{"id":40917,"date":"2026-04-13T08:00:45","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T12:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/?p=40917"},"modified":"2026-03-02T18:06:59","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T22:06:59","slug":"science-and-community-guide-innovative-conservation-project-in-patagonia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/science-and-community-guide-innovative-conservation-project-in-patagonia.htm","title":{"rendered":"Science and Community Guide Innovative Conservation Project in Patagonia"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Chile carves its way down South America\u2019s western coast, it slowly transitions from deserts in the north to vast, plunging seaside mountains and bountiful forests in the south. This world-famous region at the tip of the continent, known as Patagonia, boasts dozens of national parks.<\/p>\n

In the wild, nearly untouched areas of southern Patagonia at the tip of the continent, these often interconnected parks span over thousands of square miles. However, for decades, land at the northern edge of this region struggled to receive the same level of protection.<\/p>\n

An especially gaping hole in the park map was Fundo Pucheg\u00fc\u00edn, a 328,000-acre swath of wilderness in the heart of northern Patagonia.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis place, it’s an ecological treasure,\u201d says Juan Jose Donoso, Program Director of The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Chile. \u201cIt\u2019s also a very important cultural landscape.\u201d<\/p>\n

This appreciation of the region, also known as the \u201cYosemite of South America,\u201d galvanized a group of conservation organizations and companies when it was listed for sale in 2022. In December of 2025, a group of organizations, including TNC, purchased the land<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Some of the unique biodiversity and ecosystem services that Pucheg\u00fc\u00edn harbors have been catalogued by science, helping to justify this purchase. Yet the true ecological complexity of this place is likely vastly understudied, and new protection may unveil its ecological secrets.<\/p>\n

\"Installation

Installation of camera traps in the Cerro Anfiteatro during the Puelo Patagonia participatory monitoring program in January 2026. (Credit: Puelo Patagonia)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Fundo Pucheg\u00fc\u00edn\u2019s Ecological Importance<\/span><\/h3>\n

Fundo Pucheg\u00fc\u00edn sits just east of the Chilean city of Cocham\u00f3, straddling the border with Argentina. For decades, as other tracts of land surrounding the region became protected, this central region of the Cocham\u00f3 Valley faced pressures such as real estate projects and unregulated tourism.<\/a><\/p>\n

In fact, Donoso says that over several years, much of the land was privately purchased. When it was put up for sale, TNC and others created the non-profit Conserva Pucheg\u00fc\u00edn<\/a> to protect an area with ecological benefits that far outweigh its size.<\/p>\n

The initiative was first led by Puelo Patagonia, a local non-profit, which later invited other organizations, including TNC, to join due to the scale of the territory and the ambitious fundraising effort required.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is part of a missing link, [there was] a missing part of a puzzle,\u201d Donoso says. \u201cBecause having Pucheg\u00fc\u00edn under protection, you will have over 4 million acres of a network of protected areas all across Chile and Argentina.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Chilean government has implemented a long, interconnected system of parks<\/a> south of Pucheg\u00fc\u00edn. Therefore, as the northern end of this vast protected area, Donoso says the coalition\u2019s purchase increases habitat connectivity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a very relevant place as an ecological corridor all across these protected areas,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\"View

View of Cerro Trinidad, located within Fundo Pucheg\u00fc\u00edn. (Credit: Rodrigo Manns)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Conserva Pucheg\u00fc\u00edn already has evidence supporting its importance. Before multiple groups banded together to buy the property, a local non-profit in the region, Puelo Patagonia, supported baseline scientific studies<\/a> in the Cocham\u00f3 Valley.<\/p>\n

Donoso says that one of the most important findings was confirming the presence of the endangered huemul deer in Pucheg\u00fc\u00edn, and a few populations of the extremely rare rodent Wolffsohn’s viscach<\/a>, of which Donoso says little is known.<\/p>\n

The region also contains 11% of the world’s alerce trees<\/a>, large and ancient trees related to North America\u2019s redwoods. Additionally, almost 50% of the property is primary, old-growth forest.<\/p>\n

