Photo © Courtesy of Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative
A wolf’s astonishing journey has become the catalyst for more than 30 years of conservation collaboration between Canada and the US, changing how we protect nature.
In 1991, a wolf named Pluie was fitted with a satellite collar near Alberta’s Banff National Park. Over two years, she roamed 100,000 square kilometers, crossing three U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. Her epic journey stunned researchers and revealed a critical truth: wildlife needs vast, connected landscapes to thrive.
From Islands to Corridors
Pluie’s path highlighted the limits of isolated parks and reserves. Wolves, grizzlies, caribou, and other species don’t recognize political boundaries—they need space to den, feed, and find mates to ensure genetic diversity. True conservation requires corridors that link protected areas into larger, functioning ecosystems.
A Vision for Connection
At the same time, environmental lawyer Harvey Locke was rethinking what conservation could be. On a wilderness trip in northern British Columbia, he sketched a bold idea: link Yellowstone National Park to Canada’s Yukon along the spine of the Rockies.
This 3,400-kilometre pathway would be one of the world’s last great wilderness corridors. His vision became the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y). By December of that year, Locke had convened 30 scientists and conservationists from both sides of the border to discuss how to give nature the space it needs to flourish naturally.
A Bold Idea Tested
In its early days, many doubted the scale of Locke’s dream. To prove it possible, Y2Y supported wildlife biologist Karsten Heuer in walking the entire region with his dog Webster. Over 18 months, he logged grizzly bear signs along 85 per cent of the route—proof the landscape was still ecologically intact. Heuer later became Y2Y’s president, committed to protecting what he had walked.
Three Decades of Impact
Now in its 31st year, Y2Y is a global model for landscape-scale conservation. By blending Indigenous knowledge with western science, it works to protect nature at the scale Pluie showed was necessary.
Research from 2021 shows protected areas within the Y2Y region have expanded by more than 80 per cent. These include Indigenous-led areas in British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Yukon; wilderness zones in the U.S.; and a new park in southern Alberta. The average size of protected areas has grown by 56 per cent, and at least a quarter of the region is now under Indigenous stewardship.
Beyond land protections, Y2Y has championed wildlife crossings—177 exist today, with 50 more planned. It has helped conserve more than 500,000 acres of private land, restored key habitats, and supported communities in coexisting with wildlife.
These efforts are paying off. In Montana’s Cabinet Yaak, the grizzly bear population has grown from 10 in 1990 to around 60 today. Bears near the Canada-U.S. border are now close to reconnecting with long-isolated Yellowstone grizzlies, strengthening genetic diversity. Meanwhile, in British Columbia’s Peace River region, Indigenous leadership has helped the Klinse-za caribou herd rebound from just 38 animals in 2013 to nearly 200 today.
Inspiring a Movement
At the end of 2022 in Montreal, 196 countries, including Canada, adopted the Global Biodiversity Framework, committing to protect 30 per cent of lands and waters by 2030. Y2Y is proud to contribute to this global “30×30” goal through its ongoing work across the Yellowstone to Yukon region.
“We see a future where wildlife crossings are normal, where coexistence measures are part of planning, and where the notion of land existing first for nature is widely accepted,” says Jodi Hilty, Ph.D., Y2Y’s President and Chief Scientist. By 2055, nearly half of the Yellowstone to Yukon region could be protected, creating robust connectivity that helps halt and reverse biodiversity loss.
A recent study confirmed that the Rocky Mountains remain the most ecologically intact mountain range on Earth. Y2Y’s mission is to keep it that way—with the support of more than 700 partners and thousands of advocates in 84 countries.
Thirty years after Pluie’s journey, the Yellowstone to Yukon vision has grown into a powerful international movement. And the work is only beginning.
Learn more at Y2Y.net/vision
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Y2Y’s work addresses needs for wildlife and people, giving animals freedom to roam, and protecting habitat for grizzly bears, caribou, wolverines, wolves, and more. To protect a region this vast, we need an equally vast, diverse, and dynamic movement. We are the only organization dedicated to securing the long-term ecological health of this entire region.