National Park After Dark - Patagonia: The Death of a Conservation Legend

Episode Date: March 22, 2021

Grab your passports and your life jackets. In our very first episode completely dedicated to a National Park abroad we head to Patagonia. In this episode we explore the iconic lives of Kris and Doug Tompkins and all the strides they've made in the world of conservation. Unfortunately, in the midst of these accomplishments, Doug passed away in a tragic kayaking accident. We discuss exactly what happened the day of his death and the extreme conditions that led to his demise. This power couple, even amongst tragedy, inspires the world to do better and to take action to save the environment. For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at:Instagram: @‌nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @‌nationalparkafterdarkSupport the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Want to see our faces? Catch full episodes on our YouTube Page!For a full list of our sources, visit http://npadpodcast.com/episodes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ola and bienvenitos on National Park After Dark. Me yamo is Danielle. And I'm Cassie. And we're very emotionados for this episodeio. Because we are taking you abroad. Now, you kind of opened the gateway last episode of heading abroad. So this week, we are dedicating an entire episode to go off into another country and explore the National Park System there.

We are going to Patagonia. So excited. I love Patagonia. But before we get into this story, we did want to make a little announcement. Oh, yes, we do. We have decided to add one bonus story a month on Patreon. We have named these Campfire stories, and they are going to range from ghost stories to listener stories to paranormal activity. to murder.

All depends, but it will be a bonus story that only our patrons can listen to. So it doesn't matter which tier you're on. Any Patreon member has access and we'll have access to future monthly campfire stories. But we're going to be releasing those once a month. And we're excited to get those started because the first one was really interesting. And we have a really exciting one lined up for this month, which we're going to be recording today. So if you are interested in hearing these bonus stories, you can sign up for our Patreon from our website, M-P-A-D-Podcast.com. That is N-PADPodcast.com.

Or go onto our Instagram National Park After Dark, and there is a link in our bio that will bring you directly to our Patreon. And lastly, if you have any personal stories that you'd like to share with us, please send us an email at N-P-A-D-Podcast. at gmail.com. We get a few every week, so we're very appreciative of that, but we'd like to keep them coming because, A, it's very exciting for both of us. As soon as we get an email, we're texting each other right away about it. And we also would like to compile them for listener stories or to create the Campfire stories.

It's really cool, especially when they come from places that we have personally been, but equally as interesting when they come from places from around the world, which is going to be the one that we covered this week that took place out in England. And it is a really crazy, phone-chilling story that I read multiple times, and every time it gives me chills, when we record it tonight, I know I'm going to have to go to bed with the lights on. I'm going to be terrified. So if you're interested in hearing this episode, subscribe to our Patreon.

It will be there. You can listen to it however many times you want on there. I think maybe one would be enough. That's probably true. And lastly, if you enjoyed this episode or you have been enjoying our episodes, please go on to Apple Podcasts and write us a review. We love hearing the feedback and we love reading them. I mean, we put a lot of love into the,

episodes and to know that you are enjoying them makes it all worth it. Let's get into this episode. We are heading to Patagonia. I just have to say, I know last week I said that Africa is my number one bucket list place to go, which it still is, but this is my number one bucket place to go. They're my number, they're both my number ones. If you can have two number ones, they're it. And they are my two number ones for two totally separate reasons and Africa, the wildlife.

Hands down, I want to see lions and giraffes and elephants and rhinos. The Patagonia, number one, pocketless place to visit for the landscapes. Just the teal glacial waters, the rainforest, the huge mountains, the wetlands, everything there. I just have to see it. I know if I go to Patagonia, I will never come back. Patagonia has its own draws for sure. I mean, I've always said, I'm going there on my honeymoon. I don't know who's willing to marry me.

But we're going. To my future husband, that's where we're going. There's no option. It's just, I agree. I mean, I totally understand the draw of Africa for all the iconic wildlife, but Patagonia is hands down one of the most beautiful places in the world. I was really excited to talk about this story. One, because of the location.

