YELLOWSTONE TO YUKON CONSERVATION INITIATIVE
INSIDER’S REPORT Fall 2013
SKA ALA
N U N AV U T Fort Good Hope Eagle DĂŠline Dawson
N O R T H W E S T T E R R I TO R I E S
Y U KO N
Yellowknife
Whitehorse
Watson Lake
Fort Nelson
Dease Lake
S A S K ATC H E WA N
Fort McMurray Fort St. John
A L B E R TA
Prince Rupert
BRITISH COLUMBIA Prince George
Edmonton
Hinton
Quesnel
Jasper
Saskatoon
Williams Lake Lake Louise Kamloops
Banff Revelstoke
Kelowna
Taking Land Seriously (p. 7 - 10)
Vancouver
Calgary
Nelson Cranbrook Creston
Penticton
Victoria
Kalispell Seattle
Spokane
Coeur d'Alene Wallace
WA S H I N G TO N
Polson Missoula
Lewiston
M O N TA N A Helena Butte
Bridging the Divide (p. 12)
Portland
OREGON
La Grande
Ontario
Bozeman
Salmon
Cody
Jackson
Boise
IDAHO
CALIFORNIA
N E VA D A
U TA H
WYOMING
YELLOWSTONE TO YUKON CONSERVATION INITIATIVE
INSIDER’S REPORT
Produced Just for You: Our Dedicated Supporter
Fall Update: The Big Picture Perspective Perspective is everything. One of the things that makes Y2Y unique is that we like to think big. In this issue of the Insider’s Report we look at how our big picture perspective makes a difference on the ground. As you’ll read in ‘Policy and the Promise of Conservation’ Y2Y is focused on bringing a large-landscape lens to the policy front, while in ‘Bridging the Divide’, Y2Y sees an opportunity to help enhance conservation
outcomes by pulling together projects that are already taking place. Finally, in ‘Building Alliances in British Columbia’, Sarah Cox, Y2Y’s newest team member, explains how the Y2Y perspective brings greater power to conservation campaigns that she’s been working on for years. As always, we hope you are inspired by the work we are doing, and look forward to any feedback you might have.
In This Issue 4 WHAT MAKES Y2Y DIFFERENT? 5 FALL TELEPHONE TOWN HALL 6 POLICY AND THE PROMISE OF CONSERVATION 7 TAKING LAND SERIOUSLY 11 PROTECTING PARADISE 12 BRIDGING THE DIVIDE 14 PROTECTING THE WORLD SHE LOVES 14 LOOKING AHEAD
The mission of Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y) is to protect and connect habitat from Yellowstone to Yukon so that people and nature can thrive. This Insider’s Report is a regular publication produced for you – our most dedicated supporter. Get the most in-depth information about how Y2Y, together with our partners, is achieving our mission.
15 BUILDING ALLIANCES IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
Cover: Rocky Mountain Front from Pine Butte Swamp Reserve, photo: Stephen Legault. Y2Y Insider’s Report - Fall 2013
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WHAT MAKES Y2Y DIFFERENT? Reflections from the President People often ask me, what makes Y2Y different than other conservation groups? My response is perspective. Y2Y looks at the landscape at a scale that matters to nature - 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of it to be exact. And we are the only organization solely dedicated to connecting and protecting it at this continental level. Conservation can be like the cartoon, the elephant and the blind men. Different groups focus on their particular piece of the elephant. In doing so, they each reveal an important truth. Y2Y’s role, however, is to step back, see the bigger picture, and piece together the work of agencies, groups, governments, and communities into the larger context. Seeing this work with a largelandscape lens enhances its value. This type of perspective makes small pieces of land in the Cabinet-Purcell Mountain Corridor
for example, not just critical to the grizzly populations in that part of the Yellowstone to Yukon region but to populations across the continent. Understanding how focused projects can work together to achieve a larger goal was also one of the reasons Y2Y was able to attract a major grant that is now funding over a dozen coordinated projects in the Yahk/Yaak region of Montana and British Columbia. We are now adding this perspective to other locations. The High Divide, for example, can play a vital role in connecting the Yellowstone grizzly population to their northern cousins, but someone needs to help coordinate it (see p 12). Policy that promotes connectivity is also important, which is why Y2Y is pushing for improvements that will enable more conservation gains on the ground (see p 6). This is exciting and meaningful work, but without the consistent support of donors and funders like you it isn’t possible. Thank you.
