Wilderness. Without it there is no Y2Y. It’s what we are passionate about. Wilderness draws us to this magical landscape, and supports the myriad of plants and wildlife species that live here. As much as it is a physical landscape, wilderness is also a concept – conjuring images of freedom and space, and stirring the human imagination and soul.

But what is wilderness? Different people define it in different ways. Some imagine wilderness as a place where people live off the land in harmony with nature, some see it as an area undisturbed by human hands. Others view wilderness as a place where animals roam freely – an area that takes several days of hiking to reach, where trees are older than anyone can remember and eagles soar.

From our perspective, wilderness is all of these things. Y2Y embraces all aspects of wilderness: people, plants, animals, water, air, space, and story. By taking a holistic approach to conservation, we recognize that all these aspects must flourish in order to realize the potential of the wilderness in our backyards.

For all its strength, Y2Y’s wilderness is being undermined by stressors from many sides. Rapid development fragments the landscape, roads bisect ecosystems separating wildlife  populations, resource extraction damages habitats, and climate change is altering natural patterns and processes on which people, plants, and animals rely. Because the environmental challenges in the region are complex and interconnected, we at Y2Y strive to address issues in a multi-dimensional way. We support public education efforts that give residents and visitors the tools and knowledge they need to live more harmoniously with wildlife and nature. We also support habitat restoration projects which rebuild areas damaged by previous practices.

By working with a variety of stakeholders, we examine wilderness issues from a biological, social, and economic perspective. In acknowledging these three very different aspects of the Y2Y region, we can work toward finding a balance through which people, wildlife, and plants survive and thrive in the vast wilderness across the Yellowstone to Yukon region.