And two, because of the huge emphasis on conservation that the story is going to bring. And it is tragic and it is sad. And I know that's why everyone who is listening to us listens to this because I want to hear that stuff. So don't worry, it is tragic. It is sad. But it does have a big emphasis on conservation, which was. really important to me. I am very excited to hear it. So today we are going to be talking about Doug and Chris Tompkins, who are legends in the conservation world and for the things that they did

for Patagonia and for Chile and for Argentina. Doug and Chris Tompkins, they fell in love and got married in 1993. Chris was the CEO of the clothing brand Patagonia, which is also known for its environmental conservation efforts and they donate a portion of their profits to different organizations working for environmental causes. So she was childhood friends and the one who originally helped the founder of Von Schenard build the business and she made millions of dollars in doing so. Doug Tompkins was an experienced outdoorsman and conservationist and he was the co-founder with his first wife of two different outdoor equipment and clothing companies, the ever so popular, the North Face, an Esperate clothing company.

He sold his company of Esperant for $150 million, and after his divorce to his first wife, he left the corporate world and started focusing his efforts on conservation. So together, Chris and Doug were a power couple in the conservation world. Their goal was to set up a large conservation charity, combine their fortunes together because they're both rich. They have made millions. And they wanted to buy land and then they wanted to restore millions of acres of threatened wilderness.

So they both fell in love with Patagonia. And they bought 2.2 million acres of the beautiful land of Patagonia. And this area is filled with ancient forests, wetlands, glaciers, volcanoes. They have fjords. tons of mountains, tons of wildlife. And the land that they bought was being threatened by logging and ranching, mining, dam building. So they really wanted to step in and save this beautiful landscape. So they went in and they bought all this land.

But when they first did this, they were met with a lot of skepticism from Chile. So they were concerned about their motives. They were two rich Americans who just bought the most land purchased by a single group of people. So they were the largest landowners in Chile, and the country actually feared their own national security. And they were accused of trying to set up nuclear power plants. They were questioning whether or not they wanted to set up green conservation cartel that was aimed to stop the economic development of their country. So they thought they were buying all this land so they couldn't develop their country and create jobs for their people. And the country was

actually so worried that Chile actually threatened to take their land away from them. But as time went by, it became more and more obvious that the threat of their land was under because there were companies that wanted to come in and do mass deforestation and mining and they wanted to build these dams. And as the country realized all these companies were really trying to get in on their land, they started to understand more of what Doug and Chris's motives really were. And that was to help their environment. Most of the land that the couple bought was actually abandoned land by absent landlords. So nobody was using these lands and they took old farms and they restored them. And in these areas, they really focused on preserving wildlife. So they were both hugely passionate

about Patagonia and helping out their wildlife. I can't even imagine having that much money on my own. plus then marrying someone with an equal amount of wealth and combining forces for something that's so good and so noble. Because we see it all the time. People that are wealthy, independently wealthy or wealthy through their work endeavors, create this mass amount of wealth and spend it on self-serving ventures. And they don't put it towards conservation or, something more than themselves, something that's going to help other people land conservation

and preservation. And not everybody has that passion. I totally get that. But it's nice to see two individuals who feel so strongly that they went into another country, recognized the threats that the land was under, and decided to step in. But on the other hand, I also do see Chile's point of view as well. I mean, can you even imagine another country coming into the U.S. and buying 2.2 million acres and saying, okay, well, we own this now and we're going to do what we want with it? That would not fly. No, that would not fly in the U.S. And I get, especially two rich Americans coming into your country, rich Americans and all Americans, frankly, don't really have that great of a wrath in any other countries. I totally get.

why they would be skeptical. But this couple, they did have very good motives. So this brings me into the story of Chris and Doug Tompkins and Doug Tompkins's tragic death. So Doug Tompkins, he was 72 years old at this time, and he was traveling around Southern Patagonia with two of his closest friends. He was with Avon Chonard, who was 77 years old, and he, we mentioned earlier, was the founder of the clothing brand Patagonia. He was also with Rick Ridgeway, who was 66 at the time, who was a noted climber and outdoorsman, and he was the vice president of Patagonia's environmental initiatives. And although these men were very busy with their schedules, they worked for huge companies. They did a lot of

work. They made it a point to always schedule time together to go on adventures, to keep themselves inspired and to keep going to these beautiful areas together. So, So they really made it a point to always get together and continue to do what they really loved, and that was to be outdoors. So during these travels, they were also joined by three more of their friends. Jib Ellison, who is the founder of Blue Sky, which is a consulting firm for companies to work in a more sustainable way. Weston Boyles, who's a filmmaker and environmentalist.

