He fell in love
with Patagonia in his youth
in the '60s
and returned
to buy land in the '90s.
He lived in
Chile for 25 years and leaves
a legacy of the biggest
philanthropic project
in the world.
Tompkins was
a real visionary.
He built a project at a
difficult time when
environmentalists were
seen as eco-t*rrorists.
Look at that one!
It's a bit snowy.
- A little bit.
- Just a tiny bit.
In our opinion,
he's nothing more than a businessman
masquerading
as an ecologist.
On the one hand
you had a crazy man,
with the dream
of making a park.
And on the other hand,
you had someone who would
make that dream come true
on a national level.
Alacalufes Reserve
can easily be a national park
without losing any
productive opportunities.
Chile is
a mining country.
It's an extractive economy.
The mining
industry is a pollutant.
The project is
to create the national park
starting at Cabo Leon and
include the nature reserve.
We have to say
"we have a national park"
because national parks
create their own touristic pull.
They
don't want any progress.
We are a poor country,
we need the progress
to raise our standard.
The main concern
of the m*llitary and the navy was
having Mr. Tompkins owning
such an amount of foreign land
that went from the
border to the ocean.
So he was accused of cutting
the country in two pieces
The government
isn't harassing him.
Well, there was
a lot of suspicion.
It seemed to be the first step
in acquiring cheap land
to then sell at higher prices.
So, the collective imagination
gives rise to many things.
We don't believe
Tompkins is a multimillionaire
who suddenly turned
into a philanthropist.
The 1 or 2%,
which would represent
approximately 200 families,
they felt their presence in the
area was being "threatened".
They had to have
a lot of faith in
what they were doing.
98% of the people would
have simply given up and said,
"Impossible to live
in your country"
Because we behaved,
Chileans, very badly.
I'm thinking about
maybe filling all of this up
but I don't want something
that is too straight
Like that, and
then it curves out.
That way it has a
natural appearance.
Doug was convinced
that a world without beauty
wasn't worth it.
The tractor
driver is like an artist.
You can paint the landscape
with the tractor
but you must have
good technique.
Because later we are
going to take a photo
and see your work, the work.
Each species
plays a major role in the ecosystem.
So that guanacos
are in large numbers
to provide food for pumas,
Pumas are preying
on guanacos
and are providing
food for scavengers.
It's not merely the recovery
of a single species
it's the interaction.
The rewilding program has
our park wardens
many of them are
former cowboys
but today they are
monitoring pumas.
What would your father
think if he could see you now...
doing all of this?
With so many pumas!
With so many
pumas without k*lling them!
Without
k*lling any of them!
It's a shift!
Of course it's a
shift. It's a huge shift for me!
Doug d*ed
three days ago
on a trip with his
best friends.
With Yvon Chouinard,
his lifelong friend
with Rick Ridgeway,
who also almost d*ed
and with Weston Boyles,
the group's "little boy",
who stayed with him
until the very end.
He never left him alone.
And for that I will
be eternally grateful.
This person, Douglas,
lived a life worth centuries.
I can't picture a life
without him, but here we are.
So the new
park would be
2.3 million acres.
It's another
Pumaln or Corcovado.
20 million acres.
So these are
two of the first group
that was released,
but they interact with the
others that are wild.
So they are doing much
better outside than in the pens.
Incredible!
Every time I think
about this I almost cry.
Historic.
It's historic.
Seriously, no one has
ever done this before.
All of our best
carpenters are putting up the sign!
I can't believe this!
We've been a family
for 25 years.
And we honor and
love each other.
On behalf of the team,
we toast to Douglas
and Pablo Carrasco."
I have a map of a
place that only the gods
could have imagined.
What for Doug was
a dream in 1992,
will become Pumaln
National Park.
These parks belong to you.
Protect them with
all your heart.
Choose life.
Choose beauty.
Wild Life (2023)
Moderator: Maskath3