Karsten Heuer, photo: Bruce Kirkby. 4
Y2Y Insider’s Report - Fall 2013
Upcoming Events
FALL TELEPHONE TOWN HALL
WHAT HAPPENS IN OUR HEADWATERS, HAPPENS TO ALL OF US With Karsten Heuer and Wendy Francis October 16th, 2013 12:00-12:30 pm (MST)
They clean our air. They regulate the flow of water. They are the source of drinking water. Some 15 million people depend on the water that flows out of the Yellowstone to Yukon region. How we manage this important landscape determines the quantity and quality of water that not only flows out of our taps but nourishes our crops. Forestry, recreation, coal mines, oil and gas, climate change… How much activity and stress can our headwaters absorb while still functioning as a water filter and sponge? Please join Y2Y’s President Karsten Heuer and Program Director Wendy Francis during our Fall Telephone Town Hall to understand how streams and glaciers hundreds of miles away affect your daily life. More importantly, find out how Y2Y is working to improve the health of our headwaters. If you haven’t had a chance to RSVP, please contact Leigh Ann at (800) 966-7920 ext. 2 or leighann@y2y.net.
Heavy June rains in the headwaters of Alberta’s Rocky Mountains caused severe flooding that affected over 1.6 million people, photo: Stephan Legault. Y2Y Insider’s Report - Fall 2013
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POLICY AND THE PROMISE OF CONSERVATION
Feature Story by Wendy Francis
Adding To Our Tool Box Policy: it’s not a very inspiring word. Yet it is critically important to the Yellowstone to Yukon vision. Policy is a simple word that stands for the ground rules that are set by government. It determines what lands are protected, where development takes place, and how land uses are managed. The issues that concern Y2Y, such as the survival of grizzly bears, how to reduce vehicle and wildlife collisions, and how to keep some lands in a wilderness state for the benefit of both people and wildlife, could be more easily addressed if government policies were more favorable. The Missing Instrument In Our Tool Box Unfortunately, the policies necessary to achieve large-scale conservation often are not in place. For example, there are very few mechanisms, either in Canada or the U.S., that facilitate the protection of wildlife corridors. That is why some of our allies have suggested that Congress create a national wildlife corridors act so that wildlife linkages can be identified and protected.
to advance. Congress, for example, is now considering three new laws relevant to protecting wildlife habitat: the North Fork [Flathead] Watershed Protection Act, the Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act, and the Forest Jobs and Recreation Act. If passed, each of these would protect important landscapes within the region. In Canada, a draft of the proposed new land use plan for southern Alberta is scheduled for release soon. It will determine what lands are protected and how the remainder are used. Its reach is so extensive that it will impact not one but multiple Y2Y campaigns (see p 7 10). This is only the first land use plan of four that will impact the Y2Y region. A Shift to Big Picture Thinking Getting the right policies in place is the foundation for conservation success. It is going to take a shift in thinking at the decisionmaking level that considers the bigger picture, and helping that shift is what we do best.
A New Focus for Y2Y Y2Y is increasing its capacity to work at the policy level. There are a number of important proposals in the U.S. that Y2Y could help
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Wendy Francis - Y2Y Program Director.
Y2Y Insider’s Report - Fall 2013
toria
Map of southern Alberta and the regions affected by the South Saskatchewan Regional Plan.
Quesnel
Jasper
Sask
Williams Lake Lake Louise Eastern Slopes
Banff Revelstoke
Calgary
Kamloops Southern Alberta Kelowna Vancouver
HighwayPenticton 3
Nelson Cranbrook Creston Kalispell
Castle Special Place
TAKING LAND SERIOUSLY
Feature Story Policy in Action
Southern Alberta’s Land Use Plan As we write this, the Alberta government is composing a land use plan for southern Alberta, called the South Saskatchewan Regional Plan, which covers 84,000 square kilometers. Like so many large-landscape plans, this one has the potential to either dramatically aid or hinder campaigns Y2Y has been working on for years. How we live and play on the landscape impacts vegetation, habitat, and our rivers and creeks.
