[5] Due to this, he was posthumously naturalized Chilean. We are deeply saddened to learn of Doug Tompkins' death. Credit: Daniel Garcia/Getty Images. A former U.S. Forest Service firefighter, he has traveled extensively and covered a wide variety of issues during his career, including the Beijing Olympics, Hurricane Katrina, illegal American tourism in Cuba and a 40-day cross country car trip commemorating the history of automobile travel in America. He flew back about an hour later and dropped off a backpack with a sleeping bag, some snacks and a note that said, I cant land till low tide, write me messages in the sand that I can read from the air., We spent all day there thinking we were doomed, Tompkins Imhoff said. We see the loss of biodiversity as the greatest crisis of our time, writes Tompkins Conservation. They have protected more land than any other private individuals in history.. Douglas Tompkins, the founder of North Face and Esprit, died in the terrain he was devoted to conserving. The high-school dropout turned outdoors-loving mogul turned eco-baron devoted the last quarter of his life to conservation advocacy. [5], Just to the south of Pumalin, Corcovado National Park represents one of Tompkins's completed conservation projects. Weve pledged 1% of sales to the preservation and restoration of the natural environment. He had absolutely no respect for authority.". In the 1990s Tompkins and his second wife, Kris McDivitt Tompkins bought and conserved more than 2million acres (810,000ha) of wilderness in Chile and Argentina, exceeding that of any other private individuals in the region, thus becoming among the largest private land-owners in the world. Most cattle and internal fences were removed, and a land management program was developed to restore native vegetation and habitat. "Doug and I were both overly cavalier about jumping into dangerous things," says Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia and a lifelong friend of Douglas Tompkins, the pioneering conservationist. Douglas Tompkins, an outdoorsman, environmental activist, conservationist and entrepreneur who co-founded the North Face clothing company in San Francisco, died Tuesday in a kayaking accident . In 1991, Mr. Tompkins bought the 42,000-acre Reihu Farm and founded the Pumaln Project, dedicated to the protection of the lands primeval native rain forest, which was being threatened by logging. [9] She led Clinton's fundraising efforts for 2008 in the San Francisco Bay area. By the time the craft had towed the two to shore, Tompkins had been in the water for more than an hour. Dont worry, we'll only contact you about activism here. Douglas Tompkins died at the age of 72, on the 8th of December: billionaire, ecologist and co-founder of The North Face, renowned outdoor apparel brand. There wasnt anything he thought he wanted to do that he didnt do.. Each of these farms produces a variety of products, including sheep, cattle, honey, berries, and organic vegetables. [37], In Brazil, the environmentalist Douglas Tompkins was specially honored during the celebrations of 30 years of the Society for the Protection of Wildlife with the video A Natureza do Brasil with images of Haroldo Pallo Jnior and the Brazilian pianist Salete Chiamulera.[38]. In an extraordinary example of womens empowerment, a market in Indias Manipur state has been run entirely by women for the past 500 years. Rarely appearing outdoors without a collared shirt or a cashmere sweater, Tompkins seemed determined to prove that no specialty clothing was needed on an adventure. Doug was a dear mentor to our company and a good friend to many of us here at Patagonia. They hardly ever talk politics", "The rise and fall of San Francisco's coolest clothing brand", "Democratic Hopefuls Getting More Green in Wealthy Bay Area", "A New Alliance Of Democrats Spreads Funding", "Soros-Funded Media Matters Attacks Conservatives", "Soros and liberal groups seeking top election posts in battleground states", "Obama losing financial backing of big S.F. As Langewiesche details, Tompkins efforts aroused suspicion in Chile, where land purchased to be held and not developed (and not turned into an creator of many jobs) was unheard of. 3. And Im just kind of a laid-back zen buddhist, and just say, well, Ill do what I can and so be it., Laughing, Tompkins shot back: Well, you better tell my buddy Yvon, the good buddhist, he has to take his bodhisattva vows, which means that before self-enlightenment, one has to end the suffering in the world., In the aftermath of his death, Conservacion Patagonica expressed some concern over the future of his plans. Remembering The North Face Founder Douglas Tompkins. The good he did in the world will not end.. Doug and Kris were responsible for expanding a natural reserve covering 400 hectares of forest in Chile to almost 890,000 hectares divided between Chile and Patagonia. But the way I see it, with land conservation of this type, the risk of something negative coming from this seems to be rather small compared with taking an exploitive approach., Hartmann described Tompkins as a visionary who took risks to experience the life he was certain was worth living. [5] Tompkins had recommended changing the name Plain Jane to Esprit de Corp.