Incredible variety from Yellowstone to Yukon
The Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative is one of the largest wildlife connectivity projects in the world running about 3,400 kilometers (2,100 miles) from Yellowstone to Yukon. The Yellowstone to Yukon landscape still supports much of its native biodiversity — Y2Y’s goal is to keep it this way.
At 502,000 square miles (1.3 million square kilometers) it is equivalent in size to twice that of Texas or Alberta.
This dynamic landscape is home to:
- The full suite of wildlife that have been present since the ice age;
- A wide diversity of ecosystems including alpine, forests, parkland, and grassland; and
- The source of several major rivers that provide clean, safe drinking water for millions of people.
Photos: Shutterstock
Yellowstone to Yukon priority areas
Spanning five American states, two Canadian provinces, two Canadian territories, and at least 75 Indigenous territories, the Yellowstone to Yukon region encompasses a diverse array of communities. We divide it into 11 priority areas for conservation action.
These areas are based on ground-breaking research on the continental status of grizzly bear populations and the connections between these populations.
Each area functions either as a core habitat or as linkage zones that connect one core to another. Y2Y focuses its efforts on the areas that will help advance the Yellowstone to Yukon vision the most.
Access the shapefiles on Databasin for research and mapping:
Explore the Y2Y priority areas
This map displays the Yellowstone to Yukon region. Priority areas function as either core habitat (the green areas on the map) or as linkage zones (the yellow areas). Selecting one will tell you more about the priority area.
To show the legend, click on the symbol in the top right corner.
To see the full map, click on the box in the top left corner to expand it.
Zoom and pan by using the lower left +/- symbols, using CTRL+scroll with your mouse or double-tap and scroll on a touchscreen.
Header photo: B.C.’s Peace region, Josh Whetzel