In southern Alberta’s case, these decisions have implications for flood prevention, the drinking water for five million people, the recovery of Alberta’s threatened grizzly bear population, the safety of travel along Alberta’s Highway 3, and the ability of wildlife to move from one essential habitat to another. Y2Y has been advocating that the government take land use seriously. Here’s what ‘seriously’ looks like: Continued on page 8
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Continued from page 7
ASK: Protect the entire Castle Special Place “If the Alberta government is just looking at protecting rock and ice, or the tops of mountains, and not protecting the valley, we are going backwards,” says Y2Y President Karsten Heuer. “We tried that in the 80’s and it didn’t work. We need to protect the entire area.” The Castle Special Place provides approximately one-third of the water for the Oldman basin, the source of drinking water for many downstream communities. It is prime wildlife habitat for Alberta’s threatened grizzly bears among others.
Off-road users are crisscrossing creeks and jeopardizing habitat as well as the health of our drinking water. Forestry activities are weakening the watershed’s ability to hold back water to reduce floods and droughts. This area is important to the future of all southern Albertans. While there is a place in Alberta for the above-mentioned acitivities, it is best these activities take place somewhere other than the Castle.
“If the Alberta government is just looking at protecting rock and ice, or the tops of mountains, and not protecting the valley, we are going backwards. We tried that in the 80’s and it didn’t work.” Y2Y President Karsten Heuer
View of the Castle Special Place, photo: Stephen Legault. 8
Y2Y Insider’s Report - Fall 2013
Feature Story Policy in Action
ASK: Better policies around road densities and trail use Roads, off-road vehicle trails and seismic lines in grizzly habitat are bad news for grizzly bears. These ‘linear’ features bring more people into areas where grizzly bears roam in search of food. Instead of focusing on consuming food for their winter slumber, bears are using valuable energy to avoid people. Worse yet, some grizzly bears do encounter people, and are killed.
some places like the Castle densities currently exceed those established in the plan by as much as four times. We are asking the government to implement its own policies throughout the Eastern Slopes, including the Castle Special Place and other prime grizzly habitat.
The Alberta government has set out appropriate access density thresholds in its Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan. Unfortunately, the thresholds are not being enforced, and in Grizzly bear cub, photo: D Simon Jackson
ASK: Policy language that prioritizes connectivity Throughout southern Alberta, wildlife use key areas to move from one essential habitat, such as the Kananaskis River valley, to another. Development and major roads can either support or hinder this movement. For example, Highway 3, which runs eastwest across southern Alberta and parallels the U.S.-Canada border, is the pinch point of continental wildlife connectivity. The 6,000-9,000 vehicles that use this road per day make it nearly impossible for wildlife to safely cross the road, and the high rate of collisions is dangerous for drivers. Landuse policies that value connectivity would
promote the addition of wildlife crossings on major highways such as this. The same approach would also help wildlife to navigate around development in sensitive areas such as the Three Sisters Resort lands in Canmore. This narrow patch of land is an important wildlife corridor connecting Banff National Park to the Kananaskis valley, but pending development threatens it. We are asking for policy language that ensures that any development in these sensitive areas leaves sufficient room for safe passage by wildlife. Continued on page 10
Y2Y Insider’s Report - Fall 2013
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Porcupine Hills, southern Alberta, photo: Stephen Legault.
Continued from page 9.
Not only would these simple actions restore a more natural flow of water and protect wildlife; they would be an investment in the future of all southern Albertans.
ASK: Protect southern Alberta’s headwaters The headwaters of southern Alberta supply some five million people with clean drinking water. This spring, however, excessive rain on a spring snow pack in these same headwaters resulted in the worst flood in over one hundred years. Nature can be our ally to both provide quality drinking water and reduce the impact of these types of natural events. We are asking the Alberta government to protect southern Alberta’s headwaters (particularly those located along the Eastern Slopes of the Rockies) by modifying forest harvesting practices to protect forests’ natural abilities to reduce floods.
out. By retaining healthier, intact forests in our headwaters we protect water supply and regulate water flow. This means managing logging appropriately, creating new protected areas, and restricting motorized recreation in ecologically appropriate areas, like the Castle Special Place, the Livingston Range, and the Porcupine Hills. Not only would these simple actions restore a more natural flow of water and protect wildlife but they also would be an investment in the future of all southern Albertans.
