Prince William has named 15 finalists for the 2026 Earthshot Prize, including the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, which preserves an open wildlife corridor along the Rocky Mountains. Winners in each of five categories will receive £1 million and help to scale their projects; winners will be announced Nov. 17 in Mumbai. Other notable finalists include an Argentine AI-driven wildfire tracker, the Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance and Ørsted.
Prince William Announces 15 Finalists for 2026 Earthshot Prize, Including Yellowstone to Yukon
FILE - Britain's Prince William makes a speech at the Earthshot Prize Impact Assembly in London, June 23, 2026. (Jordan Pettitt/Pool Photo via AP, File)
LONDON — Britain’s Prince William has named 15 finalists for the 2026 Earthshot Prize, spotlighting innovative projects tackling climate change, pollution, habitat loss and other urgent environmental threats. Among the finalists is the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, which works to keep an unbroken wildlife corridor along the spine of the Rocky Mountains from Wyoming into northwestern Canada.
The Earthshot Prize, launched by Prince William in 2020 and inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s 1962 “Moonshot” challenge, awards winners in five categories with £1 million each (about $1.34 million) plus support to scale their work. The 2026 winners will be announced during a televised awards ceremony in Mumbai on Nov. 17.
Yellowstone to Yukon: Protecting Migration Routes
Based in Canmore, Alberta, with U.S. offices in Bozeman, Montana, the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative has pursued an interconnected network of wild lands and waterways along the Rocky Mountains since 1993. The group partners with Indigenous communities, ranchers and governments to protect habitat, reduce conflicts between livestock and predators, and build infrastructure—such as overpasses, underpasses and fencing—that helps wildlife cross busy roads safely.
To date, campaigners say the initiative has helped establish 204 wildlife crossings and protect roughly 24 million hectares (about 59 million acres) of connected wild lands. Those measures aim to offset the fragmentation and movement barriers created by development and roads.
"The solution is surprisingly simple. Animals need space to move, and they don't recognize borders. So we bring people together in this landscape to the same table … We work with them all to come up with the solution in order for animals to be able to move freely across the landscape," said Jodi Hilty, the initiative’s president and chief scientist.
Other Finalists and Context
Other nominees this year include an Argentine project that combines satellite data and artificial intelligence to detect and monitor wildfires across Latin America; the Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance, which aims to reduce shipping’s carbon footprint; and Ørsted, a global leader in offshore wind development.
Jason Knauf, chief executive of the Earthshot Prize, said finalists such as Yellowstone to Yukon demonstrate how conservation can rise above political friction. "People want to protect nature for the sake of future generations. That is what the vast majority of people want ... We cannot allow ourselves to get distracted by short-term political noise," Knauf said.
The Earthshot Prize seeks not only to reward proven solutions but to accelerate their adoption worldwide by combining funding, expert support and publicity. The Nov. 17 awards ceremony in Mumbai will reveal the five category winners and provide a platform for finalists to expand their impact.
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