Conservationist, philantropist Douglas Tompkins dies at 72.
U.S. conservationist and philanthropist Douglas Tompkins, who dedicated his later years to environmental efforts in South America’s southern cone, died yesterday as a result of a kayaking accident in Southern Chile. Tompkins and his wife were admitted to a local clinic with severe hypothermia after a kayak they were in turned over in the General Carrera Lake, approximately 1,300 miles south of Santiago. He was later pronounced dead.
Tompkins, the Ohio-born founder of The North Face outdoor apparel company in 1964, had been living in Chile since 1990 and was at the head of environmental conservation efforts on both side of the Andes. In recent years he had spent more time on the Argentine side of the border, where he owned vast tracts of land in Santa Cruz and Corrientes Provinces.
His Tompkins Conservation foundation is involved in environmental projects in the Argentine Patagonia as well as in the Esteros de Iberá wetlands in Corrientes Province. Tompkins, by way of trusts and foundations, purchased private land with the overarching goal of creation national parks and promoting wildlife and environmental restoration and recovery. One of Tompkins’ trusts acquired 150,000 hectares (375,000 acres) of land adjacent or in the vicinity of the existing Iberá National Park as part of a project to establish a 700,000-hectare (1.1 million-acre) protected area.
His efforts have met with local resistance at times, particularly from those who called him an "environmental extremist." He also had run-ins with former Chilean president Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle over the Pumalín Park in southern Chile. He was, however, supported by the outgoing Argentine Tourism Minister, Carlos Meyer, who had known Tompkins well since the latter's 1992 purchase of a ranch along the scenic Santa Cruz River.
A multimillionaire, Tompkins sold his stakes in The North Face and Esprit in the late 1980s to dedicate himself in earnest to his land conservation efforts. In his most recent interview with Chilean magazine Paula to mark his 25 years in Chile, Tompkins said that he had seen “dozens of politicians pass him by: ministers, governors, six presidents” but that his efforts were set to continue.
“Lately I pay more attention to my biological clock. It is telling me to hurry up, that I have to do all this before death grabs me.”
Tompkins is survived by his wife, mother, brother, two daughters, and five grandchildren.
At: http://buenosairesherald.com/article/204638/conservationist-philantropist-douglas-tompkins-dies-at-72