And Lawrence Alvarez-Ruse, who's the owner of BioBio Expeditions and is a world-class kayaker and raft guide who is captain of the Whitewater rafting team from 1993 to 1999. What an insanely cool group of people. Just a side note before you go on. Wow. I love to be a fly on the wall in those conversations and those trips. Like, you just know that they have been on some adventures. So together they had planned to kayak a 50-mile segment of General Carrera Lake, which is also

known as Lake Buenos Aires, from Puerto San Francisco. to Puerto Ibenas. This lake is located in Patagonia and is shared between Argentina and Chile and is known as one of the most picturesque bodies of water in all of Patagonia. It's surrounded by the Andes Mountain Range, it's made up of glacial waters, and these waters are about 39 degrees Fahrenheit or 3.8 degrees Celsius. The lake itself is 714 square miles or 1,850 square kilometers, making it the largest body of water in Chile, and it's the fourth largest in Argentina. At the deepest point of this lake, it's 1,922 feet deep or 586 meters deep. And I just want to clarify that I'm mentioning both measurements for all of these,

because the United States is the only one that uses Fahrenheit and feet. So in Patagonia, they don't use those measurements, and also I've noticed that we've gotten a lot of listeners recently that are from other countries. So it just makes me think of this one time. My stepsister, she's British and she is from England. And I remember one time we were having a conversation just about where we lived. And she asked me how warm it was here in the summertime. And I said, yeah, you know, it's like 80 degrees here. And she was like, oh my God, 80 degrees. That's so hot. I'm like, yeah, kind of. But why? How, how warm is it? there. And she's like, I don't know, like 35 degrees. Like, what? What do you mean? It's 35 degrees.

That's so cold. Like, it's freezing. And we realized that we were talking in Fahrenheit and Celsius, and we weren't making any sense to each other. So I just wanted to let everyone have an idea of actually how big these are. Yeah. The U.S. has not jumped on the metric system train quite yet. Yeah. So the surrounding area around the. lake is mostly cold and humid. However, on the lake itself, it actually has a sunny microclimate, but it is also known for its quickly changing weather patterns. This lake is also surrounded by three national parks. It's surrounded by Patagonia National Park, Cerro Castillo National Park, and Laguna San Rafael National Park. On Saturday, December 5th, 2015, which is the beginning of

summertime in Patagonia, this group was transported. to Puerto Sanchez to begin their journey. And the first three days went pretty smoothly. All of these men were very experienced kayakers and adventurers. They spent the days kayaking and they would spend their nights camped out on land. So this was just a fun adventure between longtime friends. This was actually supposed to be a leisurely trip for them, which I kind of laugh at because if we had a five-day kayaking trip planned in Patagonia, that would be a

an adventure of a lifetime, and we would be so stoked. And for these men, they're just like, yeah, we're just going to go on this casual weekend trip together. What a life. What a life. We would have been preparing for that for at least a year ahead of time. And talking about it, and there would be 7 million Instagram photos. And for them, it's just like, let's do this five-day nice trip.

And because they've done things that are way crazier than this. So this was supposed to be just a leisurely trip among. The guys, they're all older, just hanging out. So this was just an adventure for them. And by the third day of this trip, they had paddled approximately half of their route. So that morning, the group broke down their whole camping setup, and they started their day like they always did, and they headed back out onto the water, and they started kayaking. This day was a beautiful sunny day.

There were barely any winds at all. And the sun shining, the weather's nice. This morning, Weston and Lawrence set off in single. kayaks, while Doug and Rick shared a double sea kayak and Avon and Jim shared their own kayak as well. So sea kayaks are a little bit different than the single kayaks because they're longer and wider. And they also have these rudders that are operated with foot pedals. At 1030 a.m., the group were paddling around a peninsula near the middle of the lake and the winds began to pick up very rapidly. So this lake is huge and when weather becomes extreme, it can start to feel like an ocean.

