Such a shame. I first learned about him and his work in 180 South [1], which really made me appreciate what he was doing to create and protect the park. Definitely worth a watch. It was actually one of my life goals to learn Spanish so that I would be eligible to go down and volunteer with him. Here's hoping the conservation effort stays strong.
In Chile most of the people with power and money are exploiting the land, mining and building hydro power plants, destroying the planet for their own benefit. Douglas is a visionary, we are very thankful for his gifts to the future of the world. More people around here need to be like him. Hopefully his wife will continue his mission and legacy.
Like Yves Chouinard, Tompkins made his fortune from his outdoor apparel business and plowed a lot of the profits into conservation around the world. He died doing something he loved in an area he has helped which is about as good a way to go as anybody could hope for.
“In response to people who say you can’t go back. Well, what happens when you get to the cliff? Do you take one step forward or do you make a 180 degree turn and take . . . one step forward? Which way are you going? Which is progress?”
-- Douglas Tompkins