Douglas Tompkins

Douglas Rainsford Tompkins (Conneaut, March 20, 1943 - Coyhaique, December 8, 2015) was an American businessman and environmentalist dedicated to conservation, restoration and environmental activism.

Born in Ohio and raised in New York, he left for the western United States at age 17 to ski and climb. In 1964, he founded The North Face company to make and sell outdoor equipment. A few years later, he took a trip to Patagonia to climb Mount Fitz Roy, surfing, skiing and climbing along the way. This adventure was documented in the film Mountain of Storms and, later, in 180° Sur.

Upon returning, he founded the Esprit clothing company together with his first wife, Susie. Under his management, Esprit grew into a multinational company. In the late 1980s, Tompkins became increasingly interested in environmental activism and became disenchanted with the promotion of consumer culture, leading him to sell his stake in Esprit and create the Foundation for Deep Ecology and the Conservation Land Trust. Shortly after, he went to live in southern Chile to focus on the conservation of the Patagonian region, creating parks such as Pumalín, Corcovado and Yendegaia, among others.

On April 30, 2019, three years after the death of the philanthropist, his widow Kris Tompkins realized the greatest of her husband's dreams: formally handing over to the State of Chile the tens of thousands of hectares of Patagonian lands that since In the early 1990s, the founder of North Face began buying to save from ecological disaster and dedicate himself to conservation. This is the largest donation of private land in history.

Early years

Douglas Tompkins was born in the city of Conneaut, in the US state of Ohio, on March 20, 1943, the son of an antiques dealer and decorator. He spent the first years of his life in New York City before after his family moved to Millbrook, New York. He finished high school at Indian Mountain School in Lakeville, Connecticut, in 1957. His final years were spent at Pomfret School in Connecticut, where he was expelled for various minor infractions. He returned to Millbrook, New York, without graduating from high school.

Tompkins spent the years between 1960 and 1962 competing in ski races and climbing in Colorado, Europe and South America. In 1963 he founded a climbing guiding service company in California. It was during this time that he met Susie Buell, whom he later married during a trip in California.

Business career

The North Face

In 1964 Tompkins and his wife Susie founded The North Face, a company that shipped climbing and camping equipment by mail. In the early years they set a premium design standard for mountaineering equipment, backpacks and sleeping bags. Around 1966, Tompkins and a colleague designed a tent that was among the first to discard the pole in the middle, using instead flexible rods that push outward (igloo tent). This design also increased its strength, because the igloo-like shape prevented the wind from rolling them. These tents have been widely copied around the world. In 1969, Tompkins sold The North Face to focus on adventure travel filming.

ESPRIT

In 1968 Tompkins, his wife Susie and a friend named Jane Tise began selling women's dresses out of a Volkswagen van. In 1971 the business was renamed 'Plain Jane', which later became ESPRIT. By 1978, sales reached US$100 million a year, and the company began forming alliances in Germany and Hong Kong.. Tompkins was the image director, overseeing all aspects of this area of the company, while his wife was the design director. The company emerged as one of the most popular brands of the time, becoming a transnational company that operated in 60 countries. At the same time it developed a reputation as an excellent place to work.[1]

Tompkins was increasingly concerned about the ecological impacts of the fashion industry, so he decided to leave the business world. In 1989 he sold his share of the North American company to Susie, from whom he had already separated, putting most of his income into land conservation. Subsequently, in 1989 and 1994, he sold his share of him in Esprit international.

Environmentalism and conservation

After selling his interests in Esprit, Tompkins moved to southern Chile - where he had spent much time climbing, kayaking and skiing - to devote himself to land conservation and environmental activism. In 1990 he founded the Foundation for Deep Ecology, an organization that supports environmental activism, and in 1992 The Conservation Land Trust, dedicated to protecting wild areas, primarily in Chile.

In 1993 he married Kristine McDivitt and since then the two have worked together on conservation projects.

Tompkins' conservation efforts focus on the preservation of biodiversity and wild landscapes. After acquiring large tracts of land, the goal is to transform them into national parks, as these represent the pinnacle of protected areas, providing the strongest guarantee of long-term conservation and offering an incomparable set of ecological attributes, cultural value and benefits. economic to local communities.