And on this particular morning, the winds picked up to as high as 50 miles an hour. So in a matter of only a few minutes, it went from a calm and sunny day to violent winds that brought waves close to six feet high. In a lake? In a lake. Wow. Okay. Very intense weather there. And at this point, the men were hundreds of yards away from the shoreline, and the shorelines in this area were all rocks with cliffs that dropped straight to the water's edge. So there were very few spots where they could actually land their boats. So these men were fighting hard through the waves to head to safer waters and to land. And Weston, Lawrence, Yvonne, and Jim were able to navigate around the peninsula to slower winds and get to a safer area of the lake. Doug and Rick, however,

they fell behind. Their kayak rudder malfunctioned, and it made it very difficult for them to maneuver. And because it malfunctioned, they weren't able to steer correctly in these waters, and they were being hit from the side by these huge waves. So they're being hit over and over by these huge six-foot waves, and they're perpendicular to these waves. They're not riding with them at this point. So they're getting hit over and over,

and 600 feet from the shore they capsize. And this water is freezing cold. Yeah, it's just above freezing. It's 39 degrees Fahrenheit. Oh, my God. I'm cold even thinking about it. Terrifying. It's very scary.

And so they capsize and they're holding onto their kayaks. And they could feel the wind and the currents pulling them into the center of the lake. And these waves are so high. Their friends are nowhere in sight. They had no idea if their friends knew that they capsized. and if they knew that they were in trouble. So they were just working hard to try to flip their kayak back over, to be able to try to get back into it.

So they're fighting through these huge waves, these winds, this crazy storm. They're trying over and over to flip this kayak back. They try four times, but it was impossible with the high waves. Well, it's that. And just I had like a flashback memory of, you know, when you're on the lake, and tubing or even after you've paddled a good distance in a kayaker canoe and like if you're on the raft you're getting you know whipped around on the lake and you finally get thrown off and you're

waiting there they bring the boat back around you try and get back on the raft and you can't because your arms are so weak from holding on that whole time and you're trying to pull yourself up on the raft and your arms are like noodles, I can't even, and that's from just holding on to a raft for one minute being whipped around the lake, let alone being in a life-threatening situation when you're 70-something years old and freezing water in six-foot waves. Yeah, totally different story. And this actually reminds me of a time where I actually capsized in a lake, not even close to their story, but I was held on.

this lake in a canoe with my boyfriend at the time. This was years ago. I think he was just like messing around with me and he ended up flipping the canoe over. I am not joking when I say this water was like glass. There was not a ripple in the water. There was no wind. It was perfect conditions. The water is 80 degrees.

It's a beautiful day. We could not flip this canoe back over. We tried so many times and it did not work. I ended up trying to climb on top of it and was just sliding off. And it actually ended up where he ended up pulling the kayak and me back to shore because we were in the middle of this lake and he swam and pulled us all the way back to shore. So I just hear this story of the conditions that they're in and trying to flip this kayak and trying to get back in. and I can understand their struggle because, I mean, I'm not this world-renowned outdoors person,

and I'm certainly not a great kayaker, but I was struggling in completely flat waters and great conditions with a lifeguard on the beach. On duty. And I still. Yeah. And I still probably would have drowned if my boyfriend at the time hadn't swam me back to shore. I think I had a life check. So maybe not.

But I just imagine you just be like, okay, take me away, just like holding onto something and floating on your back as he paddles you back into shore. Honestly, as embarrassing as it is, that's exactly what that is. Oh, okay. I'm changed. It's like I know you or something. You didn't even have to be there to know exactly what happened. Okay. But anyway, that is me trying to relate to this situation.

