The Reality

Perhaps you have been lucky enough to hear the pika's high-pitched “eep!” echoing through the higher-elevation rock falls and talus slopes it frequents. In the Yellowstone to Yukon region the pika is one of a growing number of species beginning to feel the pressures of climate change. About the size of a small guinea pig but related to rabbits, pikas are round fur balls with big ears and no tails. These “rock rabbits,” as they're sometimes called, are specifically adapted to their favorite food sources – the grasses, shrubs and lichens that grow between the rocks on mountain slopes. As average annual temperatures increase, the vegetation on which pikas depend for food may be maturing earlier or shifting location on the mountainsides. Hotter summer temperatures might also stress the little animals, which can die if their body temperatures rise by as little as 1^oC (equivalent to .55 of a ^oF). In response, pikas are shifting their home ranges to higher elevations. But when individual pika colonies move higher up the mountain slopes, they become separated from each other. This means they cannot connect for breeding purposes, weakening their gene pool. Taken all together, these factors make pikas one of the animals most likely to be harmed by climate change, perhaps to the point of eventual extinction. A sharp decline in pika numbers worldwide has already been noted by researchers.

Changes in the Earth's climate are a fact of the planet's history – but never have disruptions of this magnitude occurred this quickly on an Earth where natural systems are already so fragmented and threadbare.

Photo: Harvey Locke

Given the many predicted and unpredictable changes likely to result from global warming, it is urgent that humanity respond in two ways to this threat: we must mitigate the likely impacts of climate change on both human communities and natural systems by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. And we must also protect and connect large landscapes to allow organisms to adapt to changing conditions. Large landscapes, especially those within mountains, and the ability to move between them, provide the best chances for plant and animal species (as well as ecosystems and ecological processes) to survive changing conditions. The ability to migrate to higher latitudes, higher elevations, or cooler exposures can make possible the successful adaptation of plants and animals.

Yellowstone to Yukon - An Important Place of Refuge

As the most intact mountain ecosystem remaining on Earth, the Yellowstone to Yukon region offers the kind of vast and resilient landscape that species and processes will need to survive the coming changes. Encompassing 463,000 square miles (1.2 million square kilometres) and spanning 15 degrees of latitude (2,000 mi/3,200km), the region is uniquely situated to serve as a refuge for biodiversity in western North America (see a map of the Yellowstone to Yukon region here). As the keeper of a vision for this extensive, globally significant landscape, the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y) is working to anticipate and, if necessary, realign its programs to respond to, the impacts of climate change.

An abundance of evidence indicates that our approach is already well on track. In an independent review of 22 years of scholarly articles recommending ways to adapt conservation methods to climate change, the number one recommendation was to increase landscape connectivity – the very definition of Y2Y. The Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative was founded on the principles of conservation biology, specifically the promotion of large, core protected areas surrounded by buffer zones and connected by corridors that enable the successful existence and movement of a wide range of species.

Improving interagency coordination and cooperation was also identified through the review as critical, and this is another fundamental part of Y2Y's work – facilitating collaboration among diverse organizations with interdependent agendas. Such collaborations have supported many successes, including the creation of new parks and protected areas; decreasing wildlife-vehicle collisions through mitigations like wildlife over/underpasses; educating communities about ways to avoid conflicts with wildlife that often lead to the lethal removal of “nuisance” animals; restoring and improving the management of critical wildlife habitat; and securing, through easement or purchase, private lands located within key wildlife movement corridors.

Y2Y's Climate Change Readiness Program

Y2Y is currently working on a “Climate Change Readiness Program” to support Y2Y's globally significant biodiversity, and serve as a world-class model for other initiatives operating at a large landscape scale. Phase I of this Program, to be completed by the end of 2009, includes an assessment of Y2Y's strategies, programs and activities by pre-eminent climate adaptation experts. Their report will outline in detail both the rationale and scientific justification for focusing on the Y2Y region. Findings of the Phase I report will guide Phase II of the project: the resourcing and implementation of a full-scale Climate Change Readiness Program for biodiversity conservation in the Yellowstone to Yukon region.

Y2Y has been developing, refining and implementing its vision and programs for over 15 years and is positioned to lead the way for climate change readiness in this region. Our vision of an extensive connected landscape is widely cited as the world's first and most advanced large-landscape conservation model, and is increasingly being recognized as an appropriate strategy for enabling plants, animals, and natural processes to adapt to climate change.

What You Can Do

Each one of us has an important role to play in helping to minimize the impacts of climate change. For starters, you can:

1. Take a look at your own lifestyle and make sure you are keeping your carbon footprint as small as possible. Here are a couple of excellent web sites to get you going:
   
   David Suzuki Foundation: What You Can Do
   
   Natural Resources Defense Council: How to Fight Global Warming
   
   
2. Support organizations in your region that are working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or protect landscapes.
   
   
3. Lend your support to Y2Y's effort here.