A groundbreaking project aiming to establish a 3,400-kilometre wildlife habitat corridor from Yellowstone National Park in the U.S. to Canada’s Yukon has been named a finalist for Prince William’s annual environmental awards. The Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y) is the first Canadian finalist in the Protect & Restore Nature category of the Earthshot Prizes for 2026. The initiative, recognized as one of the largest conservation collaborations in history, seeks to reconnect a vast mountain landscape across Canada and the U.S. to enable wildlife to freely roam as they did for centuries.
The corridor, which is already home to various large mammals like wolves, grizzly bears, wolverines, and endangered mountain caribou, spans 25 million hectares of protected land, slightly larger than the United Kingdom. Y2Y, established in 1993 as a joint effort between a U.S. non-profit organization and a Canadian charity, has made significant progress over the years in expanding protected areas within the corridor.
The project was inspired by a wolf named Pluie, whose movements were tracked through multiple states and provinces, highlighting the necessity of conservation efforts on a larger scale to support wildlife like Pluie. With the recognition from the Earthshot Prize, Y2Y aims to continue its work in creating wildlife road crossings and restoring endangered species like the Klinse-Za caribou herd in British Columbia.
The Earthshot Prize, presented annually since 2021 across five categories, including Protect & Restore Nature, Clean Our Air, Revive Our Oceans, Build a Waste-free World, and Fix Our Climate, aims to promote innovation in addressing environmental challenges and combating climate change. Despite the financial limitations, winning the Earthshot Prize could provide valuable exposure, support, and connections for initiatives like Y2Y to further their conservation efforts and collaborate with global partners sharing similar environmental concerns.