And failing. But just as like a little bit of a comparison, this had to have been impossible and extremely difficult. So they're in the water and they realized really quickly that with the temperatures of this water, that they only had 30 minutes or so to survive before they would die from hypothermia. So they had a really difficult decision to make, and that was either to stay with their boat that was being pulled further and further away from the shore. or they had to abandon it and try to swim to land. So they made the decision to try and swim. Now, even with these life jackets on,

Doug and Rick were being pushed underneath the huge waves. As they're fighting through these waves, they realize that with the current, it was likely impossible for them to reach the shore. And as they're fighting more and more, they start slowing down and hypothermia was starting to set in. Rick was struggling. Even with his life jacket on, he was starting to drown.

These waves were just overtaking him. At one point, he stopped fighting and he decided to give in and let go to his inevitable death. A few minutes passed and something inside him snapped where he decided he had to survive this and he had to live. He started fighting again. He started trying to swim in these strong waves. Yeah, that primal instinct just kicks right in. You hear it all the time on, like, I survived episodes and things like that when people mentally start to check out. And they have this conversation and they're within their mind of, you know, this is it.

I've accepted it. My life is over. And then all of a sudden they get this second wind of just pure instinct taking over. Like, I don't think so. Here we go. Yeah. And I think that sounds like that's a. exactly what happened is instinct kicked in and he snapped out of it and he knew he had to try

and survive. So while all this is happening, the other four men had reached safety on a small beach along the shore and they didn't see Doug and Rick anywhere and they realized that they had to be in trouble. So Jib used a satellite phone to call Doug's private pilot for help. And within minutes there was a helicopter that was equipped with Mountaineer Rope, a harness, and a floating life ring that was in route to try and save them. But these four men realized that there was no time to wait for help, and they decided to head back into the waters. So Weston left first. He set off in a single kayak, and he reached Doug first. Jib and Lawrence jumped into their double kayak, and they were able to find Rick. So when they reached Rick and Doug, they were both still conscious,

and they were both still struggling and trying to swim in the water. They had ropes that they had strapped to each kayak that both men were able to grab onto the ends and try and hold on to while their friends worked really hard to paddle them towards the shore. They're swimming behind these kayaks. They're still in the water. We're going through these winds and these strong waves while their friends are trying to paddle through these hard waters. So Weston was really struggling. He was in the single kayak and he had less manpower to row. So he was moving as quickly as he could, but he wasn't moving as quickly as Jip and Lawrence were able to. Doug was kicking and swimming as hard as he could along at the end of the rope, but eventually

hypothermia kicked in for Doug, and he at this point lost the strength to hold on. Oh, no. So Weston was determined to help and determined to save him. So he grabs onto him, and in doing so, he loses one of his paddles. It was at this moment that Doug also lost consciousness and he passed out. Weston was trying so hard to help him that he actually continued to hold Doug's head above the water and his left arm. And he used his right arm to paddle as hard as he could, hoping that somehow and in some way they would eventually make it to shore. So because he was only using one arm to paddle, he lost control of steering and the way his body had to lean over to the side.

to hold onto Doug, the kayak was now turned perpendicular to the waves. So with each wave that hit them, they were coming closer and closer to capsizing, which would leave Weston in the water alongside Doug. Yeah, so they'd be in a worse situation than they already were if that was even possible. And Weston's risking his life out here trying to save Doug. Like, there is a huge possibility that he can capsize and be in the exact same situation as Doug, and he is fighting his hardest. to try and save him.

What a friend. And it doesn't seem based on the story so far that there was any hesitation in that decision. You know, a lot of people could have said, you know, I'm already back on shore. I know how dangerous this situation is out there. It's too risky to go back out. But for them to just make the decision to, it just doesn't seem like there was any question in going back out to save their friends. Yeah, I agree.

it seems like they obviously knew the risks. They were already out there, but they knew that their friends were in trouble, and they went out to try and rescue them, with just so much about them and so much about Weston himself to be out there, especially fighting in what he is. And actually, while he's doing this,

his spray deck, which is the skirt that seals water around the kayak seat, because of the way he was sitting, it kept coming open and it was filling the kayak with water. So he was struggling and he managed to close it before it would fill with too much water. But he was doing this while he was still holding onto Doug and managing to keep his head out of the water. At this point, Weston had been attempting to rescue Doug for approximately 50 to 60 minutes before the helicopter arrived. And they arrived, hovered over the small beach that Lawrence and Jim had been able to get to and they were able to save Rick and bring him there.

