North America´s Wildlife Corridors

Freedom to roam

Amongst scientists, the need for connectivity between natural areas and preserves has become basic knowledge. Isolated pockets of land, established as parks and preserves, are not enough to maintain a sustainable, healthy ecosystem that supports both wildlife and human communities over time. Florian recognized the importance of wildlife corridors when he started his work on his Freedom to Roam project over a decade ago.

Vital areas have been identified in North America recognizing their unmatched biodiversity and pristine wilderness: The Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y) and the Baja to Beaufort (B2B) eco regions. Like geographic arteries of the wild, Y2Y and B2B connect the last vestiges of the western wilderness in a river of hope to preserve the habitats of many endangered wide-ranging migratory mammals and birds to give them the freedom to roam.

Florian speaks

“ … my dream is to help create the first ‘National Corridor.’ America created Yellowstone as the first National Park – now it is essential that we connect the parks to preserve their vitality for future generations and allow wildlife to follow their natural routes. If we are successful here, the idea of National Corridors could spread around the world, just like the National Park idea has. “

experience

Be part of the story

Live Events

Call of the Wild

A man, passionate about photography, wild animals and conservation sets out on a quest to document wildlife on the move. Travelling from the southern tip of Baja California along the pacific coast, traversing over 8000 miles up to the high arctic.

Books

Freedom to Roam

Discover North America's wild coastal corridor--from the Baja Peninsula to the Beaufort Sea--just offshore along the Pacific Edge.

Exhibitions

wilderness on the walls

 …Caribous by the thousands roam free along the Alaskan coast towards their birthing grounds; Hundreds of snow geese beat their wings in search of their nesting grounds; giant grey whales congregate by the hundreds in their birthing lagoons in Baja California…” an amazingly curated photography exhibit showcasing remarkable photography of unseen wildlife spectacles on their epic journeys across North America.

Overview

The Areas

B2B - Baja to Beaufort

The coastline of the B2B region is a rich habitat where land meets the sea, and sweetwater meets saltwater. Running from Baja California to the Beaufort Sea, this region encompasses a long connected line of sand, surf, cliff, island, estuary and marsh, as well as abutting coastal forest and ocean. Marine and terrestrial interrelationships are vast and complex, linking the life of the ocean depths to the very tops of ancient trees—and ultimately to us.

This biological corridor encompasses deserts, sierras, mangroves, fjords, archipelagos, and a vast stretch of arctic tundra. This is an ecosystem rich in migratory birds, fish and marine mammals, giving home also to the last large migratory herd of ungulates in the Americas. In the North it is also the home to some of the most powerful animals like bears and wolves. Certain parts of this region represent some of the wildest ecosystems still to be found on Earth and allows for the creation and preservation of wildlife corridors. But constant threats by development, industry and pollution are an ever growing issue.

The arrow shows B2B and the dark grey area shows Y2Y.

Y2Y - Yellowstone to Yukon

In his first Freedom to Roam project on Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y), Florian has focused his efforts on a region that is considered one of the last largely intact mountain ecosystems in the world. From Yellowstone National Park in the south, the broad expanse of land follows the spine of the continent all the way to the Yukon Territory. Not only is the region a stronghold for many carnivores and other large mammals in the continent, but Y2Y also serves as a model for large-scale landscape connectivity worldwide.

Building on the existing Parks and other protected areas, the challenge is now to preserve a interconnected web of life so that wildlife continues to have the freedom to roam. This ambitious plan can only be achieved in a huge collaborative effort where private citizens, government representatives, NGOs, scientists, conservationists and the different Native American and First Nation tribes come together.

In this large alliance, Florian has played a key role by creating a visual conservation campaign to promote the Yellowstone to Yukon vision and to ensure the ecological health and integrity of this magnificent mountain landscape.

