Key notes from our Dr. Jodi hilty Speaker event

A wise and compelling presentation

CCS hosted another successful Speaker Series featuring Dr. Jodi Hilty, president and chief scientist of the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y). Specializing in ecological corridor and large landscape research, she has 30 years of experience managing large landscape conservation efforts. She is author or editor of four books and wrote the 2020 International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Guidelines for Conserving Connectivity. Click on the 10 images below, left to right, to follow the flow of the presentation. The first three introduce the Y2Y Initiative and its large landscape projects; the next three depict "centuries of loss, decades of progress"; the 7th to 9th emphasize "setting and achieving HUGE goals"; and the 10th, a shocker, we call “the soon-to-be-known Economics of Nature!"

Summary of key points

Conservation efforts are critical to the health and wellbeing of animals and humans alike. We live in the wildest large mountain region in the world, and have both the opportunity and the responsibility to protect it for future generations. All of us here tonight are crucial to the Y2Y story.
​
Multiple citizen science projects (e.g. the local “Roadwatch” data collection of animal deaths by collision) and the regional interventions of huge non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) (e.g. the NCC’s protection of lands west of Coleman, the “Jim Prentice Wildlife Corridor") contribute greatly to the progress of conservation. But we have come to know their limitations as well. The “Pluie the Wolf” story of one radio-collared wolf’s two-year migration across two provinces and five US states, encompassing an area 15 times greater then Banff National Park, taught the Y2Y that large landscape conservation is imperative; isolated and unconnected parks do not provide sufficient wildlife protection to maintain healthy populations.
 
Y2Y has worked with nearly 800 partners on its many projects since launching in 1993. It collaborates with communities large and small, governments, Indigenous nations, private industry, other conservation NGO’s, and a range of academic institutions. Its vision is built on principles that “Nature is the Best Use of the Landscape”; “Science and Proven Experiential Knowledge” are most worthy of trust; and “Nature Positive Communities” are the root source of people and organizations that energize conservation work at all scales. This model has been adopted or adapted across other regions in North America and well beyond. Articulating a strong and true vision with working at all scales is what creates enduring conservation.
 
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is a legally-binding international treaty adopted in 1992 and signed by 150 nations with the most notable exception being the US. A more recent Conference of Parties (COP15) convened in Montreal in 2022, leading to Canada’s 2030 Nature Strategy, a national framework that outlines actions to protect 30% of Canada’s lands and waters by 2030 and achieve a 2050 vision of Nature on a path to recovery.  Y2Y will succeed in protecting 30% of its vast 1,295,000 sq km landscape by reaching its 50 million acre target in collaboration with partners, as always, noting that its progress is 2 times faster than the rest of North America and that 25% of its protected lands are already managed or co-managed by Indigenous peoples, a key goal of CBD and COP15.
 
Connection of wildlife protected areas is an essential goal for the Y2Y Initiative. A 2012 scientific paper demonstrated that tissue samples from grizzly bears in close but transboundary regions with traffic corridors had genetically distinct DNA pools, a strong inference that these bear populations were not well connected. The documented success of road crossing structures with animal-guiding fences has accelerated their planning and installation in key locations across North America, including the Highway 3 corridor in BC and Alberta. Significant progress is also reported in the “bridging projects” that work to restore the connection between Yellowstone and the transboundary Rockies of Glacier National Park (e.g. the Bitterroot Recovery Zone at the Idaho/Montana border, one of the six designated grizzly bear zones in the lower 48 states).
 
Nature-positive communities are the lifeblood of conservation advocacy and the very definition of a “coalition of the willing”. These are the testing grounds for developing and scaling effective human-wildlife coexistence opportunities and well managed outdoor recreation plans for both rural and urban landscapes. Every city that protects more of its green space experiences a corresponding uptick in its economy. People, pets, and prospective newcomers simply prefer a place where they can “go outside and be amazed!” Access to Nature increases the Quality of Life.
 
Looking forward with confidence is not only possible, but entirely realistic. The Unknown Economics of Nature are becoming known, and that may make all the difference. In Alberta the government document “Plans for Parks” projects annual provincial income from outdoor recreation will be greater than the income from the oilsands! The outdoor recreation economy is very large and growing faster than the overall economy, creating jobs in many  different industries. In the US, outdoor recreation generated $454B in 2021, $640B in 2023. That represents 2.3% of the entire Gross National Product (GNP) of the US and is 3.5X the size of air transportation, 3.5X the size of motor vehicle manufacturing, 2X the size of agriculture and forestry combined, and more than 1.5X the size of oil and gas development and mining combined! Who says we can't afford to choose conservation over commerce? Simply not true! Nature is and will always be the best use of our landscape! ​

acknowledging other visionaries & Organizations: 

​The A2A Collaborative (Algonquin to Adirondacks)

​Baja to the Bering Sea (Mexico to Alaska)
​
Great Eastern Ranges (GER) Initiative (Australia)

​Harvey Locke: Co-founder and Strategic Advisor, Y2Y

​Justin Thompson: Southern AB Land Trust Society (SALTS)
​
Karsten Heuer (October 31, 1968 - November 5, 2024)
Adventurer & Author of Walking the Big Wild
​

Happily, a live video of the entire presentation was captured by the Conservation Society and is available for small group or individual viewing (an offer graciously endorsed by Dr. Hilty). For more information email CCS President Brenda Davison at: [email protected]

Saving our Planet’s Last Wild Mountain Region Begins With Y2YOU! To learn more about Y2Y's impact and continuing projects, click here for their website.