the men there signaled to the pilot that their friends were still in the water, and then the helicopter was able to locate them quickly. Weston and Doug were now adrift in the waves. They were floating towards the middle of the lake. They were no longer in the direction heading towards shore. They had completely gone off path with what they were struggling with, and now they were just heading farther and farther away from the shore. And the pilot could see Weston holding onto Doug by his clothing,

and he could see that Doug was completely unconscious. The helicopter came up, they threw down a rope to them, and he was able to clip it onto a strap on his kayak. The helicopter began to slowly drag them towards the shore. All while Weston is still holding on to Doug and still trying to keep him from drowning. So they're going through all these waves. These waves are still hitting them really hard.

And after about five minutes of being dragged through these vicarious, waters, his kayak capsizes, leaving both Doug and Weston now in the water. Oh, shit. The helicopter then lowers down a life ring to Weston, and he was able to put his arms through it and hold Doug to his chest above the water. The helicopter was then able to successfully drag them onto the shore, but at this point, all in all, Doug had been in the water for almost two hours. He was still alive, and they were able to do.

to get dug into the helicopter. They flew him directly to a hospital, which was 75 miles north, and they arrived here at 1.30 p.m. At this point when he arrived at the hospital, his core body temperature was 66 degrees Fahrenheit, which is 32 degrees below normal body temperatures. Do you know what this reminds me of, and I know it has a far different outcome

because you said the tragic death, so I know what's coming? But have you seen the new, new-ish, it's a few months old now, series on Netflix called Surviving Death? No, I haven't. Oh, my God. Okay. So first assignment for tomorrow. I know you have tomorrow off.

So pen this down, write this down. Why did I just say pen this down? What is that even? Pen this death. Because it's just a clock in the morning. Yeah, that's true. Take a pen and then write this down. You should watch it.

So each episode is a different, on a different topic regarding death. And the first one, there's some that are kind of like, that's a stretch, but like they cover mediums, they cover reincarnation, et cetera. But the first episode is so interesting. And it's about near-death experiences. One of the people that is interviewed is some surgeon or doctor, and she was kayaking in another country with a group of friends,

and her boat capsized, and she was sucked underwater, and she was underwater for like a half an hour, and she had all these broken bones, tons of injuries. She was pronounced dead, but somehow she was brought to the hospital and revived, and she tells her story of her experience on the other side. like what she experienced when she died. It's absolutely incredible. And you should definitely,

I don't want to give it all away because there's a lot of other stuff that happens. But it's so good. But that's kind of what this is reminding me of as far as the situation that. I love stories like that too because I love hearing not the fact that they almost died and everything because that's really traumatic. But these people who have these experiences where they have these stories. it almost gives you like a glimpse of what happens after you die because no one knows. Absolutely no one knows until you experience it. So when you hear these stories, it's kind of like, wow.

I just, I think it's so interesting. Last thing before you continue. The show I survived. I love that show. Yeah, but they had, do you remember the, not a spinoff, but like a different version of it that only lasted maybe a season or two, and I'm not sure why, but it was called I Survived There and Back. And it's the same format as I Survived, same producers, and it's literally all stories of near-death experiences. That's all it is. I do remember that. I wish they would bring that back

because that was one of my favorite shows. Yeah, that one was so good. I haven't watched either of those shows in years now at this point, and I used to binge watch those. Well, there was always the I survived. I survived there and back. And then there was alive or whatever. It was called, it was like the animal attack version of I survived. Oh, I don't think I saw that one. It's not on the same channel. It was a different channel, but it was essentially the same thing, interviews with people that survived near fatal animal attacks. But anyways, continue. Yeah. So while he was in the hospital, they were able to raise his temperature about five degrees. But his condition did not improve, and at 6.30 p.m. that evening, Doug Tompkins died of hypothermia.

