Now more than ever, North and South America's last wildlands and rarest wildlife are under threat from logging, mining, drilling and industrialization.

Launched in 2001, NRDC's BioGems Initiative harnesses the power of online citizen activism to help save our continent’s most endangered natural treasures — our BioGems — for the sake of a sustainable planet and all future generations. Each year, we mobilize 1.4 million NRDC Members and online activists to bring overwhelming pressure to bear on governments and companies bent on industrializing the world’s last wild places.

NRDC selects special places across the Americas that face an imminent threat of destruction: pristine coastlines that could become industrial ports; ancient forests that could be stripped of trees; and unspoiled wildlife habitats that could be sacrificed to oil and gas drilling. Our imperiled BioGems are irreplaceable remnants of wilderness that curb global warming, preserve biodiversity and provide sanctuary for rare and extraordinary wildlife, from threatened polar bears to endangered gray whales.

Our celebrity partners help shine a spotlight on issues they care deeply about. Robert Redford is spearheading our campaign to keep the Polar Bear Seas safe from oil drilling. Leonardo DiCaprio has sounded the alarm for polar bears and Pierce Brosnan has led our campaign to end the commercial slaughter of whales.

Together, BioGems Defenders and our local partners on the ground have scored dozens of historic victories for the environment, proving that individuals can be a powerful force for conservation.

In 2012 alone, we prevailed upon President Obama to reject a crucial permit for the destructive Keystone XL tar sands pipeline; helped persuade Mexico to grant a new level of protection to key lands surrounding the gray whale nursery in San Ignacio Lagoon; and helped defeat ExxonMobil’s plan to turn a pristine stretch of the Rocky Mountains into an industrial transportation corridor.

But NRDC’s fight for nature never ends. Become a BioGems Defender today and help us defend some of our planet’s last wild places and most threatened wildlife. Our future depends on it.