How 204 Wildlife Crossings Are Stitching the Rockies Back Together
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📰 The quick summary: A 3,400-kilometer wildlife corridor stretching from Yellowstone to Canada’s Yukon Territory is taking shape through a mosaic of crossings, protected lands and community partnerships, giving animals a connected path to survive and thrive across the Rocky Mountains.
📈 One key stat: Over 204 wildlife crossings now span highways in the Yellowstone to Yukon region, and in some fully fenced sections of Highway 3, vehicle collisions with wildlife have already dropped to zero.
💬 One key quote: “If we cut the Rockies in half at Highway 3, then we lose the Y2Y vision,” said Jodi Hilty, president and chief scientist of the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative.
1️⃣ The big picture: Roads, railways and expanding towns across North America fragment wildlife habitat, preventing animals from moving freely to find food, mates and new territory, which puts entire populations at risk of collapse. The Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, launched in 1997, is working to create a connected corridor stretching 3,400 kilometers from the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem in the US all the way north to Canada’s Yukon Territory. Achieving that vision requires far more than building a few overpasses: it demands a mosaic of wildlife crossings, protected lands, Indigenous stewardship and buy-in from local communities. Critically dangerous stretches like Highway 3 in British Columbia and Alberta, where more than 300 large mammal collisions occur every year, are being tackled through multi-partner projects that combine data science, engineering and grassroots engagement. In Radium, British Columbia, a new $15 million CAD wildlife overpass opened in June 2026, offering bighorn sheep a safer path across one of the deadliest sections of highway in the region.
2️⃣ Why is this good news: Wildlife crossings on Highway 3 have already eliminated collisions entirely in some fenced sections, proving that targeted infrastructure can rapidly reduce the deadly toll roads take on animals. With more than 204 crossings now in place across the Yellowstone to Yukon corridor and Alberta announcing plans for 20 additional structures, momentum is clearly building toward a truly connected landscape. Each crossing pays dividends beyond ecology: a single elk or moose collision costs society an estimated $70,000 USD, meaning a well-designed crossing system on Highway 3 alone is expected to pay for itself within 20 years. Indigenous-led guardian programs like the Shuswap Band Guardians in Radium show that blending traditional ecological knowledge with science produces more durable, community-supported conservation outcomes. A connected Rocky Mountain corridor spanning five US states and two Canadian provinces would safeguard genetic diversity for grizzly bears, elk, wolves, bighorn sheep and dozens of other species, strengthening entire ecosystems against the pressures of climate change.
3️⃣ What’s next: Cameras and GPS collars on 17 bighorn sheep near Radium will help biologists and Shuswap Band Guardians track how the herd adapts to the new overpass over the coming years. Alberta has announced plans for 20 more wildlife crossing structures along Highway 3, and the Reconnecting the Rockies project continues construction along its 80-kilometer target stretch. A proposed 7.5-kilometer wildlife corridor on the western slope of Elk Valley is advancing in partnership with municipal, regional, provincial and First Nations authorities to close one of the last critical gaps in the Y2Y vision.
Read the full story here: Mongabay – How to stitch a massive wildlife corridor through the Rocky Mountains