[6], By 1986, the global clothing brand had reached $800 million in sales. "Doug would call up and scream at my commander, Hey, damn it, this is colonel so-and-so! 2. // In 1991 he bought the Reihu farm, a semi-abandoned farm at the end of the Reihu Fjord, planning to set aside 42,000 acres (17,000ha) of this unique forest from possible exploitation. People named Doug Thompson. Suffering from severe hypothermia, Tompkins was flown to Coyhaique Regional Hospital, where he later died in the intensive care unit. We are deeply saddened by the news of Doug Tompkins passing. "We spent 31 days in a snow cave, and that's grim," Chouinard recalls. The aircraft dragged them slowly due to the size of the waves and the danger of catching the rope in the machines propeller. This is what we can do. [36] Eco Barons, Edward Humes' 2009 account of the "dreamers, schemers, and millionaires who are saving our planet," uses Tompkins as the first example of this new group of philanthropists. Susie Tompkins Buell (ne Russell; born 1943)[2] is an American entrepreneur, businesswoman and a donor to progressive causes. His daughter, Quincey Tompkins Imhoff, of Healdsburg, remembered a time as a girl when her father landed a small plane on a remote beach in Baja California only to notice later that the tide was rolling in and covering the wheels. The Grateful Dead played at the store's opening, and beatnik poet Allen Ginsberg and jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie often dropped by the store. With Tompkins at the helm, Esprit ballooned in popularity, eventually reaching $1 billion in sales. Mr. Tompkins was born in Ohio in 1943 and grew up in Millbrook, N.Y. A ski racer, rock climber and alpinist with several first ascents to his credit, he founded the California Mountaineering Guide Service in 1963. Profile. Around the lake, mountains rise up on all sides forming a highly variable microclimate the weather can turn from sunny and calm to snowing with gale-force winds in a matter of hours. Photograph Courtesy Chris Jones). Following their divorce and Tompkins' departure from the business world in 1989, he became active in environmental and land conservation causes. To have lost his life in a lake and have nature just sort of gobble him up is just shocking.. Sign up for exclusive offers, original stories, activism awareness, events and more. VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF THE COYHAIQUE HOSPITAL WHERE NORTHFACE FOUNDER DOUGLAS TOMPKINS WAS TREATED AND PASSED AWAY [4], Susie Tompkins Buell was born Susan Russell in San Francisco in 1943, to parents Clarabelle and Floyd Russell. Douglas Tompkins, famed environmentalist and co-founder of The North Face, died on Tuesday after a kayaking accident in the Patagonia region of southern Chile. The North Face founder Doug Tompkins poses for a photograph with Jeff Johnson and Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard during the filming of the documentary 180 Degrees South in Chile. This is a guy who was a world class mountaineer, multiple first ascents on many continents and multiple first descents as a whitewater kayaker. Class of 1963. Dr. Douglas J. Thompson is an oncologist and is affiliated with UNC Health Blue Ridge.He received his medical degree from Medical College of Georgia and has been in practice for more than 20 years. [1], She attended primary school at the Convent School of the Sacred Heart, Ojai Valley School, and Miss Burkes School. If you are using a screen reader and having difficulty please call us at 1-800-638-6464. Sign Up. Douglas Tompkins at his home in Pumalin Park in Chile in 2005. The retail store named after the coldest, most unforgiving side of a mountain was founded in North Beach as a way to equip mountaineers, explorers and climbers. Select this result to view Doug W Thompson's phone number, address, and more. In 1993, he married Kristine L. McDivitt, a former chief executive of Patagonia; the two worked together on conservation projects. [25], In 2007 the Conservation Land Trust established a rewilding program to reintroduce native species which had been extirpated from the wetlands during the 20th century. The 72-year-old, well-known as an outdoorsman and . Susie Tompkins Buell (ne Russell; born 1943) is an American entrepreneur, businesswoman and a donor to progressive causes. We are on the side of those who decide to live with passion and purpose, acting to make the world a better place. [citation needed], Tompkins also was involved in several large environmental campaigns in Chile and Argentina, such as the "Patagonia Sin Represas" campaign, which opposed the construction of dams on two of the largest and wildest rivers in the Patagonia region of Chile. In 1994, The Conservation Land Trust (CLT), along with U.S. philanthropist Peter Buckley, acquired 208,000 acres (84,000ha) of native forest that was slated for logging, adjacent to vast areas of federal land under the jurisdiction of the Chilean Armed Forces. Lived In Greensboro NC, Raleigh NC. 11. Ive never ever tried to make life easy for myself, Tompkins told The Guardian in a 2009 interview. Well let you know when more stories drop. We are the ones who keep putting obstacles in our own way by buying more land. Of all the winning candidates of the 2006 municipal elections, Thompson had the highest percentage of donations coming from corporations (81.9%). Douglas Tompkins, co-founder of North Face, dies after Chile kayak accident, Patagonias controversial new national park, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. In an interview with La Tercera, the co-pilot of the rescue helicopter said the craft had no mechanism to airlift Tompkins directly from the water. So in 1964, at the age of 21 and with his first wife, Susie Tompkins Buell, he took out a bank loan to start The North Face as a mail-order catalog. He had done a lot of really dangerous things in remote, wild places for his entire life, and here he is, on a sort of easy-going camping trip with his old buddies, and should end up perishing in an accident it is not what any of us ever expected.. August 5, 2021. When he wasnt able to get the right seeds for tree restoration in nearby nurseries, he opened his own. That same year, Tompkins suggested a trip to Patagonia to his friend Yvon Chouinard, who was at that time making climbing hardwear. After retiring in 1989, Tompkins moved to South America and turned his attention to environmental activism. See Photos. To the group sitting in their sea kayaks, only millimeters from the water, the waves must have looked like mountains. The Iber project was a private conservation enterprise that was spearheaded by Tompkins, working with George Soros, Harvard University,[22] and Rewilding Argentina. 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