Chilean park in competition to win 23,000 Euros ($31,000) from European Outdoor Conservation Association

Protected area contains Andean Condors, old growth forests, and spectacular marine life

Vote today on the EOCA's English language site >>

NEW YORK (March 26, 2014) – The Wildlife Conservation Society announced today that Karukinka – the Rhode Island-sized wilderness it manages on the Island of Tierra del Fuego in Chile – has been selected for a competition as one of the world's most "breathtaking" places. If it wins, Karukinka will receive 23,000 Euros ($31,000) in funding. The competition is organized by the European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA), which offers funding to implement conservation projects.

WCS is encouraging everyone to participate in online voting and help Karukinka win the prize. Vote today on the EOCA's English language site >>

Karukinka is listed as the last project in the Alpine category. Voting ends on March 31st at 12:00 GMT

Spanning 1,160 square miles, Karukinka contains the world’s southernmost old-growth forests as well as peat bogs, windswept steppes, and snow-covered mountain ranges. It supports Andean condors, Magellanic woodpeckers, Guanacos and spectacular marine life. It is rich in plant species, including southern beech, Chilean fire bush, white dog orchid, and sundew, a small carnivorous plant that devours insects.

Established in 2004 through a private donation, Karukinka is one of the largest gifts ever made for conservation. Karukinka continues to serves as a model of how the private sector can get involved in conservation activities worldwide.

CONTACT:
STEPHEN SAUTNER: (1-718-220-3682; ssautner@wcs.org)
JOHN DELANEY: (1-718-220-3275; jdelaney@wcs.org)
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
MISSION: WCS saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. VISION: WCS envisions a world where wildlife thrives in healthy lands and seas, valued by societies that embrace and benefit from the diversity and integrity of life on earth. To achieve our mission, WCS, based at the Bronx Zoo, harnesses the power of its Global Conservation Program in more than 60 nations and in all the world’s oceans and its five wildlife parks in New York City, visited by 4 million people annually. WCS combines its expertise in the field, zoos, and aquarium to achieve its conservation mission. Visit: www.wcs.org; facebook.com/TheWCS; youtube.com/user/WCSMedia; follow: @theWCS.