The collaborative Migratory Big Game Initiative increases voluntary conservation and restoration in priority wildlife corridors. What began as a pilot effort has grown into one of the most successful public-private conservation partnerships in the West, with hundreds of thousands of acres of land enhanced to support some of Greater Yellowstone’s most crucial habitat and migration routes. Additional investments have supported wildlife-friendly fencing, habitat restoration, and other conservation practices that improve conditions for migratory wildlife.

We recap our 2025 favorite conservation moments and wins in Greater Yellowstone.

A fourth-generation cattle ranch in Lincoln County is partnering with the Greater Yellowstone Coalition to improve winter habitat for elk, prevent disease transmission between cattle and elk, and protect the future of their ranching operation. Recognizing the need for alternative wildlife management solutions, GYC has developed innovative private land conservation agreements that reduce conflict between elk and cattle and help ranchers live alongside wintering wildlife.

In late January, 125 ranchers, land managers, and conservationists gathered in Cody, Wyoming, for the Wyoming Virtual Fence Symposium. The event was a catalyst for change, bringing folks together to explore the potential of virtual fencing (VF) in revolutionizing livestock management, conservation efforts, and rangeland health.

The Idaho Transportation Department recently secured $20.8 million in federal grant funding to build three wildlife underpasses at Rocky Point, a section of U.S. Highway 30 that has an unprecedented number wildlife-vehicle collisions every year. This funding will create safer conditions for drivers and allow one of Idaho’s largest mule deer herds to complete seasonal migrations. 

We recap our 2024 favorite conservation moments and wins in Greater Yellowstone.

To be good neighbors and stewards of this ecosystem, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition is working in Montana and Wyoming to create wildlife-friendly fences. In 2024, GYC supported 11 fencing projects that removed or modified more than 16 miles of fence! 

On November 7, 2024, the Wyoming State Board of Land Commissioners with a 3-2 vote approved the sale of the 640-acre Kelly Parcel to Grand Teton National Park. The $100 million sale will benefit Wyoming public schools and ensure this spectacular piece of land is public for Wyomingites and visitors to enjoy.

GYC and the WYldlife Fund teamed up to raise $2.7 million in donations to help keep people safe and wildlife alive along U.S. Highway 26 in Wyoming. This substantial fundraising effort will strengthen the state’s application as it competes for highly competitive federal grant funds.  

After four years of collaborating with partners, meeting with landowners, hosting community workshops and events, collecting data, and investigating tangible solutions, Yellowstone Safe Passages is proud to announce that their proposal for two overpasses at the Dome Mountain priority site along US Highway 89 has been awarded state funding to complete an engineering feasibility study. 

Virtual fencing is an up-and-coming technology designed to reduce labor for livestock producers, enhance rangeland health, and potentially reduce the number of fences crisscrossing the private and public grazing lands around the world.

Big win for Wyoming wildlife! The Kelly Parcel is approved for direct sale to the Grand Teton National Park for $100 million with the passage of Wyoming’s biennium budget bill.