The Canadian Rockies. In the Canmore area, the Three Sisters are reflected in clear, pristine streams. This region is home to a key wildlife passage corridor, but, right through here, two infrastructures pass that are critical to animals but important to humans: the Trans-Canadian Highway, built in 1958, and the rail line that connects Canada's Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Both of these infrastructures, combined with increasing urbanization, have endangered the well-being of populations of grizzly bears, black bears, gray wolves, wapiti, cougars, wolverines, lynx... And many other species that need large spaces to hunt and find a partner and that having an increasingly important piece of territory snatched away from them time after time, have moved closer to the city and increased opportunities for conflict with humans and with often fatal consequences for both.
Thus was born Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y), an association strongly desired by Harvey Locke, founder and renowned conservationist, based in Canmore.
Valeria and Davide met with Tim Johnson, Alberta conservation program coordinator, who explained how Y2Y's key word is interconnection between species and ecosystems. Together with a network of more than 100 partners, Y2Y has created a corridor in which a dense network of causeways, underpasses, and tunnels provide connectivity between valleys and territories and which, over the years, has allowed mammal populations to slowly return to health and is helping to mitigate human-wildlife conflict.
> Read more: link Lifegate article
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