Yellowstone To Yukon: A Model Of Transborder Conservation
Established in 1993, Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y) is often hailed as one of the world’s premier large landscape conservation initiatives. Its region encompasses 3200 km of land running from the northwest corner of Wyoming to the Mackenzie Mountains of the Yukon and Northwest Territories of Canada. However, it is much more than an area of land. In this paper, Charles E. Chester, previously on the Board of Directors of the association that oversees Y2Y, details his own experiences as well as traditional data sources such as interviews and literature reviews. In it, he attempts to discern “lessons learned” from Y2Y, particularly in regards to governance that can be used to inform other large-scale conservation initiatives.
Chester begins by elaborating on meanings that early Y2Y participants, primarily conservationists from academic and non-profit organizations, endowed the concept of “Yellowstone to Yukon.” In particular, they deliberately created a positive vision and mission statement that emphasized the connection between nature and humanity rather than using words like “endangered” and “destruction.” Early participants also wanted to designate a geographic region that had specific but permeable borders and create a robust yet informal conservation organization.
Y2Y gradually transitioned from this informal organization, consisting of a loosely defined network of individuals and conservations groups, to a formalized organization with a governing board. Two significant factors that spurred this transition were Y2Y’s first formal conference in 1997, which drew widespread media attention, and the creation and growth of the internet, which at first enabled a small group of participants to stay connected through email but later introduced competing organizations and made communicating easier but less personal.
At present, Y2Y activities and programming include a successful approach to tackling conservation on a large scale. Y2Y’s approach involves dividing the landscape into subregions where concentrated networks of people and resources can be used most effectively. Also, they have a growing focus on climate change since the Y2Y region provides a model area for implementing an adaptive approach to climate change. Y2Y also plays a role in government, including potentially influencing government decision makers, bringing together and overseeing various players to implement regional efforts, and helping bring about a discursive shift from small- to large-scale conservation.
Finally, Chester offers three simple but powerful lesson learned from Y2Y and touched on throughout his review:
- Use ideas and words that resonate, such as the positive terms ingrained into Y2Y’s vision and mission by its founders.
- Do not shy away from challenging approaches, including “thinking big,” such as Y2Y’s initially controversial decision to encompass a region of unprecedented geographic size.
- “Think big,” but practice conservation on small scales, such as Y2Y’s successful subregional programming strategy.
In looking toward the future, Chester connects Y2Y with the broader conservation struggle of balancing human and environmental needs. He ultimately concludes that “there is no balance to be made, but rather a recognition that the conservation community faces both grave challenges and reasons for hope.” Following the Y2Y model, he adds, “what perhaps can be stated with confidence is that with the looming problem of climate change, effective biodiversity conservation must of necessity be proactive, open-minded, self-reflective, adaptive, and, when necessary, revolutionary.”