The Wild Frontier

Douglas Tompkins sparked controversy when he bought millions of acres of Patagonian wilderness to donate to local governments. Now, the impact of his vision for public-private conservation can be felt from Montana to Mozambique.

- Juan Manuel Vial

Palena province, in Chilean Patagonia, is a region of glassy fjords and simmering volcanoes, where the Andes rise to splendid, white-capped heights straight from the sea. It is home to one of the last remaining stands of the majestic and nearly extinct alerce tree, cousin to California’s sequoia. The place is grand, uninhabited, wild. And thanks primarily to Douglas Tompkins— the founder of the North Face and Esprit clothing lines, who died at the age of 72 last December—it will stay that way.

In 1989, Tompkins piloted his Cessna from San Francisco to Chile and started buying up huge tracts of land—eventually more than 2 million acres—to protect from development. And what began as a personal mission has become a global model for conservation.

The idea of privately protecting land is not new, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). For centuries, powerful people have set aside hunting grounds, and native communities have shielded sacred areas. Acadia National Park, in Maine, was created in the early 20th century with gifts of land, including 11,000 acres donated by John D. Rockefeller.