Cape Froward | Photo: Diego Nahuel for Rewilding Chile
Rewilding Chile donates new property for the creation of Cabo Froward National Park
It concerns Puerto Gallant, located south of the Brunswick Peninsula, adjacent to the 93,492 hectares already offered in March 2024.
Rewilding Chile, a nonprofit organization and legacy of Tompkins Conservation, announced the submission of a complementary donation proposal to the Ministry of National Assets. This proposal aims to expand the territory of the future Cabo Froward National Park, located south of the Brunswick Peninsula. It involves 33,810 hectares in the Puerto Gallant sector, adjacent to the 93,492 hectares already pledged in March 2024 under the administration of President Gabriel Boric, as formalized in a memorandum of agreement.
Puerto Gallant, a historical anchorage for vessels navigating the western mouth of the Strait of Magellan, remains a shelter from storms to this day. Like the entire Cabo Froward area, it is characterized by sub-Antarctic forest ecosystems, including Guaitecas cypress and peatlands. Cabo Froward is also the last continental habitat of the endangered huemul deer and holds significant cultural and heritage value as ancestral territory of the Kawésqar people. The area also shows traces of more recent human activity, such as artisanal fishing, whaling, and logging industries.
As with the original donation of the Cruz de los Mares property, the purchase of Puerto Gallant was made possible through the support of Tompkins Conservation and a group of American and British philanthropists.
“The addition of this property to the creation of the future Cabo Froward National Park is strategic because it allows us to advance toward the goal of achieving territorial continuity under the highest protection category available in our legislation, linking the donated properties with public lands committed by the state,” said Carolina Morgado, Executive Director of Rewilding Chile.
For Kristine Tompkins, Chair of the Board of Rewilding Chile, “The speed and severity of the climate and extinction crises demand that we change tactics again, and this time it must be at a large scale. Parks offer refuge from these crises, and we know ecosystems can recover within these spaces. Importantly, we also know that when people reconnect with nature, they are inspired to protect it.”
“The addition of this property to the creation of the future Cabo Froward National Park is strategic because it allows us to advance toward the goal of achieving territorial continuity under the highest protection category available in our legislation, linking the donated properties with public lands committed by the state”
While the administrative process to create Cabo Froward National Park moves forward, Rewilding Chile is implementing programs in the area focused on native forest restoration, wildlife monitoring, and marine biodiversity sampling expeditions.
The foundation is collaborating with institutions such as the University of Magallanes and the National Forest Corporation (Conaf) under framework agreements. “We are interested in studying and characterizing a highly valuable territory about which little is known due to the lack of systematic research. To this end, we have deployed our teams to implement programs for restoring degraded ecosystems, including forests, peatlands, wildlife, and marine areas, as well as safeguarding threatened species,” explained Ingrid Espinoza, Director of Conservation at Rewilding Chile.