Freedom to Roam

The Books

The Wild Edge

Freedom to Roam the Pacific Coast

Discover North America's wild coastal corridor--from the Baja Peninsula to the Beaufort Sea--just offshore along the Pacific Edge. The Wild Edge: Freedom to Roam the Pacific Coast reveals the great Pacific seam of North America that knits together land and sea, ocean and continent in a tumble of interrelated life. From the Baja Peninsula through the coves and breaks of California and the bays and inlets of the Pacific Northwest, to the deep forests of British Columbia and the icy realm of polar bears in the Beaufort Sea of Alaska, the west coast of North America provides a life-sustaining corridor of great energy. Through vivid imagery, stories, and science, The Wild Edge reveals how the health and livelihood of a distant Inupiaq Eskimo whaler is related to a suburban family in Los Angeles enamored with the pod of whales passing by their city beach. Through extraordinary photographs, Schulz contrasts this astonishing beauty with the threats from degradation and runaway development.

  • Hardcover: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Mountaineers Books (October 1, 2015)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0898867738
  • ISBN-13: 978-0898867732
  • Product Dimensions: 12.4 x 1.2 x 10.1 inches

 

Is there really this much raw natural beauty left in North America?
Florian Schulz's exquisite photographs have made me fell hopeful. And, the essays
in this book illustrate so poignantly how my own life is
connected into to all this wild life.
 
Elizabeth - Customer Review
 
 
 
Beautiful book, love the photography!
 
Ryan - Customer Review

Look inside the book

Yellowstone to Yukon

Freedom to Roam

On November 22, 2005 Mountaineers Books released Florian Schulz’s new book which is a tribute to Yellowstone to Yukon: a place where bison move across prairies, wolves converge on the hunt, elk bugle across valleys, river otters fish the streams, and grizzlies roam the mountains —outside the boundaries of any park. Yellowstone to Yukon: Freedom to Roam, a photographic journey by award-winning nature photographer Florian Schulz, features 200 full-color images of the Northern Rocky Mountain landscape and its inhabitants, animal, plant, and human.

Schulz’s images and stories of life in the field are paired with original essays by Douglas Chadwick, Karsten Heuer, Ted Kerasote, David Quammen, Rick Bass, and more, with a foreword by David Suzuki and an epilogue by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. These noted writers, biologists, and conservationists write eloquently about their first-hand experiences on the land in the Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y) region.

- See more at: https://y2y.net/publications/books/yellowstone-to-yukon-freedom-to-roam#sthash.aSkg3akK.dpuf

On November 22, 2005 Mountaineers Books released Florian Schulz’s new book which is a tribute to Yellowstone to Yukon: a place where bison move across prairies, wolves converge on the hunt, elk bugle across valleys, river otters fish the streams, and grizzlies roam the mountains —outside the boundaries of any park. Yellowstone to Yukon: Freedom to Roam, a photographic journey by award-winning nature photographer Florian Schulz, features 200 full-color images of the Northern Rocky Mountain landscape and its inhabitants, animal, plant, and human.

Schulz’s images and stories of life in the field are paired with original essays by Douglas Chadwick, Karsten Heuer, Ted Kerasote, David Quammen, Rick Bass, and more, with a foreword by David Suzuki and an epilogue by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. These noted writers, biologists, and conservationists write eloquently about their first-hand experiences on the land in the Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y) region.

- See more at: https://y2y.net/publications/books/yellowstone-to-yukon-freedom-to-roam#sthash.aSkg3akK.dpuf

Florian´s book is a tribute to Yellowstone to Yukon: a place where bison move across prairies, wolves converge on the hunt, elk bugle across valleys, river otters fish the streams, and grizzlies roam the mountains —outside the boundaries of any park. Yellowstone to Yukon: Freedom to Roam, a photographic journey by award-winning nature photographer Florian Schulz, features 200 full-color images of the Northern Rocky Mountain landscape and its inhabitants, animal, plant, and human.

  • Hardcover: 196 pages
  • Publisher: Mountaineers Books
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1594851042
  • ISBN-13: 978-1594851049
  • Product Dimensions:  12 x 0.6 x 11.1 inches
The color photographs by Schulz are nothing short of brilliant…but the book
is much more than just pretty pictures.
 
-- Jackson Hole News & Guide
 
 
 
Yellowstone to Yukon displays mostly uncaptioned photographs…and beautiful ones.
-- Wall Street Journal
wilderness on the walls

Exhibitions

Wilderness Unlimited

Freedom to Roam

 …Caribous by the thousands roam free along the Alaskan coast towards their birthing grounds; Hundreds of snow geese beat their wings in search of their nesting grounds; giant grey whales congregate by the hundreds in their birthing lagoons in Baja California…” an amazingly curated photography exhibit showcasing remarkable photography of unseen wildlife spectacles on their epic journeys across North America.

