Patagonia Ecosystems: The Chile Project
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The vast landscape of fjords, glaciers and ancient forests of southern Chile was one of the last places in the world to be explored and remains one of the most pristine on earth. In this program, team members will take part in unique firsthand investigations of Patagonia’s diverse ecosystems, the species they support, the people who depend on them, and their conservation in a region experiencing the pressures of rapid economic growth.
We will immerse ourselves into the fascinating natural history and biogeography of this region, where some species remain little-changed since the breakup of Gondwana 200 million years ago, and we will gain personal familiarity with the ecological diversity of southern Chile, ranging from vast mountain ice fields to grassy steppes and diverse coastal temperate rainforests. Together we will explore national parks, privately-owned protected areas, as well as unprotected wildlands in southern Chile to study the ecology, conservation, and management of ecosystems and threatened wildlife populations. Through extensive field studies, information exchanges with land managers, conservation practitioners, scientists, and local community members, we will examine on-site the intertwined scientific, cultural, and management dimensions - and the global economic forces - shaping conservation strategies in Chile today. 
Prior field study experience is not needed for this program - all the skills needed to conduct our research projects will be taught on-site in Chile. However, it is important to note that field study can be challenging in ways that a classroom setting is not, and participants should expect to be challenged from time to time by long days on the trail, rainy and windy weather, changes of plan, etc. The reward of course is the opportunity to live in and learn from fascinating ecosystems and spectacular landscapes. The ability to speak Spanish is also not a course prerequisite; we will offer some individually tailored lessons depending on students’ prior level.
THE PROJECT
Team members will have opportunities for hands-on investigations of the ecology and conservation of southern Chile’s species and communities. Our first objective is to become fluent in the natural history of this region, its climate and geography, and to become intimately familiar with many of the species that live therein. We will ramble across a transect of ecological systems ranging from coastal Valdivan rainforests, home of the ancient alerce trees, to the alpine forests, tundra, and snowfields of the Andes, and the grasslands that lie in the rainshadow of the cordillera. As we become familiar with the inhabitants of these ecosystems, we will conduct ecological research projects, examining interactions, patterns of diversity, and ecological niches of species we encounter. We will also investigate the effectiveness of key conservation measures such as the establishment of national parks and private reserves which seek to create sustainable livelihoods for local communities while protecting biodiversity, and we will participate in ongoing conservation, restoration, and sustainable agriculture projects.
Highlights will include extended field investigations in Parque Pumalín, one of the largest private nature reserves in the world, and Parque Nacional Chiloé, on the fabled Isla Grande. These are two remarkable natural laboratories with intact forest and wildlife communities. However, despite their protected status and almost impenetrable landscapes, daunting conservation challenges loom, ranging from unsustainable and unregulated resource use by local communities to ambitious multinational development plans including new roads, dams, and salmon farming.
Through on-site field studies and research projects, participants will have unique opportunities to assess major issues affecting biological conservation and sustainable human communities in Chile today, while discovering hopeful strategies needed to meet tomorrow’s environmental challenges.
Full information available on request.
PROGRAM LEADER
JONATHAN COOP, is a Colorado-based field ecologist engaged in teaching, research, and conservation projects across a variety of mountain ecosystems.