-scale conservation modelStrategy

  Background

  Research on wide-ranging wildlife demonstrated that isolated parks were insufficient to maintain ecological processes and viable movement routes across the Rocky Mountains.

  Action taken

  Y2Y adopted a partnership-based strategy combining protected-area expansion, corridor conservation, wildlife crossings, science, Indigenous knowledge, community engagement and policy work.

  Aftermath

  The model became the foundation of Y2Y's regional work and helped inspire similar connectivity initiatives in other parts of North America and Australia.

  Source

1. 1Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiativeen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative official websitey2y.net