Vast stretches of Canada's boreal forest are undisturbed by development, providing refuge on a grand scale for caribou, gray wolves and millions of songbirds that nest in the dense woods. But the wildest stretch of this great forest -- its very heart -- will remain threatened by transmission lines, roads, mining and large-scale logging, unless the government grants permanent protection to the boreal's unspoiled expanses.

In response to these dangers, BioGems Defenders have joined other environmental activists and indigenous communities in an urgent campaign to save the Heart of the Boreal Forest. Staving off industrial development may hinge on an ambitious proposal that would create a United Nations World Heritage Site within this vital area. Encompassing 10.6 million acres in Manitoba and Ontario, the U.N. site would include two provincial parks in addition to the traditional territories of involved First Nations. As an important step toward conservation, the Manitoba government has introduced legislation that would give First Nations more control over land use planning. But Poplar River First Nation -- the first community to complete its land use plan -- is still waiting to have its decision to permanently protect two million acres of this pristine boreal forest confirmed.

Tell the Manitoba government to grant permanent protection to lands in the Heart of the Boreal Forest identified by Poplar River First Nation.