On December 8, 2015, ten years ago, Lake General Carrera—the second largest lake in South America—was hit by a storm similar to those that often batter this lake. Gusts of wind and furious waves struck a group of kayakers who had prepared for a trip like so many others they had made before in that area. Among them was Douglas Tompkins, renowned for making the largest donation of private land to a nation in history. Tragically, he died that day at the age of 72.

 

"He died doing what he loved," said his widow and the president of Tompkins Conservation, Kristine Tompkins, in the documentary Wild Life. On that fateful day, Doug Tompkins fell out of his kayak and spent several hours in the water before succumbing to hypothermia at a hospital in Coyhaique.

 

In the 1960s, after selling outdoor company The North Face, he created together with his first wife the clothing brand Esprit, which made him a multi-millionaire. However, he later realized that the fashion industry made no sense to him. "If you don't need me, don't buy me," he wrote on the labels. Ultimately, he came to the realization all of that was detrimental to what he loved so much: nature. 

 

Together with a group of friends, including Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, in 1968 he traveled from California to Argentina by land to climb Fitz Roy. He spent more than 7,000 hours flying over Patagonia, forced Chile to reorient its entire energy policy, and bought so much land for his Pumalin Park project that he divided the country in two. He did all this to save one of the last untouched corners of the planet: Patagonia. He did what he thought was right, even if it was unpopular among most Chileans at the time. Now, thanks to his vision, Chile has a network of parks stretching nearly 3,000 kilometers.

"I think Doug's last great idea, which he launched two months before he died, was the Patagonia Parks Route. His vision of viewing protected areas as drivers of local economies, of presenting the country as a conservation destination where tourism is a consequence conservation," says Carolina Morgado, executive director of Rewilding Chile, who worked closely with the philanthropist for over 30 years.

 

The Patagonia Parks Network was officially established in 2019. Two years earlier, Tompkins Conservation made a historic donation to the state, enabling the creation of five new parks—Melimoyu, Patagonia, Kawésqar, Cerro Castillo, and Pumalín Douglas Tompkins—and the expansion of three others: Hornopirén, Corcovado, and Isla Magdalena. In total, the organization's contributions gave rise to a network covering more than 4.5 million hectares. When added to the existing parks, this territory now comprises more than 11 million hectares of land protected under the national park category.

It was also thanks to that same determination that the route of national parks was not crossed by a 2,000-kilometer-long power line. The HidroAysén project included the construction of five dams in the region and these high-voltage towers. This sparked the Patagonia Sin Represas (Patagonia Without Dams) movement, in which Tompkins played a crucial role. Through his Deep Ecology Foundation, the total amount he raised for this campaign alone between 2007 and 2008 reached US$2.5 million. But he was also present behind the scenes, strategizing on how to change the tide of opinion among politicians and the Chilean people, such as his insistence that the campaign buy ads in the media and make billboards on roads showing what it would look like to have a power line crossing through some of the region's most beautiful landscapes. 

 

"Imagine Patagonia crisscrossed by towers up to 80 meters high for hundreds of kilometers, crossing many protected areas. Today, we see an almost pristine landscape,” says Morgado. "I believe that our involvement in the Patagonia Sin Represas campaign, and Douglas's involvement, is proof that with a great vision, strategy, and the funds to execute it, you can change the destiny of a territory."

 

Today, Tompkins Conservation is known in Chile and Argentina as the Rewilding Foundation. The foundation works to reintroduce endangered species in both countries and leads major campaigns to conserve ecoystems and create both terrestrial and marine parks. Next year, thanks to their work, Chile is expected to officially announce the future Cabo Froward National Park in the Magallanes region, which covers 121,625 hectares.