Now, although Rick and Weston were both hypothermic, they both were able to make a full recovery, and none of the other men on this trip were seriously injured. After Doug's death, his body was loaded onto a small private plane. The plane flew south to Patagonia National Park, and Doug had been a longtime pilot who had done this exact flight countless times. When the plane came close to Sarosan Valatine, which is the highest peak in Patagonia, all of the sudden the clouds dispersed and the sun came out and there was a clear view of the whole mountaintop. And the pilot was able to circle around the snow cap summit carrying Doug. One last look.

One last flight. So that afternoon they had his funeral. He was buried in a handmade casket made of local wood inside the National Park. cemetery. So that is the story of Doug's death. And following that, Chris and Doug had spent nearly 24 years working together in conservation and protecting Patagonia's land. They owned and protected more land than any other people in history. And they spent an estimated $375 million in doing so. After his death, Conservation Patagonia and Conservation Land Trust, the two or organizations found by the couple remained very busy. Chris now runs these and has continued to work

with these census death. As of today, she has given back all of the land that they bought to Chile's government and their national park system. Because of their efforts, there are now five new national parks that have been and are currently being created that are located in some of the most dramatic and wildest lands of Chile and Argentina. The five parks are, are spanning 10.3 million acres and were signed into law by Chile's president, Michelle Bachelet, on January 29, 2018. It's created a new route that stretches down the southern spine of Chile to Cape Horn that passes through 17 national parks. Wow. So this is recent. This is very recent, very recent that all this has been put in. It's actually so recent that some of these national parks.

haven't, they are established land for national parks, but they have not been like fully set up as national parks yet. That is how recent it is. This was a huge success for Chile. And there is a quote that was said about it that says, this is more impressive because Chile is still a developing country with a long history of development and exploitation of resources. In most cases, over exploitation. If Chile can take these huge environmental steps, there are a few reasons why developed nations can't act as well. Very valid. Especially you look at the United States and everything they could do or places like China and Japan who have a huge amount of pollution in the world and how developed and rich they are and don't contribute as much to conservation efforts. And I mean, the United States is also a huge one in that as well.

But it is how they say, if this undeveloped country can do this, everyone should be able to do it. So here in the United States, I feel like it's almost the opposite battle. So instead of adding more protected spaces to what we have, we're trying to keep what little we already have. And I say little comparatively, obviously. I know we have a lot of national park sites and things like that. But, I mean, the whole thing with bears ears and the drilling in Alaska, all the Arctic wildlife refuge things that are going on, you know, in Alaska and Canada and all that. It's just, I feel like in the U.S., there is a lot of push to take away protection from what has already been established versus adding more to what we have. I agree.

There's definitely, especially in the most recent years, there's been a lot of that. And it is really upsetting and disappointing. I think what is said here is such a huge point. If Chile, as a still developing country, can do it, then we can certainly find a way to do it. So at this point, Chris and her team and Doug are now welcomed by the presidents of Chile and Argentina for their incredible work that they have done for their country. country. Chris says, if we hadn't bought the land, then the grasslands of Patagonia would not have begun to heal themselves. The rainforest would have been logged. We look at conservation as offering an economic development. I saw we are not taking land out of production, but bringing in something

else. We employ hundreds of people, and instead of kids leaving the area, there's a reason for them to stay. There's an economy they can plug into. And she said on the top of the time, topic of wildlife and animal conservation. Rewilding is now a term used to bring back species. It's tough. There's opposition from people. There may not be enough prey for animals who are reintroduced. It is complex.

We are now rewilding in northern Argentina and have brought back species such as giant ant eaters, white-colored peccaries, and pampas deer. If you don't have wildlife in these places, people will not visit. landscape without wildlife is just scenery. She also says that Patagonia was a leap of faith for her. She dreamed of living in Patagonia. She retired at the age of 43. She fell in love with Doug and they moved there.

