From the Arctic Refuge to Chilean Patagonia, the last remaining wildlands of the Americas provide critical habitat for endangered wildlife, curb global warming, preserve biodiversity and enrich the lives of people. But pressure to sacrifice these last pristine wildlands to large-scale logging, mining and industrialization is increasing exponentially.

In response to this escalating threat, NRDC launched the BioGems Initiative in 2001 to help ensure that the most exceptional and imperiled wild places in the Western Hemisphere -- our BioGems -- remain wild for the sake of a sustainable planet. Each year, the BioGems Initiative mobilizes hundreds of thousands of concerned citizens to take action via the Internet in defense of these irreplaceable natural treasures and the wildlife that depends on them for survival. Bringing the full power of citizen activism to bear on government officials and corporations, our online activists -- known as BioGems Defenders -- are making extraordinary strides.

When the last unspoiled breeding ground of the Pacific gray whale at Laguna San Ignacio, Mexico, was threatened by Mitsubishi’s plans for a massive salt factory, BioGems Defenders helped block the disastrous scheme in a historic display of citizen protest. Later, a powerful outcry from BioGems Defenders won government protection for more than 5 million acres of the Great Bear Rainforest, a vast coastal temperate rainforest that is home to grizzly bears, wild salmon, wolves, and the Spirit Bear -- a rare white-colored black bear. And year after year, our activists have helped persuade Congress to reject the Bush administration’s efforts to open Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to destructive oil and gas drilling.

The growing list of NRDC BioGems victories proves that even in this era of corporate power and lobbyist-driven politics, individuals can be a powerful force for conservation. Since 2001, the ranks of BioGems Defenders have grown to 500,000 people, who have sent more than 10 million messages on behalf of the Americas’ wildlands. We hope you will join this force for nature, and help preserve our wilderness inheritance by taking action today.