What is Conservacion Patagonica?
Conservacion Patagonica was founded in 2000 as a non-profit charitable foundation to raise funds to purchase, restore and preserve the forests, grasslands, and coasts of South America’s Patagonia region.

Conservacion Patagonica is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, and all donations to Conservacion Patagonica are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

What is the mission of Conservacion Patagonica?
Conservacion Patagonica is dedicated to the protection, restoration, and maintenance of wildland ecosystems and biodiversity in the Patagonia region of South America. To preserve intact ecosystems, Conservacion Patagonica intends to buy large tracts of important wildlands and link them together to form extensive protected areas. Ultimately Conservacion Patagonica intends to add its holdings to the public domain for permanent protection in the form of parks, reserves, and sanctuaries.

What is the relationship between Conservacion Patagonica and Patagonia, the company?
Conservacion Patagonica and Patagonia are wholly separate organizations. However, Patagonia is a founding partner and major supporter of Conservacion Patagonica.

Are there employment opportunities with Conservacion Patagonica?
At this time we are not accepting applications for employment. Our staff is currently limited to two people, with guidance from our Board of Directors. We do appreciate your enthusiasm and suggest that you keep an eye on our website for periodic updates on employment opportunities.

How can I help Conservacion Patagonica?
The Patagonia Land Trust needs your donations of cash, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and real estate. With land prices as low as $5 per acre, your donation, no matter how small, can go a long way to protecting the wildlands of Patagonia.

Where is Patagonia?
Patagonia is considered to be the southern regions of Argentina and Chile. In Argentina it is that area south of the Rio Colorado, including all of the provinces of Neuquen, Rio Negro, Chubut, Santa Cruz, Tierra del Fuego, and a portion of the province of Buenos Aires. Chilean Patagonia is considered to be the area southward from the Gulf of Corcovado.

When is the best time to visit Patagonia?
The best time to visit Patagonia is generally from September to March during the austral summer.

What is the weather like in Patagonia?
Even in summer the weather in Patagonia is typically cool and windy. Daytime temperatures range from lows in the 40F’s to highs in the 70F’s.

Are there places to stay?
All of the major towns have motels, and there are numerous camping opportunities. Some of the ranches or estancias also serve as guest houses. For more information about the estancias, go to:

http://www.sectur.gov.ar/estancs/etsc/guia/

Is it safe to travel to Patagonia?
Yes, it is generally very safe to travel in both Chile and Argentina at this time. We recommend you consult the U.S. State Department for travel advisories prior to any international travel:

http://travel.state.gov/travel_warnings.html

How can I see the projects of Conservacion Patagonica?
If you are coming from outside of Argentina, it is best to fly into Buenos Aires for connecting flights to Patagonia region, which are frequent. Aerolineas Argentinas, LAPA, Dinar Lineas, and LADE all have daily flights to the major cities in Patagonia.

The airports closest to projects of Conservacion Patagonica projects are in the southern coastal cities of Rio Gallegos and Comodoro Rivadavia. Flight service is also available to the smaller towns of El Calafate and Gobernador Gregores. From the airports we recommend renting a car (probably not an option from Calafate) or chartered bus services.

Monte León lies 200 kilometers north of Rio Gallegos on Route 3, just south of the town of Piedra Buena, and Dor-Aike is immediately adjacent to Monte León on the northwestern side of Route 3. Both Monte León and Dor-Aike are easily accessed in regular passenger vehicles. Accomodations and supplies are available in nearby Piedra Buena.

El Rincón borders the northern edge of Perito Moreno National Park and sits at the base of Cerro San Lorenzo. El Rincón is accessed by turning off Route 40 at the town of Las Horquetas, where gas and limited supplies are available. The property can be reached by dirt road and an easy hiking trail takes you upvalley. El Rincón is accessible via regular passenger vehicle, but we recommend a high-clearance vehicle in the event that bad weather results in poor road conditions. It is in a remote area where assistance is not readily available.

Why Patagonia?
The raw wildness of lands at the southern end of the Americas has intersected the lives of the directors and advisors of Conservacion Patagonica for nearly 35 years. Having received so much from the region, both professionally and personally, they founded Conservacion Patagonica to give back to a place that has given them so much.

How will the situation in Argentina affect the work of Conservacion Patagonica?
Recent economic difficulties in Argentina present an opportunity for Conservacion Patagonica, but not a threat. Land prices are at all-time lows and numerous landowners have asked Conservacion Patagonica to purchase their lands. Other buyers are also looking to purchase large tracts of land in Patagonia for oil development, mining, subdivision, or for speculation.