Puelo Patagonia has also mapped hundreds of square miles of rivers, lakes, and glaciers in Pucheg\u00fc\u00edn, according to its Communications Director, Josefina Vigouroux. In fact, Puelo Patagonia has already protected the Puelo River, whose headwaters start in Pucheg\u00fc\u00edn, by creating a water reserve.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Fernando

Fernando Novoa, Puelo Patagonia wildlife veterinarian, installing camera traps in Pucheg\u00fc\u00edn. (Credit: Puelo Patagonia)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Research and monitoring in their 2024 annual<\/a> report also detailed the hundreds of hectares of wetlands and peatlands in the region, and monitoring has shown it be a vital carbon sink in South America.<\/p>\n

Yet, while Puelo Patagonia\u2019s baseline monitoring showed Pucheg\u00fc\u00edn harbors unique biodiversity, much of it is still unexplored and understudied.<\/p>\n

\u201cPucheg\u00fc\u00edn is one of those rare landscapes where significant scientific discoveries are still possible at scale,\u201d Vigouroux says.<\/p>\n

However, Conserva Pucheg\u00fc\u00edn plans to change this.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a huge property that remains scientifically understudied,\u201d Donoso explains. \u201cSo that will be part of our next steps, and the coalition will be working on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The

The Cocham\u00f3 River is 40-kilometers long and rises in the Andes Mountains, flows through Valle Cocham\u00f3, and empties into the Reloncav\u00ed Estuary. Its watershed was among the first to be protected in Chile, thanks to the local organization Conservaci\u00f3n Cocham\u00f3, which successfully opposed the construction of a seven-dam hydropower project. (Credit: Rodrigo Manns)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Monitoring Pucheg\u00fc\u00edn for the Future<\/span><\/h3>\n

After purchasing Fundo Pucheg\u00fc\u00edn, the coalition\u2019s next steps<\/a> are zoning the area into strict protected and multi-use areas. They plan to strictly conserve 80% of the property, while leaving the remaining 20% to local communities, who will continue living, farming, and implementing sustainable tourism on their land.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will be working in parallel on zoning and participatory planning, so that will help us with conservation planning and monitoring,\u201d Donoso says.<\/p>\n

However, with so little of the property\u2019s ecology well understood, he says more studies and monitoring must take place before these designations can be implemented.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe next steps will be to work on understanding better the whole property, understanding the ecological significance of different species, and the ecosystemic services,\u201d Donoso explains.<\/p>\n

Puelo Patagonia will lead ongoing knowledge-building and monitoring efforts in the area, as part of the work the Conserva Pucheg\u00fc\u00edn alliance needs to move forward. These will include hydrology, ecology, and wildlife research projects.<\/p>\n

\"An

An arriero and his horse on the historic trail to Paso El Le\u00f3n. The route was historically used to move livestock between Chile and Argentina. Today it continues to be used for herding, and is also links Cocham\u00f3 with Argentina, crossing the Andes through native forests, crystal-clear rivers, and mountain landscapes. (Credit: Valentina Thenoux)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWith these new studies, we will [better understand] the property, and that will guide us to develop these conservation strategies,\u201d Donoso says.<\/p>\n

Fundo Pucheg\u00fc\u00edn is also at the brink of a new national conservation strategy within Chile. A few years ago, all of the country\u2019s protected areas were organized under one agency, the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Service<\/a> (SBAP).<\/p>\n

Donoso explains that Pucheg\u00fc\u00edn will be one of the first protected areas under this law that also actively incorporates multi-use activities within its boundaries.<\/p>\n

Hence, why TNC and all the partners within Conserva Pucheg\u00fc\u00edn emphasize the importance of these scientific studies: to ensure they are protecting the most important ecological areas while still respecting local communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s why I really like this project, because of how embedded cultural protection [is] and also biodiversity,\u201d Donoso says.<\/p>\n

\"Adult

Adult male huemul deer captured by a camera trap in Pucheguin (Valle R\u00edo Manso) on January 27th, 2025. (Credit: Puelo Patagonia)<\/p><\/div>\n