An intact forest does three things with water; it soaks it up, slows it down and spreads it
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Y2Y Insider’s Report - Fall 2013
Donor Profile
PROTECTING PARADISE Heidi Nitze: Artist, Nature Lover and Y2Y Supporter Home: New York, New York Occupation: Painter & Singer Supporter: Since 2005
My love of nature began when I was young. I think that’s part of the reason it’s so powerful. Long Island, NY was full of farms and woods then, with old properties covered in meadows and trees. Every day my little brother and I walked the paths, with all the wonderful insect sounds and fragrant grasses. Over the decades the properties were sold and developed, and we lost our paradise. The experience makes me eager to help save the wild places that are left. I see the great wedge of land from the Yukon down to Yellowstone as a paradise not yet lost, and I want to help conserve it. I hope to visit the Yellowstone to Yukon region very soon. I deeply value what it brings to the world. Knowing that wildlife has a safe place to live and that there will continue to be wild woods and pristine waters brings me great joy. I believe all nature’s creatures should have the same rights of security and privacy as humans, and by supporting Y2Y I’m helping ensure that those rights are protected.
Zev Heuer discovered a dragon fly, photo: Karsten Heuer.
Y2Y Insider’s Report - Fall 2013
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Moose standing in a misty lake in the High Divide, photo: Karsten Heuer.
BRIDGING THE DIVIDE Y2Y looking to add a big picture perspective Core protected areas are at the heart of the Yellowstone to Yukon vision. They are the building blocks we need to connect so people and nature can thrive.
as the Glacier-Waterton International Peace Park). The linkage zone between them is an emerging priority for Y2Y, a landscape known as the High Divide.
Look at any road map of the U.S. portion of the Yellowstone to Yukon region and three of those big core protected areas pop out as big green islands: the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (includes Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks), the Idaho Wilderness complex (largest U.S. road-less area outside of Alaska), and the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem (includes numerous wildernesses areas as well
A lot of good conservation work is going on in the High Divide but it could be better coordinated. For example, much private land has been put into conservation easements but it rarely lines up with similar conservation initiatives on adjoining public lands. Similarly, no one is thinking how these initiatives fit together with other barriers to wildlife movement, whether it’s burgeoning
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Y2Y Insider’s Report - Fall 2013
Campaign Story, by Karsten Heuer
subdivisions, forestry and mining operations, or increasingly busy roads.
S A S and K ATC H E WA N With the right approach your continued support, know we can meaningfully contribute and leverage the efforts being done in the High Divide.
It is for all these reasons that Y2Y is scoping out a new project in the High Divide, one that will inventory existing conservation efforts A L B E R TA and use the best available science to identify BRITISH COLUMBIA gaps that need to be filled if we are to succeed in connecting and protecting habitat at the landscape scale. Because of your support we’ve been able to successfully do this type of work elswhere.
Crown of the Continent Ecosystem
M O N TA N A
WA S H I N G TO N
High The Idaho Wilderness Complex
Divide
Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
OREGON IDAHO
CALIFORNIA
N E VA D A
U TA H
WYOMING
The High Divide is an emerging priority for Y2Y. Highlighted in white, this area is an important linkage zone connecting three core protected areas, which are highlighted in green. Y2Y Insider’s Report - Fall 2013
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DAPHNE CHESTER: PROTECTING THE WORLD SHE LOVES Welcoming Y2Y’s Newest Board Member Daphne Chester is a marketing and fundraising professional who believes in conserving and protecting a part of the world that she has come to love. Now she is putting her expertise to work as a new member of our Montana Board. Daphne brings a wealth of experience from the for-profit sector. She worked as Investor Relations at U.S. Shipping, and was a Portfolio Specialist for Lehman Brothers Investment Management Division, and Neuberger Berman. Currently, Daphne lives in Hong Kong where she is completing her Master of Business Administration at the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology. Daphne Chester, Y2Y`s newest member of the Montana Board of Directors
As an avid horseback rider and fly fisherwoman, with family in Montana, Daphne has a deep connection to the Yellowstone to Yukon region, and looks forward to doing her part to make conservation happen on the ground.
LOOKING AHEAD For the past few years Y2Y has been focused on three key projects that will significantly advance the Y2Y vision. Watch for updates on: •
the protection status of the Yukon’s Peel Watershed;
•
an announcement for the Site C dam’s joint Federal-Provincial environmental review public hearing date; and
•
an update on Y2Y’s efforts to connect grizzly populations living in the Cabinet-Purcell Mountain Corridor.
