The Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y) is thrilled to announce it has been named a finalist for the 2026 Earthshot Prize, one of the most prestigious environmental honors on the planet.

Y2Y is being recognized in the Protect and Restore Nature category for leading one of the largest conservation collaborations in history: reconnecting a 3,400-kilometer (2,100-mile) mountain landscape stretching up the spine of the Rockies from Yellowstone in the United States to Canada’s Yukon.

The Earthshot Prize is dedicated to identifying, celebrating and backing solutions to repair the planet. We are honored to be recognized among 15 groundbreaking solutions identified, and one of three finalists in the Protect and Restore Nature category.

Five winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in Mumbai, India on Nov. 17, each receiving a £1 million grant (CA$1.8 million / US$1.3 million) to continue their work.

A landscape built for wildlife on the move

This nomination comes at a key point in Y2Y’s history. For more than 30 years, Y2Y and its partners have worked to connect and protect the largest remaining intact mountain system on Earth.

The Yellowstone to Yukon region is home to species that have persisted since the last Ice Age — grizzly bears, wolves, wolverines, lynx and caribou among them — and the goal is simple but ambitious: give these animals the room they need to roam, feed, find mates and raise their young.

Wildlife, of course, doesn’t recognize international (or other) borders.

“That is why, for more than 30 years, Indigenous Nations, communities, governments, scientists and landowners have shown what is possible when people work together at the scale at which wildlife truly lives,” says Dr. Jodi Hilty, Y2Y president and chief scientist.

Thirty years of measurable impact

Since Y2Y’s founding in 1993, the results have been striking:

• 80%+ increase in protected areas across the region
• 25 million hectares protected with the help of more than 800 partners
• 200+ wildlife crossings built ensure animals move safely across roads and development

Achieving this at landscape scale is not any single organization’s success. This work requires broad coalitions coming together to support the vision and make it a reality.

This includes partners, funders, donors and supporters including Indigenous Nations, governments, scientists, landowners, communities, conservation organizations and industry all working together to protect core habitats, reconnect fragmented areas, and help people and wildlife live safely alongside one another.

Why this nomination matters

Being named an Earthshot finalist puts the Yellowstone to Yukon region on the same global stage as regions such as the Amazon or the Serengeti. As wildlife corridors around the world face increasing fragmentation and climate change reshapes habitats, Y2Y’s work offers an inspirational model for keeping nature connected and resilient.

The Earthshot Prize is about more than recognition, it’s the world’s most ambitious network
connecting innovators, funders, businesses, and communities to back climate leaders and restore confidence in our ability to save the planet.

As a 2026 finalist, Y2Y will now work directly with The Earthshot Prize to raise global recognition for the region, build broader public support for large-landscape conservation, and connect with storytellers, funders and decision-makers who can help accelerate protection across the Rockies — and share the model with conservationists worldwide.

This year’s cohort marks the first time the science of positive tipping points has been applied
to Earthshot finalist selection criteria to identify solutions capable of unlocking wider environmental transformation.

A positive tipping point is reached when beneficial change becomes self-reinforcing, allowing progress to accelerate with less external support. Costs fall, adoption grows, policies spread or ecosystems recover enough to support further recovery.

For Hilty, the recognition is also a rare chance to pause and celebrate.

“Being selected as an Earthshot Prize Finalist gives this extraordinary region a chance to be recognised around the world. Yellowstone to Yukon is not only a story about wilderness; it is a story about the people who live here and the choices they are making to protect a shared home. This region offers real hope that nature loss can be reversed when we act early and at scale,” she says.

About The Earthshot Prize

Founded by Prince William in 2020, The Earthshot Prize was created to find and celebrate the world’s most impactful solutions to environmental challenges across different sectors and regions. Now past the halfway point of its first “Earthshot decade,” the 2026 prize is spotlighting environmental leadership from around the globe.

“Every year, our finalists give me renewed optimism. They show us that, even as the environmental challenges remain urgent, extraordinary people around the world are already proving that progress is possible. Seeing solutions work gives us all confidence to act,” says Prince William, president and founder of the Prize.

What’s next

Winners will be revealed at the Earthshot Prize awards night in Mumbai on Nov. 17. Win or not, Y2Y’s finalist status is already a milestone 30 years in the making — a chance, as Hilty puts it, to invite the world to join a journey that has always required all of us.