MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS • July 10, 2023
I first met Doug Tompkins in 1991 when he gathered wilderness activists and conservation biologists to discuss how to reinvigorate the conservation movement. One consequence of that meeting was the formation of the Wildlands Project, which advocated for a continental vision of protected wildlands across North America using conservation biology concepts. Doug constantly reminded me that most conservation groups were too timid and lacked the imagination and courage to think big. He even chided me as board president of RESTORE: The North Woods because he thought our 3.2 million acre proposal for a Maine Woods National Park was too “small,” though it was a million acres larger than Yellowstone National Park. Doug kept telling me to argue for 5 million acres. Doug didn’t lack courage, vision, or imagination when advocating for large, protected landscapes. ~ George Wuerthner