If you are interested in learning more about other topics, please send us an email with ideas and inquires to renee@y2y.net. We’ve love to hear from you.
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Y2Y Insider’s Report - Fall 2013
BUILDING ALLIANCES IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
Staff Profile
Sarah Cox Joins The Y2Y Team Y2Y is proud to introduce the latest member of our team: Sarah Cox. Starting this October, Sarah assumes the new role of Senior Conservation Program Manager and oversees many of Y2Y’s Alberta and British Columbia (BC) campaigns including stopping BC’s Site C dam, pushing for a national park in the Flathead watershed, and working on various projects in the Peace River Break. Sarah has spent most of her life in BC and is an accomplished conservation campaign manager, strategist and communications professional. She acted as Interim Executive Director of Sierra Club BC, and was the organization’s Strategy & Communications Director. “Sarah is a significant asset to Y2Y,” explains Wendy Francis, Y2Y Program Director.
“I’m excited to work on many of the campaigns I was involved in with the Sierra Club BC, but now with Y2Y’s perspective,” says Sarah. “Y2Y’s large-landscape vision puts these issues into a different much grander context, making finding the leverage points to move a campaign forward more rewarding.”
“Y2Y’s large-landscape vision puts these issues into a different much grander context, making finding the leverage points to move a campaign forward more rewarding.” Sarah Cox
“BC makes up approximately 35% of the Yellowstone to Yukon region. Sarah’s conservation experience in BC means she is already entrenched in many of the campaigns she will be leading for Y2Y so she can hit the ground running. More importantly, her past experience as a journalist, combined with her relationships with government, media and other groups will help better position Y2Y to influence conservation outcomes in this critical constituency,” adds Wendy.
Sarah Cox, Y2Y’s new Senior Conservation Program Manager Y2Y Insider’s Report - Fall 2013
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For more information on any Y2Y project, please contact: Jennifer Hoffman Development and Communications Director 800.966.7920 (ext 4) jenn@y2y.net
CANADA Unit 200, 1240 Railway Ave. Canmore, AB, T1W 1P4
UNITED STATES P.O. Box 157 Bozeman, MT 59771-0157
info@y2y.net
www.y2y.net
Tel 403.609.2666 Fax 403.609.2667 Toll-free 800.966.7920
Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative Board of Directors (Montana & Alberta)
Staff & Strategic Advisors
Charles Chester, Ph.D. - Chairperson, Montana Board
Karsten Heuer - President
David Thomson, M.Sc., P.Eng. - Chairperson, Alberta Board
Wendy Francis - Program Director
Bill Weber, Ph.D. - Vice-Chairperson, Montana Board
Rebecca Lloyd - US Conservation Science and Action Director
Roger Smith, Ph.D. - Vice-Chairperson, Alberta Board David Johns, M.A., J.D. - Secretary, Montana Board Debby Carlson, M.B.A. - Secretary, Alberta Board Kent Nelson - Treasurer, Montana Board Steven Glover, M.B.A., F.C.A. - Treasurer, Alberta Board Peter Aengst, M.S. - Montana & Alberta Board Peter Bachman, J.D. - Montana & Alberta Board
Jane Bewick - Business Director Jennifer Hoffman - Development and Communications Director Harvey Locke - Strategic Advisor Juri Peepre - Project Manager Dave Poulton - Senior Advisor - Conservation Projects
Jeremy Guth - Montana & Alberta Board
Gary Tabor - Senior Advisor - Climate Change Adaptation
Daphne Chester - Montana Board
George Smith - Senior Strategist - Site C Campaign
Joshua Whetzel - Montana Board
Sarah Cox - Senior Conservation Program Manager
Sarah Palmer, LL.B. - Alberta Board
Stephen Legault - Coordinator - Crown of the Continent Conservation Initiative
Foundation
Leigh Ann Betts - Donor Relations Coordinator Alison Carter - Grants Manager
Jeremy Guth – Chairperson
Renee Krysko - Communications Manager
David Johns, M.A., J.D. - Vice-Chairperson
Ellen McKay - Executive Administrator
Sarah Palmer, LL.B. – Secretary
Marlis Strebel - Senior Administrator
Steven Glover, M.B.A., F.C.A. - Treasurer
Krystal Northey - Flathead Campaign Associate