While the current economic situation in Argentina is difficult, our conservation efforts will go forward. Conservacion Patagonica expects to be working in the Patagonia region for many decades to come, and our work will continue despite any short-term economic or political difficulties.

Conservation is rarely easy work, even in the United States, but that does not deter others and it won’t deter us. Conservation International and the World Wildlife Fund, two of the most prominent conservation organizations in the world, are actively working in countries that we might deem unstable, such as Pakistan, Colombia, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Congo, Ghana and Ivory Coast. We do not believe that conservation is a luxury available only to peaceful, stable nations.

Isn’t this a bad time to be investing in Argentina?
Admittedly the economic situation in Argentina is turbulent. While now may not be the best time to make conventional investments in Argentina, the legal stability of private lands is not under any threat. By all accounts, including top legal specialists in Argentina, the integrity and stability of private land ownership in Argentina is inviolate.

Is there a threat of government expropriation of land acquired by Conservacion Patagonica?
Like most nations, including the United States, the federal government of Argentina has the authority to take land from private owners through the power of "eminent domain." Throughout its history, including during other turbulent times, Argentina has rarely exercised its power of eminent domain to seize land. Some legal specialists say that Argentina is one of the most protective countries in the world from the point of view of the private landowner. To seize any private land, both chambers of the National Congress must pass legislation stating that the property is of high value for the country. Passage of such legislation is not easy and has rarely been done.

What threats are you trying to protect these lands from?
Patagonia faces the same forces that have destroyed wildlands around the world. Logging, mining, livestock grazing, road construction and subdivision are the major threats to wild Patagonia, but with them come uncontrolled hunting, exotic species, water and air pollution, soil erosion, and a myriad of other human impacts.

Much of Patagonia has been badly over-grazed, including areas where Conservacion Patagonica is focusing. In these areas our first priority upon acquiring a property will be to remove livestock and fences to allow the return of native wildlife.

As has happened around the world, large tracts eventually get broken into smaller and smaller pieces, with fragmentation of wildlife habitat resulting from roads and development. This pattern of subdivision is steadily moving southward through Patagonia. Fortunately, many of the traditional estancias or ranches remain intact, and with relatively few landowners to deal with, Conservacion Patagonica has the opportunity to put some really big pieces of wildlands back together.

What exactly are you trying to protect? Are there certain species that need help in Patagonia?
According to conservation biologists, the Patagonian steppe and marine coast are some of the most outstanding harbors of biodiversity on the planet. There are a variety of distinctive species in Patagonia, from the flightless rheas to the abundant flamingos, elegant guanacos, approachable penguins, soaring condors, and roaring sea lions. Patagonia is also home to a great number of plants and animals which are found nowhere else on the planet.

As examples of some of the problems in the region, the population of guanacos has declined from nearly 7 million animals in the early 1900’s to fewer than 600,000 today. At Monte Leon, Magellanic penguins declined from nearly 1 million at the turn of the 20th century to approximately 100,000 today, and sea lions dropped from 104,000 down to fewer than 700 during the same period.

While the work of Conservacion Patagonica will benefit certain threatened and endangered species such as huemul deer, mara, and ruddy-headed geese, our focus is on protecting entire ecosystems. Our aim is not just to protect specific sites of value to one or two species but to secure whole ecosystems and vast landscapes. In Patagonia we have the rare opportunity to accomplish conservation at a grand scale, something which is no longer possible in many parts of the world.

What will Conservacion Patagonica do with lands it buys?
The top priority on lands acquired by Conservacion Patagonica is the maintenance and restoration of wildland ecosystems and biodiversity. On the lands that we own we will reduce or remove threats to native species, such as fences, grazing, and poaching. Our properties will remain open to public uses that do not disrupt or displace wildlife. It is our hope and intent that the properties we buy become public lands as national or provincial parks, refuges or sanctuaries.

For instance, at Monte Leon we are currently working with the National Parks Administration on the management plan for the area prior to donating the property to them. On certain properties Conservacion Patagonica may be the interim land manager for several years as we develop a long-term management plan.

Is the Argentine National Parks Administration adequately staffed and funded to manage lands acquired by Conservacion Patagonica?
Like many sectors of the Argentine government, the National Parks Administration has undergone recent budget and staff cuts. Conservacion Patagonica is currently exploring new ways to fund the management of properties we purchase. In the case of Monte Leon we were able to secure funds from the World Bank to support management of the property by the Parks Administration.