And she says that it was Doug who brought the real possibility to her mind and that it was his idea to go there. She says her loss of him is immense. She says, I was, I am, badly in love with him until the day he died. every day of our lives. He made a 300-page book of our life together, thousands of pictures and letters. That life is over. Or not, I've had a charmed life, but I miss him so. Doug and Chris have had the largest impact in conservation of two people in history. Their contributions will continue on for generations. Even in their death, their legacy will continue. Chris continues on to say,

it's not about money. There is just no excuse for doing nothing. Abdication is not a possibility. Whoever you are, wherever your interest lies, whatever you have fallen in love with, you get out of bed every morning and you do something. You act, you step into the fray, and you fight for a human society

that is in balance with the natural world. We have no choice. Otherwise, we might as well kiss our beautiful planet goodbye. I will be there in Patagonia until the day I, die. That's the idea. Wow. I have goosebumps. I have a little tear in my eye, my heart skipping a beat, everything she just said. Everything, she just hit the nail on the head in so many different ways. Like there is no excuse to do nothing, no matter what you're passionate about. And sometimes it does seem overwhelming and especially coming from someone who doesn't have millions of dollars.

and is certainly not going to retire at age 43 and link up with somebody else who is a multi-millionaire buy 2.2 million acres in a different country to preserve. I can't even buy one acre here to live on. So, like, coming from that point of view, every little decision that you make day to day, and it sounds so cliche, but it's so true. You can do so many different little things in your own. life that if everybody else did would actually make a difference. Yeah.

She's absolutely right. There's no excuse not to participate. This is the world that we live in. And her story is so inspiring. Both of their stories are so inspiring. And I look at it and she's right. I look at myself and I'm like, I could do better. I could be better.

I care about conservation. But she's right. She actually, this whole story inspired me to want to get out there and do better. and be better for the environment. And I read this story and it's so tragic and it's so sad what happened to Doug and their relationship. Like the amount of love that is there, what a way to continue to love someone after they're gone than to carry on their legacy and to carry on the dream that you had together and preserving

these lands and the amount of good that she has done since his son. death. I just think what they're doing will live on forever. It will live on for lifetimes and generations from now. I just think both of them are so inspiring and they really made an impact on this world. They lived their life the way that people should. Even in death, Doug is a legacy. He's a legend in the world of conservation and that's not going to change. Yeah. Well, they both put their money where their mouth is. They had money to do so, but a lot of people have a lot of talk

and don't back it up with action, but they certainly did. Yeah, they certainly, they used their money to, I mean, they spent $375 million on this. That is, I don't care how rich you are.

That is a lot of money. Just what beautiful people, and I'm just very inspired by both of them. To me, I have like the vision of, and this could be so far off. It kind of reminds me of the couple and up, the movie Up, the Pixar movie, the older couple, and they have like their adventure book. Do you remember?

I've never seen Up. What? What? Your face when I said that was like, are you fucking serious? Okay. Assignment number two. Write down, up, and watch it. tomorrow right after you watch Surviving Death.

Okay. I will add that to my it too. I feel, I hope that there are people out here listening to that and are equally as appalled as I am. I'm not a huge Disney Pixar fan. I'm more of a classic OG Disney type of girl, but you got to see up. I'm just going to leave it at that. That story definitely left me very inspired. And if you are feeling the same type of way, they do have, you can go on to Tompkinsconservation.org.

And they have links there to donate ways to help out in volunteer your time. So there are certainly ways that you can get involved. And you can go onto their website, Tompkinsconservation.com, to find that. And for this whole story, I actually found it on National Geographic. So you can go on National Geographic and look up this story, if you like, as well. And that is all I have for today, for their story. Well, thank you so much for sharing that because I feel like I just ended the night on a high note. Even though it is a sad story, it's always good to have a feel good ending instead of just tragedy, the end.

Nothing good came out of it. You know, that's it. So that is all we have for this story today. Check us out on Instagram. You can follow us on National Park After Dark. That's our Instagram. You can check out our website, mpadpodcast.com. We will see you next Monday.

But in the meantime, enjoy the view. But watch your back. Have a great week, everybody. I'm going to stop because I can hear everything you're doing. Every shift, every movement, everything is so loud. Just hold your wine in your hands. And I can see you like trying to like, you're like, I'm trying to sneak as you drink my wine.

Just hold it all the whole time. Just settle down. Sorry. I'm just trying to drink my wine and be sad. Oh, yeah. Fucking shit shouting. You're listening to this podcast, so I know you've got a curious mind. a helpful fact you may not know yet. Drivers who switch and save with Progressives save over

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