A Canadian large-landscape conservation organization got some good news Friday, when it was announced as a finalist for a 2026 Earthshot Prize. The Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y), which runs along the spine of the Rocky Mountain corridor from Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming to the Yukon, was recognized for its efforts to provide a natural corridor for wildlife as it migrates north. The prize was founded by Prince William in 2020 and is considered the world’s most prestigious environmental award. Fifteen global finalists were named in five different categories, with Y2Y being nominated in the “Protect and Restore Nature” category. Each of the five winners receives a $1.8 million grant to continue their work and scale their solutions to repair the planet by 2030. Founded in 1993, Y2Y is the first Canadian-based organization to be nominated for The Earthshot Prize, which received over 7,000 submissions from across the planet. The Y2Y corridor involves more than 800 partners, including Indigenous nations, governments, scientists, communities and landowners. It spans around 3,400 kilometres across the U.S. and Canada, connecting habitat for grizzly bears, wolves, caribou, wolverines and other species. The winners will be announced at an event attended by finalists and Prince William in Mumbai, India in November. “For more than 30 years, Y2Y has had the privilege to work with so many people and groups passionate about nature who have shown what’s possible in landscape connectivity when people work together at the scale wildlife truly need,” says Jodi Hilty, president and chief scientist of Y2Y, in a media release. “This nomination is an opportunity to accelerate conservation impacts that build on decades long work of this collaborative effort. Our collective accomplishments to date demonstrate our approach is working.” For more about Y2Y, go here. For more about the Earthshot Prize, go here.
