Doug Tompkins, founder of The North Face, and his wife Kristine spent roughly 25 years buying up pieces of land in Chilean Patagonia with the end goal of donating it back to the host country for the creation of protected wilderness areas.

Mr. Tompkins died in 2015, never having seen his dream become a reality. Now, less than two years after his death, Mrs. Tompkins has seen the project through by donating one million acres to Chile that will aid in the establishment of 17 new national parks.