From collaboration and science to enduring conservation

In the heart of the Yellowstone to Yukon region, mountain “water towers” rise above the land, sustaining hundreds of millions of people.

A growing network of wildlife crossings is helping people and wildlife, including grizzly bears, get where they’re going safely. Finally, donors, communities, Indigenous groups, scientists, government, and other partners are coming together from around the world, working to build healthy natural spaces where people and wildlife can thrive.

The future of conservation is connected, collaborative, and ambitious.

Y2Y works to advance conservation by partnering with diverse communities to connect and protect this vast, ever-changing mountain region. To guide our conservation efforts, we draw from the best available information, including from natural and social sciences as well as local and Indigenous knowledge. Our Science and Knowledge team is advancing understanding of how the landscape in the Yellowstone to Yukon region helps naturally regulate the climate.

This includes the role of ecosystems in storing carbon, removing CO₂ from the atmosphere, and highlighting where biodiversity conservation and climate action align. We are also studying how people are responding to climate change, including how adaptation actions affect ecosystems, connectivity, and long-term climate regulation. Together, this work is helping identify and support effective nature-based climate solutions across the Yellowstone to Yukon region.

In December Dr. Graham McDowell, Y2Y’s Director of Science and Knowledge, received a medal from the United Nations for his work on glacier preservation. Glaciers are an important part of the region, as they help regulate global climate, provide unique habitats, and deliver fresh water for wildlife and community needs. Graham has shared this work with the public through talks and a gallery exhibit that blends art with knowledge. Credit: Fortune Whelan.

Sharing knowledge about wildlife connectivity

In April, Y2Y reached a conservation milestone by participating in the first-ever Canadian Ecological Connectivity Conference, held in Banff, Alberta.

More than 200 people came from across North America to share knowledge about the urgent importance of wildlife connectivity.

We are grateful for the partners, Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, government agencies, non-profits, and grassroots organizations whose leadership is propelling connectivity conservation” forward.

Relationships with each other and with the land are the foundation for a thriving future, and this gathering of professionals helped to strengthen those bonds.

In October, Y2Y played a leadership role in a groundbreaking report, Scaling Up: Conservation in a Connected World, which detailed conservation successes from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

This essential report demonstrates how largescale, connected conservation is doing more than transforming landscapes — it’s securing a thriving future for nature and people alike.

One feature case study focused on the Yellowstone to Yukon region, showcasing our decades of work connecting landscapes and communities across the world’s most ecologically intact large mountain region.

These case studies prove that when we think big and work together across borders, ecosystems, and communities, we can rise to meet conservation challenges.

Together, we are working towards a future where wildlife can roam freely, ecosystems remain whole, and people and nature thrive side by side. We look forward to sharing this knowledge, connecting communities working on similar challenges, and continuing to build on this momentum — for today, the future, and for all our relationships across this beautiful, vast, interconnected landscape.