Who is Kristine Tompkins
Kristine McDivitt Tompkins is an American conservationist who leads Tompkins Conservation and chairs Rewilding Chile’s board. [5]
Education and connection with nature
She grew up in southern California, spending time on her family’s ranch. [5]
She graduated from The College of Idaho in 1972, studying History and Sociology. Her university features her among its alumni for her subsequent career in business and conservation. This education preceded her management of a clothing company and, later, her work organising and negotiating environmental projects. [6]
Leading Patagonia and changing direction
Her relationship with Yvon Chouinard began in California’s surfing community. She was involved in Patagonia’s early years and went on to lead the company through a period of growth. In a 2017 account, Chouinard recalled her responsibility as CEO during that expansion and their continuing professional relationship. [7]
A specific decision appears in Jill Dumain’s account of sourcing hemp in 1993. As the team prepared samples for an intermediary travelling to China, Tompkins asked the materials specialist herself to make the trip. The episode records her involvement in product development and in gaining direct knowledge of suppliers. [8]
In 1993 she joined Douglas Tompkins’s conservation project in Chile. Her work shifted from managing a brand to acquiring and restoring land intended for parks. The following phase combined philanthropic finance, work on the ground and relationships with public bodies to turn private properties into protected areas. [9]
Monte León and Patagonia Park
In 2000 she founded the organisation known as Conservacion Patagonica. Under her leadership it acquired the Valle Chacabuco ranch in Aysén in 2004 to develop the future Patagonia National Park. Converting the livestock property into a conservation area involved a sustained period of restoration, visitor planning and preparation for donation. [10]
Monte León was another of the organisation’s projects. Working with the ranch owners and Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina, Conservacion Patagonica funded land acquisition for the national park system. The land was donated in 2002 and Congress designated the park in 2004, protecting a coastal landscape in Santa Cruz. [11]
Patagonia Park also attracted practical support. In 2007 the clothing company reported that 50 employees had joined volunteer groups helping develop the future park. Tompkins narrated a video about the initiative. Her connection with her former company therefore continued through communication, practical support and participation by its community. [24]
Park donations and public partnerships
The agreement with Chile’s government led in 2018 to new parks, including Pumalín, Melimoyu and Patagonia, alongside expansions and reclassifications of other areas. The network combined private donations with public land. Kristine’s role was to advance and negotiate her foundation’s contribution within that institutional process. [12]
In a 2018 UN Environment interview following her appointment as Patron of Protected Areas, she described the initial resistance to land purchases. In her account, opening trails and campsites allowed visitors to experience the projects and helped build trust. Acquiring property was only the beginning of restoration and protection. [13]
In 2016 she wrote about Mile for Mile, a campaign supporting completion of Patagonia Park’s trail network. Her argument linked access with conservation: travelling through a landscape helps people know it. The campaign channelled support from runners and supporters into infrastructure that the public could subsequently use. [14]
Wildlife and restoration agreements
Wildlife recovery is an important part of the continuing work. In March 2025 Kristine attended the capture operation for Acaí, a female jaguar in Iberá, for transfer to El Impenetrable. National Parks and Rewilding Argentina carried out the operation with technical teams as part of jaguar recovery in northern Argentina. [15]
In October 2026 she attended the renewal of the agreement between National Parks and Rewilding Argentina for Iberá. The ten-year agreement covers restoration, wildlife recovery, public access, research and work with neighbouring communities. It provides institutional continuity for activities that require sustained attention beyond the park’s formal establishment. [16]
Cape Froward and continuing conservation
In November 2026 she signed a supplementary protocol advancing the proposed Cape Froward National Park. Rewilding Chile offered another 22,333 hectares, alongside land already donated and state properties. The establishment process includes Indigenous consultation. The agreement advances the initiative, while formal designation as a national park remains a separate step. [17]
Honours
She received the 2017 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy as one of nine people selected by the Carnegie institutions. The recognition highlighted her commitment to conservation, restoration and land donation, and the continuation of the work she shared with Douglas following his death in 2015. [18]
American Prairie awarded her the 2023 Ken Burns American Heritage Prize. The prize recognises contributions to understanding American heritage through fields including the arts, history, science and conservation. Selecting Tompkins connected South American park philanthropy with discussion of conserving large ecosystems in the United States. [19]
In 2026 she was recognised with the Explorers Club Medal. The institution highlighted her creation of parks and restoration of biodiversity in Chile and Argentina as part of a career devoted to protecting extensive natural landscapes. [20]
Talks, documentary and archives
At TED she presented Let’s Make the World Wild Again in 2020 and a proposal for wildlife corridors connecting protected areas in 2024. That year she also discussed social change, nature and collaboration with theatre director Amir Nizar Zuabi. These appearances bring conservation experience into public discussion of large-scale restoration. [21]
She is the central participant in Wild Life, Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s documentary about her life with Douglas and their commitment to parks in Chile and Argentina. [22]
The Tompkins Conservation archive, received by Stanford University Libraries in 2024, preserves records of that work for research and field studies. [23]
