Protecting and connecting large landscapes is a key strategy to conserve global biodiversity. There are numerous examples around the globe of large-landscape conservation efforts, such as the Florida Wildlife Corridor in the U.S. and the Great Eastern Ranges initiative in Australia. The largest landscape conservation in North America to date is the Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y) initiative, a conservation strategy spanning the western part of the continent that was founded in 1993. Efforts focus on protecting large parcels of land that support numerous keystone species such as grizzly bears, grey wolves, and beavers.
Hebblewhite, M., Hilty, J.A., Williams, S., Locke, H., Chester, C., Johns, D., Kehm, G. and Francis, W.L. 2022. Can a large‐landscape conservation vision contribute to achieving biodiversity targets? Conservation Science and Practice 4(1): e588.
It remains a model for achieving global biodiversity targets, such as the previous Aichi target’s goals of protecting 17% of the earth by 2020 and future targets such as the IUCN target of 30% by 2030. Despite its global recognition as a model initiative, quantifying the success of Y2Y is a challenge: it’s difficult to measure direct outcomes, or put a number on the impact of collaborative partnerships. Given that, how do we know whether large-landscape conservation strategies actually have an impact?
New research takes a step toward quantifying the effectiveness of the Y2Y initiative in protecting biodiversity and reaching conservation targets. Through broad analyses of long-term, large-scale data, several trends emerge. Since its initiation, the number, size, and accumulation rate of protected areas (PAs) in the Y2Y region have all increased. The proportion protected of the Y2Y region has almost doubled from 9.7% to 17.6%, exceeding Aichi targets. PA growth within the Y2Y region has increased, while adjacent unprotected areas have had constant or stagnant growth. In Canada, much of the gains have been with public lands, while in the U.S. portion of the region, gains have been through private land conservation easements.
Concrete measures of success are also evident in populations of grizzly bears, the flagship species of Y2Y and one that is under threat from human encroachment. Over 25 years of the Y2Y initiative, the number of grizzlies has grown from a few hundred to around 1700. These bears have used a larger proportion of unprotected lands, underscoring the necessity of connecting PAs to adjacent private lands. Grizzlies in the region benefit in part from the world’s most extensive system of highway-crossing structures, with iconic wildlife crossings found in Banff National Park and on Montana’s Highway 93 running through the reservation of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes.
Evaluating the effectiveness of large-landscape conservation strategies will always remain a complex challenge. Success can be defined in multiple ways -in terms of biodiversity targets, stakeholder engagement, or even mainstreaming conservation science into broader sectors – and all these ways are difficult to quantify. However, Y2Y, along with other well-established large-landscape initiatives, offers proof that large-scale conservation and connectivity of protected areas can achieve conservation goals.
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