January 2013 – From Hiker to President After more than a decade of being an unofficial spokesperson for the Y2Y Vision, Karsten Heuer circles back to become the staff leader of Y2Y–CI.
March 2013 – Blackfeet Reservation Leases Abandoned Following concerns raised by conservationists, Glacier National Park officials, and some tribal members, Anschutz Exploration Corporation abandons its lease holdings on 600,000 ac (242,811ha) of land on the western third of the Blackfeet Reservation, MT.
September 2013 – Teck Conserves Land for Conservation One of the most important pieces of private land for connectivity in the entire Y2Y region is protected as part of a larger, 17,660–ac (7,150– ha) $19M deal between coal mining company Teck Resources Limited and forestry giant Tembec Inc. in B.C.’s Flathead and Elk Valleys.
2013 – A Hopeful Future Grizzly bear biologists openly speculate that, if habitat restoration and recovery efforts continue at the current rate, grizzly bears could re–establish a population in the unoccupied Idaho Wilderness Complex (the largest inventoried roadless area in the lower U.S.) within 20 to 30 years.
End of 2013 Partners and supporters involved in the Y2Y Vision collectively look back at the last 20 years and celebrate the progress made across the Yellowstone to Yukon region.
Y2Y, as a vision and a movement, is only beginning to hit its stride. Jump on, join in and hang on.
By: Karsten Heuer Early adopter and Y2Y–CI President
When I first heard about the Yellowstone to Yukon Vision I was working as a young wildlife biologist, tracking wolves, lynx, cougars and wolverines in Banff National Park. Many of the radio–collared animals I followed ventured far beyond the park boundaries. A few even left the province of Alberta. One went as far as the United States before returning—the famous wolf we now know as Pluie. Schooled by wild animals, I knew the Vision was needed, but I wondered if it really was possible.
WALKING Y2Y
is a global model inspiring those in the region and abroad. More importantly, the Vision is a promoter, a catalyst and a beacon calling on people to keeps an eye on the big picture. It helps others stitch together their work into something big and beautiful at the grand scale.
Wasn’t there already too much development? Curious, I called colleagues up and down the corridor but no one could give me a definite answer. With nowhere else to turn, I decided to consult the land itself. It took eighteen months to walk the 2,200 miles (3,540 km) from Yellowstone to the Yukon but time and distance weren’t what I was after; it was a measure of wildness. Using fresh grizzly bear sign as my indicator, I recorded every fresh print, recently used rub tree, dig, and scat I saw along my route, as well as every encounter I had with the bruins. Looking back at my journals once the trip was over, I was thrilled to discover that not only is the vision possible, but also that the land on which it depends is largely intact: I had witnessed grizzly bear activity along 85 per cent of my route.
The work isn’t easy. For me personally I can say the endless politics, meetings and conference calls can be more grueling than any bushwhack or steep climb I had to do on the hike—but the payoff is worth it: collectively we have doubled the protected areas in the region over the last 20 years, mitigated hundreds of miles of busy highways, and helped grizzly bears expand their ranges for the first time in over a hundred years. Such on–the–ground progress is important to note, but what’s even more heartening to me is how peoples’ values have changed. The coal mining industry is a good example: when I hiked through the Crowsnest Pass almost 20 years ago
The possibility and hopefulness of the Y2Y Vision called me back to become the president of the organization of the same name. The Y2Y Vision
26 Photo: Maxine Achurch Hiking the Big Belt Mountains, Montana, by Karsten Heuer.
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they reacted with a huge anti–Y2Y campaign. Now, under different ownership, the same entity works with Y2Y–CI to conserve private land, contributing over $19 million to the effort last year. Similar observation can be said of ranchers, who, instead of shooting grizzly bears, are now bear–proofing their grain bins and penning their calves with electric fences, so as to better live with them. And then there’s the term ‘wildlife corridor’. Twenty years ago it was scientific jargon; today it’s a household word. So go ahead and celebrate – we all deserve it – and bear in mind that Y2Y, as a vision and a movement, is only beginning to hit its stride. Jump on, join in and hang on because the next 20 years is going to be an even better wild ride.