Tompkins Conservation

Tompkins Conservation, founded by Douglas and Kristine Tompkins, is dedicated to conserving and restoring Chile and Argentina’s wild beauty and biodiversity by creating national parks, restoring wildlife, inspiring activism and ecological agriculture, and fostering economic prosperity as a consequence of conservation. Tompkins works to create ecologically grounded local economies; local, renewable energy production; thoughtful, place-appropriate architecture and design; and meaningful work for individuals and communities. Over the past 25 years, Tompkins Conservation has invested $345 million in extensive protected areas in Argentina and Chile through its local affiliate Conservación Patagónica. To date, Tompkins has created six national parks, with five more currently in progress.

Areas of Focus

Park Creation

Tompkins Conservation believes in the enduring value of wildness: our conservation work aims to conserve big, wild landscapes with their full complement of native species, including keystone species such as pumas and jaguars. It strives to inspire others to recognize the value in doing so, and to do the same themselves. The means to these ends? National parks. Read more

Restoration

Ecological restoration is a “growth industry” and the work of the future: since humans have degraded so much of the planet, there are almost endless opportunities to return ecosystems to health. While Nature left alone will begin to regain its balance, oftentimes thoughtful, direct actions can jumpstart the restoration process. Tompkins Conservation finds it tremendously rewarding to play a role in restoring ecosystems, whether in the form of reviving habitat, monitoring wildlife species, or even reintroducing extirpated keystone species. Read more

Ecological Agriculture

Agriculture affects more of the land than any other human activity; for that reason, Tompkins Conservation devotes substantial attention to developing more ecologically sound forms of agriculture. Preserving wildlands and developing model organic agricultural systems are complementary areas of work. Tompkins strives to make conservation a consequence of production: that is, for agriculture and other productive activities to further, not diminish, conservation aims. Read more

Activism

The late Ed Abbey said, “Sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul.” Tompkins Conservation agree. Action takes many forms, from conserving threatened landscapes to educating the next generation of environmentalists. When shortsighted and selfish industrial activities threaten to undermine conservation initiatives, Tompkins Conservation feels compelled to stand up and fight back. The combination of legal action and citizen pressure has won many campaigns, protecting conservation gains for generations to come. Read more