Prior to starting my PhD, I explored southern Chile and Argentina and paddled the largest rivers that I ever have. The gravity of the developmental pressure in these remote places hit me like a ton of bricks. The Aysen region is home to less than 105, 000 people (0.96 people/ km2), and to the largest glaciers in the southern hemisphere, after Antartica. The rugged and remote landscape has remained relatively untouched by the drastic land-use change and urbanization that North America and parts of South America have seen in the past century. The past decade has brought more attention to preserving the region, particularly in light of increasing rates of glacial retreat and plans by the Chilean government to dam major rivers of Patagonia.
