Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative
Encyclopedia
The Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative or Y2Y is a joint Canada
-US
charitable organization that seeks to preserve and maintain the wildlife, native plants
, wilderness and natural process of the mountain ecosystem from Yellowstone National Park
to the Yukon
. Y2Y works with local communities, through education
and stewardship
programs, to encourage conservation
of the area.
Y2Y takes a scientific approach to conservation and has been named by the IUCN-World Conservation Union as one of the planet’s leading mountain conservation initiatives.
In 2008, Y2Y provided 13 grants totaling $38,000 to organizations in support of their conservation efforts within the Yellowstone to Yukon region.
, a lawyer and environmentalist, had an idea for a vast wildlife corridor
encompassing the mountain ranges from Yellowstone National Park to the Yukon. Locke, along with other concerned individuals, wanted to link protected wildlife areas to each other so that wildlife species – especially wide ranging mammals like grizzly bears – could move safely between them.
Y2Y was officially established in 1997 by conservationists and scientists. Today, Y2Y has two offices located in Canmore, Alberta
and Bozeman, Montana
.
to move through the lands adjacent to and between protected areas such as national parks.
Grizzly Bear Conservation Strategy : This is the most extensive, large-landscape grizzly bear conservation effort in the world. The goal of the strategy is to make sure that grizzly bears have adequate core habitats to sustain viable populations, and that bears – and other wide-ranging wildlife – can move safely between core habitats.
Avian Conservation Strategy : The Y2Y region is a critical migratory pathway for birds. 275 species of birds spend all or part of their life cycle in the Y2Y region. This strategy, which is currently being finalized, uses 20 focal species to represent the needs of 109 species of concern.
Aquatic Conservation Strategy : Nearly 40 percent of fish species in North American streams, rivers and lakes are now in jeopardy, according to the most detailed evaluation of the conservation status of freshwater fishes in the last 20 years. Y2Y is in the process of establishing a watershed-based approach to conserving the river ecosystems and fishes of the Y2Y region.
Other challenges for conservation in the region include human development, resource extraction
, negative human-wildlife interactions, climate change
, and transportation (roads and railways).
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
-US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
charitable organization that seeks to preserve and maintain the wildlife, native plants
, wilderness and natural process of the mountain ecosystem from Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho...
to the Yukon
Yukon
Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....
. Y2Y works with local communities, through education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
and stewardship
Stewardship
Stewardship is an ethic that embodies responsible planning and management of resources. The concept of stewardship has been applied in diverse realms, including with respect to environment, economics, health, property, information, and religion, and is linked to the concept of sustainability...
programs, to encourage conservation
Conservation biology
Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...
of the area.
Y2Y takes a scientific approach to conservation and has been named by the IUCN-World Conservation Union as one of the planet’s leading mountain conservation initiatives.
Vision
People working together to maintain and restore the unique natural heritage of the Yellowstone to Yukon region.Primary Role
Y2Y connects and supports a network of organizations, agencies, and individuals doing on-the-ground conservation work in the region. Y2Y facilitates collaboration among those groups to advance an integrated conservation agenda for the entire region.In 2008, Y2Y provided 13 grants totaling $38,000 to organizations in support of their conservation efforts within the Yellowstone to Yukon region.
History
In 1993, Harvey LockeHarvey Locke
Harvey Locke is a conservationist, writer, and photographer. He is a recognized global leader in the field of parks, wilderness and large landscape conservation...
, a lawyer and environmentalist, had an idea for a vast wildlife corridor
Wildlife corridor
A wildlife corridor or green corridor is an area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities . This allows an exchange of individuals between populations, which may help prevent the negative effects of inbreeding and reduced genetic diversity that often occur within...
encompassing the mountain ranges from Yellowstone National Park to the Yukon. Locke, along with other concerned individuals, wanted to link protected wildlife areas to each other so that wildlife species – especially wide ranging mammals like grizzly bears – could move safely between them.
Y2Y was officially established in 1997 by conservationists and scientists. Today, Y2Y has two offices located in Canmore, Alberta
Canmore, Alberta
Canmore is a town in Alberta, Canada, located approximately west of the City of Calgary near the southeast boundary of Banff National Park. It is located in the Bow Valley within Alberta's Rockies. The town shares a border with Kananaskis Country to the west and south and the Municipal District of...
and Bozeman, Montana
Bozeman, Montana
Bozeman is a city in and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The 2010 census put Bozeman's population at 37,280 making it the fourth largest city in the state. It is the principal city of the Bozeman micropolitan area, which consists...
.
Priorities
Wildlife Corridors : Ensuring wildlife have safe migration pathwaysWildlife corridor
A wildlife corridor or green corridor is an area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities . This allows an exchange of individuals between populations, which may help prevent the negative effects of inbreeding and reduced genetic diversity that often occur within...
to move through the lands adjacent to and between protected areas such as national parks.
Grizzly Bear Conservation Strategy : This is the most extensive, large-landscape grizzly bear conservation effort in the world. The goal of the strategy is to make sure that grizzly bears have adequate core habitats to sustain viable populations, and that bears – and other wide-ranging wildlife – can move safely between core habitats.
Avian Conservation Strategy : The Y2Y region is a critical migratory pathway for birds. 275 species of birds spend all or part of their life cycle in the Y2Y region. This strategy, which is currently being finalized, uses 20 focal species to represent the needs of 109 species of concern.
Aquatic Conservation Strategy : Nearly 40 percent of fish species in North American streams, rivers and lakes are now in jeopardy, according to the most detailed evaluation of the conservation status of freshwater fishes in the last 20 years. Y2Y is in the process of establishing a watershed-based approach to conserving the river ecosystems and fishes of the Y2Y region.
Challenges
One of the most significant challenges to conservation is the region’s vast scale. The Y2Y region traverses two countries, five American states, two Canadian provinces, two Canadian territories, the reservation or traditional lands of over 30 Native governments, and a number of government land agencies. In addition, there are social, economic, historical and cultural differences between the many human communities within or near to the region.Other challenges for conservation in the region include human development, resource extraction
Resource extraction
The related terms natural resource extraction both refer to the practice of locating, acquiring and selling natural resources....
, negative human-wildlife interactions, climate change
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
, and transportation (roads and railways).