Protecting Pucheg\u00fc\u00edn\u2019s Culture Alongside Conservation<\/span><\/h3>\n

Fundo Pucheg\u00fc\u00edn is located within Chile\u2019s Cocham\u00f3 District. Due to its large size, the property itself spans multiple landscapes, including the Cocham\u00f3 Valley, the Puelo River basin, and the Manso River valley, among others.<\/p>\n

Rural families have lived in the Fundo Pucheg\u00fc\u00edn region and greater Cocham\u00f3 Valley for generations, which first saw settlers arrive in the early 1900s<\/a> to farm and ranch. However, unlike other areas, Donoso says these settlers formed a harmonious relationship with the land, using sustainable agriculture practices.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have rural families living here for many generations, maintaining a very traditional livelihood, [and] very connected to conservation,\u201d Donoso says.<\/p>\n

Therefore, when Conserva Pucheg\u00fc\u00edn began exploring the idea of purchasing the land, the organizations knew they needed to include these communities and their traditional knowledge. In fact, Donoso says that the coalition conducted over 100 interviews and meetings with these local inhabitants before the purchase was completed.<\/p>\n

These interactions helped Conserva Pucheg\u00fc\u00edn decide on their 80\/20 split, and it\u2019s likely that the coalition may have never purchased the land without local support.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis knowledge is essential for guiding monitoring efforts, identifying emerging threats, and designing realistic conservation solutions,\u201d Vigoroux says.<\/p>\n

But the community\u2019s deep ties to the land render Donoso confident that the multi-use model will still be successful.<\/p>\n

So while local families continue farming the land or leading tourists into the backcountry, scientists will work right alongside them. The next several years will see the partners monitoring wildlife, water resources, and invasive species to help design the conservation plans that will protect Fundo Pucheg\u00fc\u00edn for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n

Conserva Pucheg\u00fc\u00edn hopes to eventually turn the land over to the Chilean government and ensure long-term protection through national park status, rendering it the northern peak of Chile\u2019s incredible Patagonian park system. For now, however, the work remains on the ground, rooted in an evolving partnership between conservationists, scientists, and locals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s a strong view from the community of protecting this place,\u201d Donoso says.<\/p>\n

\"An

An ancient alerce, an iconic Chilean conifer, is protected by law. Studies have shown that it can store large amounts of carbon, making it a key ally in mitigating the climate crisis. Pucheg\u00fc\u00edn is home to 11% of the world\u2019s alerce trees. (Credit: Henri via Adobe stock)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As Chile carves its way down South America\u2019s western coast, it slowly transitions from deserts in the north to vast, plunging seaside mountains and bountiful forests in the south. This world-famous region at the tip of the continent, known as Patagonia, boasts dozens of national parks. In the wild, nearly untouched areas of southern Patagonia […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":40913,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,5,7,8],"tags":[2909,2908,517,2913,1860,2912,2906,2907,2911,1573,2533,2910],"class_list":["post-40917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-earth-atmosphere","category-featured-articles","category-news","category-newsfeed","tag-chilean-patagonia","tag-cochamo-valley","tag-conservation","tag-ecological-monitoring","tag-ecology","tag-endangered","tag-fundo-pucheguin","tag-patagonia","tag-science","tag-the-nature-conservancy","tag-water-conservation","tag-wildlife-monitoring"],"remote_post_permalink":false,"remote_post_featured_image":false,"yoast_head":"\nScience and Community Guide Innovative Conservation Project in Patagonia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A 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(Credit: Puelo Patagonia)"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/","name":"Environmental Monitor","description":"Application and technology news for environmental professionals","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8b594a2654ef33b01e98456d99a980ef","name":"Sam Norton","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/63c7b190e7810222738222317750e61e11d8136e77a72177d22306d6fc15c86f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/63c7b190e7810222738222317750e61e11d8136e77a72177d22306d6fc15c86f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/63c7b190e7810222738222317750e61e11d8136e77a72177d22306d6fc15c86f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Sam Norton"},"description":"Sam Norton is an Environmental Journalist for Fondriest Environmental. 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