Pumalin, Chile – Big news form Patagonia this week. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet signed an agreement with Tompkins Conservation that will ultimately protect 4.5 million hectares (+11 million acres) of land by creating a network of national parks in Patagonia. This is the largest conservation project since 1960.
This outstanding effort was prompted by a private land donation from American conservationist Kristine Tompkins – the widow of former Patagonia CEO and The North Face co-foudner, Doug Tompkins, who died in a kayaking incident in 2016.
The Tompkins Conservation will donate approximately 1 million acres, while the government of Chile will “contribute and reclassify roughly 10 million acres of government-held lands for conservation”(HuffingtonPost.com).
The HuffingtonPost.com notes that this effort will “grow Chile’s national park lands by roughly 11 million acres ― an area more than four times the size of Yellowstone National Park” or as NationalGeographic.com notes a “Switzerland-sized land area.” After everything is official, Chile will have 5 new national parks.
Very cool!