Tompkins, at the date of his death, owned land primarily in three areas:

• In southern Chile, where until recently he owned the Pumalín Park (recently transferred to the Foundation of the same name) declared Sanctuary of Nature in 2005 and the Parque Corcovado (recently transferred to the Fisco and converted into a national park). It still retains the property of several smaller fundes. It is linked to Conservacion Patagónica, an institution that has another 70,000 ha in the Aysén Region, a cattle ranch designed to become another national park (5 to 7 years) together with the current national reserves Lago Jeinimeni and Lago Cochrane (Tamango).
• In southern Argentina, in an indirect way, through Conservacion Patagonica (there have been little donated to become the Monte Leon National Park, located in the Santa Cruz River basin);
• In the northeast of Argentina (Esteros del Iberá, province of Corrientes), Laguna Blanca (Entre Ríos), among others.

Pumalin Park

Tompkins's first major conservation project was the creation of Parque Pumalín, in the province of Palena, southern Chile. An area of 300,000 hectares of temperate rainforest or Valdivian jungle, with high peaks, lakes and rivers. In 1991 Douglas purchased the Reñihué farm, a semi-abandoned field located at the end of the Reñihué fjord, with the idea of protecting the 17,000 hectares of this forest from exploitation. Over the next few decades, The Conservation Land Trust added another 280,000 hectares of surrounding land to create Parque Pumalín.

The accident occurred on January 17, 2001 on the route that connects Chaitén and Caleta Gonzalo at kilometer 135 on the southern highway, when a Coigüe, approximately 34 meters long, fell on a truck, ending up with the life of Freddy B., driver of the vehicle; Marcela H. U., his spouse; and the minor G. H. A. The resolution determined that there was responsibility for the lands of the Pumalín Park in the company The Conservation Land Trust, Empresas Verdes LLC Chile, Douglas R. Tompkins. [2]

In 2005, President Ricardo Lagos declared this area a Nature Sanctuary, a special designation by the State of Chile that ensures environmental protection. The Conservation Land Trust donated these lands to Fundación Pumalín (a Chilean foundation) for management and development as a private, publicly accessible park. Through the implementation of publicly accessible infrastructure, including trails, of camping, visitor centers and a restaurant, Tompkins has sought to promote the wilderness experience, hoping to inspire a deeper environmental ethic in thousands of park visitors. Although the project initially sparked controversy – largely because this type of private conservation philanthropy was previously unknown in Chile – the park continues to gain support from locals and visitors. In 2018, President Michelle Bachelet announced with Kris Tompkins that the The park would become part of the Chilean National Park system, renaming its name to "Douglas Tompkins National Park".

Corcovado National Park

To the south of Parque Pumalín, is the Corcovado National Park, which represents one of the conservation projects carried out by Douglas Tompkins. In 1994 The Conservation Land Trust (CLT), together with American philanthropist Peter Buckley, acquired 208,000 hectares of native forest, adjacent to vast areas of public lands, under the jurisdiction of the Chilean armed forces. CLT offered to donate these lands to the Chilean State, provided that the entire area became a national park. In 2005, President Ricardo Lagos accepted this proposal, and the Corcovado National Park of nearly 300,000 hectares was born.

Iberá Project

The Iberá project began as a conservation initiative led by Doug Tompkins and The Conservation Land Trust (CLT) with the goal of expanding and strengthening the protection of the existing nature reserve known as Esteros del Iberá, in the Argentine province of Corrientes. Since 1983 the Iberá Nature Reserve has consisted of 553,000 hectares of protected wetlands, providing a safe habitat for a variety of native species and promoting a transition from an exploitation economy to an economy of conservation and ecotourism. Thanks to a donation of 195,094 hectares made by Kristine Douglas, in 2018 an area was converted into a National Park, and the jaguar, a species that had been extinct in the region for seven decades, was reintroduced. They also introduced anteaters and giant otters.

