Wildlife Prize Honors Grizzly Bear Highway from Wyoming to Canada

Grizzly bears, elk, and wolves are getting their own highways through the Rockies, and the people making it happen just earned global recognition.

The Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative is one of 15 finalists for the 2026 Earthshot Prize, announced Friday by Britain's Prince William. The winners in five categories each receive $1.34 million to expand their environmental projects.

Since 1993, this Alberta-based charity has been working to keep the Rocky Mountains a safe migration route for wildlife stretching from Wyoming all the way to northwestern Canada. Their solution involves building overpasses, underpasses, and strategic fencing that helps animals cross busy roads without becoming roadkill or causing accidents.

The numbers tell the success story. Today, 204 wildlife crossings dot the landscape, and 59 million acres of protected lands give animals room to roam. None of it happened through government mandates alone.

The group brings Indigenous peoples, ranchers, and local governments to the same table. Ranchers get help keeping predators away from livestock. Indigenous communities receive support for their protected area plans. Wildlife gets safe passage across borders they never recognized in the first place.

"Animals need space to move, and they don't recognize borders," said Jodi Hilty, the group's president and chief scientist. The approach counters the fragmentation caused by human development without turning rural communities into enemies of conservation.

The Ripple Effect

Prince William launched the Earthshot Prize in 2020, inspired by President Kennedy's moonshot challenge. His goal is to "repair the planet" by 2030 by accelerating solutions to climate change, pollution, and habitat loss.

This year's other finalists include an Argentine project using AI to track wildfires across Latin America and the Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance working to clean up shipping emissions. The diversity of nominees shows how environmental solutions cross every border and industry.

Jason Knauf, the Earthshot Prize's chief executive, said projects like Yellowstone to Yukon prove environmental protection transcends political noise. People everywhere want to protect nature for future generations, even when governments clash over trade wars and borders.

The winners will be announced November 17 during a televised ceremony in Mumbai. But the real prize might be proving that when you give wildlife a bridge, they'll meet you halfway.