Dates Museum / City
June - October 2017 Schweizer Museum für Wild und Jagd | Utzenstorf / CH

Oct. 2015 - Jan. 2016

Naturmuseum Südtirol | Bozen / Italy

 

Yellowstone to Yukon - Freedom to Roam

North America's wild heart

Yellowstone to Yukon: Freedom to Roam features photographs by Florian Schulz of the Rocky Mountain West and documents the ambitious effort to preserve wildlife corridors from Yellowstone National Park to Canada's Yukon Territories.

Such corridors would link existing parks and public lands to ensure the survival of one of the world's last intact mountain ecosystems.

An award winning nature photographer, Schulz has dedicated ten years of his life to documenting the drama and beauty of North America's largest wildlife corridor: the Rocky Mountains. His 40 large format color photographs have captured the drama and beauty of this Western ecosystem and its diverse landscapes, wildlife, and people.

This exhibit was organized by the Burke Museum in collaboration with The Mountaineers Books and the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative.

Dates Museum / City
June 16 - Dec. 31, 2007 The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture| Seattle / USA

 

Press

Publications about F2R

World Wildlife Magazine (WWF) | Print | USA

Article: Along the Whales Highway

Issue: Spring 2014

Globetotter Magazine | Print | CH

Cover

Feature article: Freedom to Roam - Grenzenlose Wildnis

Issue: 2010

4-Seasons Magazine | Print | CH

Feature article: Projekte – Freedom to Roam

Issue: Fall / Winter 2010

National Wildlife Magazine | Print | USA

Feature article: Making Connections

April / May 2009

Terre Sauvage Magazine | Print | China

Cover

Feature article: Y2Y

Issue 2009

Currents Magazine (NANPA) | Print | USA

Cover

Feature article: Freedom to Roam

Spring 2008

TERRA Magazine | Print | DE

Feature article: Vom Yellowstone zum Yukon

Issue: April 2007

Airone Magazine | Print | Italy

Feature article: Parchi - I Progetti Y2Y

Issue: January 2007

Nature´s Best Photography Magazine (NBPK) | Print | USA

Article: Advice from a Pro

Issue: 2007

National Parks Magazine | Print | USA

Cover

Feature Article: Blazing a Path

Issue: Spring 2006

BBC Wildlife Magazine (YEW) | Print | Greece

Article: Where Wild Things Roam

Issue: 2006

Mankind and Nature Magazine | Print | China

Feature article: Yellowstone to Yukon

Issue: 2006

Outdoor Photographer Magazine | Print | USA

Article: A Call to The Wild

Issue: April 2006

Nature's Best Magazine | Print | USA

Article: Yellowstone to Yukon: Freedom to Roam

Issue: 2006

Outdoor Photographer Magazine | Print | USA

Article: Images from Heart

Issue: October 2006

BBC Wildlife Magazine | Print | UK

Article: Where Wild Things Roam

Issue: Fall 2005

Natur & Kosmos Magazine | Print | DE

Article: Wenn Bären Menschen treffen

Issue: 2003

Testimonials

What other people are saying about F2R

Florian Schulz is one of the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative’s most passionate ambassadors. His stunning photos capture the very essence of this magnificent region and skillfully illustrate the unique natural heritage that Y2Y is working to maintain and restore.  Florian’s remarkable book, Yellowstone to Yukon - Freedom to Roam, demonstrates to its readers why this area is so special, speaks to their hearts and moves them to become involved. He makes my job of conveying the magic, the issues and opportunities of the Y2Y region much easier.  I use his book constantly.

— Penelope Pierce
US Regional Director Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2YCI)

Florian Schulz’s presentation Freedom to Roam of his stunning photographs of the wildlife and people of the Yellowstone to Yukon, is tremendously inspiring.  He is a living illustration of the central role the arts must play in achieving conservation goals.  His ...commitment and deep knowledge of this largest North American conservation initiative made this evening one of the university's best events of the year

— Dr. David Secord
Director, Program on the Environment University of Washington
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