Ecological restoration

In addition to preserving pristine areas, Tompkins has worked to restore damaged landscapes and protect threatened species. Ecological restoration has been a key element of most of Tompkins' conservation projects, especially in the degraded grassland regions of Chile.

Organic agriculture

Tompkins has developed sustainable organic farming models that maintain soil health and ecological integrity, while benefiting consumer families and supporting the local economy. In the surroundings of Parque Pumalín, the farms of Hornopirén, Vodudahue, Ventisquero, Pillan and Reñihué serve both as models of small-scale ecological agriculture and as park ranger stations. Each of these farms produces a variety of products, such as honey, organic fruits and vegetables, as well as sheep and cattle. On the Pillán farm there is a honey extraction and packaging facility, which is sold under the name Pillan Organics. In northeastern Argentina, Tompkins has livestock companies in the province of Corrientes and farms producing cereals and fruits in the province of Entre Ríos. Each farm pays special attention to developing sustainable practices.

Environmental activism

Unlike many conservationists, Tompkins has also always been an activist. Through the Foundation for Deep Ecology (FDE), he has published a series of activist books on various environmental issues, such as wildfires, the tragedy of industrial agriculture, ranching, and the tragedy of industrial forestry. In addition to this, FDE has a long history of providing funding through applications, for areas such as biodiversity conservation. One of Tompkins' most famous campaigns is Patagonia Sin Represas, a movement against the company HidroAysén's planned dams.

Death

Tompkins died on December 8, 2015 due to "severe accidental hypothermia" after capsizing his kayak while on Lake General Carrera.

Recognitions

Around the world, Tompkins' environmental conservation work has won widespread praise from green organizations.

• In 2007 the International Conservation Caucus Foundation awarded the award Good Steward to him and his wife
• In 2008 the American Alpine Club awarded the Prize David R. Brower for his work in preservation.
• In 2009 Latin Trade named it 'environmental leader of the year'.
• In 2007 he was appointed an honorary member of the American society of landscape architects, in recognition of his work of restoration of damaged landscapes.
• In 2009 the author of Eco Barons Edward Humes, writing about the dreamers, conspirators and millionaires who are saving our planet, presented Tompkins as the first example of this new group of philanthropists.
• In 2012 the African Rainforest Conservancy honored Douglas and his wife Kristine with his 'New Species Award;
• In 2016 his wife donated 400 000 hectares of Patagonia to Chile.

Controversies

One of Tompkins' foundations was involved in controversy in 2014, when it was learned that, after donating 38,000 hectares of the Hacienda to the Government of Chile, the Yendegaia foundation had given authorization to Miguel Serka to hunt the specimens of the last herds of wild horses left in the world and that have run freely in that sector for more than 60 years, all this, in the context of fauna control, to avoid the destruction of the local ecosystem and prevent contagion of diseases to other species in the area caused by animals. These animals are not native to the lands of the new Yendegaia Park, but were introduced by the owners of the Hacienda, which was donated to the state and named a national park thanks to Tompkins' foundation.

The methods that Serka would have used to hunt the specimens are the use of dogs, the use of crossbows and fishing nets, causing the animals to suffer alleged multiple fractures, and the majority ending up dying slowly and painfully from the serious injuries caused. Chilean authorities confess that they do not have more information about the issue, and have not yet taken measures in this regard.

The measures to capture wild horses were reversed by the Comptroller General of the Republic of Chile at the request of the president of the Darwin Epeyson Horses Foundation, Andrés Cox Baeza and the regionalist councilor of Punta Arenas Juan José Arcos Srdanovic.

On the other hand, the foundation pointed out that these accusations are completely false, in fact, they could never be reliably verified, stating verbatim according to their spokesperson Hernán Mladinic the following:

If you look at the images, you don't see a slaughter or horses crossed by crossbows. You see a horse with a leg fracture, which occurred from an accident by the animal movement, and images of people loading crossbows are due to the contractor evaluating the use of tranquilizing darts, method quickly discarded because of their inefficiency.

Hernán Mladinic, vocero Fundación Yendegaia