Kris Tompkins

Kristine McDivitt Tompkins

Kristine McDivitt Tompkins (born in 1950) is an American conservationist and former CEO of Patagonia, Inc..^[1] Since 1993, she has worked with her husband, Douglas Tompkins, to create large wilderness conservation areas in Chile and Argentina.^[2]

Early life

For the most part, Tompkins grew up on her family ranch south of Santa Barbara, California, although she spent some early years in Venezuela, where her father worked for an oil company.^[3] At age 15, she met and befriended rock climbing legend and equipment manufacturer Yvon Chouinard; he gave her a summer job working for Chouinard Equipment. After finishing college at the College of Idaho in Caldwell,^[4] where she ski-raced competitively, she started to work full-time for what then became Patagonia, Inc.

At Patagonia

Beginning in 1973, Tompkins helped Yvon Chouinard turn his fledging piton business into Patagonia, Inc.^[5] In 1980 Patagonia started to donate 10 percent of their profits to radical environmental organizations such as Earth First! In 1984, the company formed the "One Percent for the Planet Club," which donates either 1% of sales or 10% of profits—whichever is greater—to environmental causes.^[1]

Conservation Work

In the early 1990s, Kris retired from Patagonia, married Douglas Tompkins (founder of The North Face and Esprit), and moved to south Chile to work full-time on conservation. Together, they have protected more land than any other private individuals—over two million acres.^[6] Their first project was the creation of Pumalin Park, a public-access 800,000-acre nature reserve in Chile’s Los Lagos Region. The park, a project of the Conservation Land Trust, is a private initiative to create a public-access nature preserve in the threatened Valdivian temperate rainforest. The Tompkins later launched conservation efforts in the Iberá Wetlands of Northeastern Argentina, where they now live part-time. In the wetland ecosystem, they have launched projects to reintroduce extirpated species, such as the giant anteater.^[7]

Since retiring from Patagonia, Tompkins has, with her husband Doug, protected more land than any other private individual—almost one million hectares (two million acres).^[6] She married Doug in 1993 and moved to south Chile, where she helped create Pumalin Park, in Los Lagos Region. The park, a project of the Conservation Land Trust, represents an innovative private initiative to create a public-access nature preserve in the threatened Valdivian temperate rainforest. The Tompkins later launched conservation efforts in the Iberá Wetlands of Northeastern Argentina.^[7]

For their conservation work, Kris and Doug have received Scenic Hudson’s Visionary Conservationist Award,^[8] the African Rainforest Conservancy’s New Species Award,^[9] and Latin Trade’s “Environmental Leader of the Year” award.^[10]

Conservacion Patagonica

In 2000, Kris founded Conservacion Patagonica (CP), an NGO focused on creating new national parks in Patagonia that protect and restore wildlands, biodiversity, and communities. CP’s first project was the establishment of Monte Leon National Park, Argentina’s first coastal national park. In 2001, CP purchased Estancia Monte León, one of the oldest sheep ranches in the Argentine Patagonia, located on the southern Atlantic shoreline a few hundred miles north of the Strait of Magellan. Monte León had long been one of the priorities for Argentine National Parks because of its richness and diversity of species, including Magellanic penguins, sea lions, elephant seals, leopard seals and several migratory seabirds.^[11] CP purchased this 155,000-acre (630 km²) estancia, crafted a master plan for its transition to a national park and, in 2002, donated the property to the Argentine National Parks Administration, creating the Monte León National Park, the first coastal national park in Argentina.^[12]

In 2003, CP had the opportunity to purchase Estancia Valle Chacabuco, a historic sheep ranch in Chile's Aysén Region. The Chilean National Parks had made this ranch their number-one conservation priority for over 35 years because it sits between two existing National Reserves, namely Jeinimeni and Tamango, together 460,000 acres (1,900 km²). This area is prime habitat for the endangered huemul deer, one of Chile's national animals. After developing a public-access infrastructure system, including a trail system, visitor center, campgrounds, lodging, and a restaurant, CP will donate this property to the Chilean park service. Along with the two adjoining National Reserves, this will become the Patagonia National Park, a flagship park for Latin America. Stretching between two of the country's largest lakes, Lago General Carrera and Lago Cochrane, the future park contains an impressive diversity of landscapes: arid Patagonian steppe, Southern Beech forests, wetlands, high peaks, alpine lakes, and streams. As the president of CP, Tompkins has been heavily involved in every aspect of this project, from landscape restoration to infrastructure construction.^[13]

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