Wendy L. Francis

National Workshop on Large Landscape Conservation

October 23, 2014

YELLOWSTONE TO YUKON: LESSONS LEARNED FROM 20 YEARS OF LARGE

LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION

BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION PRE-Y2Y

• Species by species approach (Endangered Species)

• Focus on protecting isolated parcels of public land (“Endangered Spaces”)

EMERGENCE OF CONSERVATION BIOLOGY PRINCIPLES

• Wildlife population dynamics – need for large-scale connectivity

• Wide-ranging mammals

• Island biogeography

• Climate change

JOURNEYS OF ‘PLUIE’ THE WOLF

HOW LARGE IS ‘LARGE LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION’?

• Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem ~ 19M acres

• Crown of the Continent ~ 18M acres

• Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act ~ 24M acres

I wrote the words “Yellowstone to Yukon” with the conviction that this was the right scale at which to think and act. - Harvey Locke

FIRST MEETING OF THE YELLOWSTONE TO YUKON BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION STRATEGY: DECEMBER 1993

Yellowstone to Yukon Region: 321M acres

Y2Y ATLAS

Y2Y HIKE

GRIZZLY BEAR HABITAT EFFECTIVENESS MODEL

CORES AND CORRIDORS

• New protected areas on public lands

• Protected corridors across private lands

• Mitigating the impacts of highways and railroads

• Reducing human-wildlife conflict

• Restoring/re-contouring road networks

• Promoting compatible development on public lands

• Advancing connectivity policies

NEW PROTECTED AREAS ON PUBLIC LANDS

PROTECTED CORRIDORS ACROSS PRIVATE LAND

MITIGATING THE IMPACT OF HIGHWAYS AND RAILROADS

REDUCING HUMAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICTS

RESTORING/RE-CONTOURING ROAD NETWORKS

RESTORING/RE-CONTOURING ROAD NETWORKS

RESTORING/RE-CONTOURING ROAD NETWORKS

PROMOTING COMPATIBLE DEVELOPMENT ON PUBLIC LANDS

ADVANCING CONNECTIVITY POLICIES

Government Agencies

• US Fish and Wildlife Service

• Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks

• Parks Canada

First Nations/Native American Tribes

• Nez Perce Tribe

• Confederated Salish Kootenai Tribe

• West Moberly First Nations

• Treaty 8 First Nations

Land Trusts

• TNC Montana and Idaho

• Nature Conservancy of Canada

• Vital Ground

• Nature Trust of BC

Businesses

• Teck

• Canfor

• Volker Stevin

NGOs

• National Parks Conservation Association

• Headwaters Montana

• Defenders of Wildlife

• Yaak Valley Forest Council

• Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness

• Center for Large Landscape Conservation

• The Wilderness Society

• Wildlands Network

• Wildlife Conservation Society

• Wildsight

• Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society

• Sierra Club BC

• Peace Valley Environment Association

Academic Institutions

• University of Montana

• Western Transportation Institute

• Miistakis Institute

A MOUNTAIN OF PARTNERS

1993Protected

Other Conservation Designations

2014Protected

Other Conservation Designations

PROTECTED

• Canadian National Parks and Reserves

• Alberta Wilderness Areas

• Alberta Wilderness Parks

• Alberta Provincial Parks

• BC Provincial Parks

• BC Conservancies

• BC Ecological Reserves

• NWT Parcels of Conservation Interest

• Yukon Territorial Parks

• Yukon Wilderness Preserves

• Yukon Peel River Protected Areas

• US National Parks

• US Wilderness

• US National Monuments

• US National Wildlife Refuges

OTHER CONSERVATION DESIGNATIONS

• Alberta Natural Areas

• Alberta Provincial Recreation Areas

• BC private conservancy lands

• BC High Conservation Value Forests

• BC Special Management Zones

• BC Old Growth Management Areas

• BC Ungulate Winter Range

• BC Wildlife Management Areas

• NWT Conservation Zones

• Yukon Natural Environment Parks

• Yukon Special Management Areas

• Yukon Restricted Use Wilderness Areas

• MT Legacy Project Lands

• US private conservancy lands

• US Grizzly Bear Recovery Zones

• US National Recreation Areas

• US National Recreation Rivers

• USFS Administrative Designations

• US National Wildlife Refuges

• US Roadless Rule lands

• US National Wild and Scenic Rivers

• US Path of the Pronghorn

• US Wilderness Study Areas

20 YEARS OF LESSONS LEARNED BY YELLOWSTONE TO YUKON CONSERVATION INITIATIVE• A bold and positive vision can inspire others to act: don’t be timid!

• Large scale planning identifies priorities; action/implementation still occurs at a local-scale

• Large landscape conservation consists of a mosaic of actions at different scales: large protected areas, small protected private parcels, highway/railway mitigation, co-existence with carnivores, restoration work, road density and access management, municipal planning . . .

• NGOs, government, industry, private landowners, and tribes each play a unique role; it’s best if we all work together

Thank you!