Miistakis, in partnership with the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y) and Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC), has created a new tool for conservationists: a web-based, interactive Land Use Mapping and Analysis program (LUMA) that allows any computer user with internet access to customize maps of the Y2Y region specific to his or her needs, and to analyze a wealth of different data associated with those maps. By graphically placing land management issues in a large landscape conservation context, LUMA opens new possibilities for responsible ecosystem planning and informed advocacy. As an example, a land use planner could use LUMA to help determine which land use jurisdictions provide enough protection to qualify as a core wildlife habitat area
in a Wildlife Network of cores, linkage
corridors, and buffer areas.

To view the LUMA tool, go to y2y.net/landuse.

To find out more about Y2Y, go to y2y.net.

Please visit the fundor of this program, Mountain Equipment Co-op, at mec.ca