NRDC'S BIOGEMS NEWS 25MAR10

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Hello, Activists! Read on to see the victories you're helping to achieve
Save BioGems - The monthly update for BioGems Defenders - March 2010

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BioGems Update
A big thank you to BioGems Defenders who recently sent more than 42,000 messages to help win strong protections for highly endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales.

BioGems Defenders:
597,276

Action Messages Sent:
12,763,566

» See the timeline of victories we've won


To Do Even More
You can support NRDC's BioGems campaign to save these and other threatened wild places.

Laguna San Ignacio/Baja California

Act Now!Laguna San Ignacio/
Baja California

The Whale Nursery: 10 Years Later

This month we're celebrating the 10th anniversary of one of the biggest environmental victories in NRDC's 40-year history. A decade ago, NRDC activists teamed up with concerned citizens from around the world and helped persuade the Mexican government and the Mitsubishi Corporation to abandon their plans to build a colossal salt-producing factory on the banks of Mexico's Laguna San Ignacio -- the planet's last pristine birthing ground for gray whales. This momentous win against corporate self-interest inspired the launch of NRDC's BioGems Initiative. Since then, BioGems Defenders have helped again and again to stave off threats to the whale nursery. As part of our campaign, we have helped secure permanent protection through conservation easements for some 150,000 key acres on the west side of the lagoon and helped gain protective designations for 109,000 acres of federal lands on the eastern side. Now, it's time to thank Mexico for its conservation efforts and urge it to grant permanent protection to all 206,000 acres of federal lands.

» Thank the Mexican government for protecting Laguna San Ignacio.

» Special feature: Visitors share their reflections on the whale nursery.

In the News
POLAR BEAR DENIED KEY INTERNATIONAL SAFEGUARDS
A proposal to end the commercial trade in polar bear parts and tighten regulation of international trophy hunting was narrowly defeated on March 18 at a meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The proposed protections, sponsored by the United States and vigorously supported by NRDC, would have safeguarded polar bears in regions where they are being hunted unsustainably, even as they grapple with the mounting ravages of global warming. In advance of the meeting, BioGems Defenders sent more than 56,000 messages urging Canada -- where about 300 polar bears are sacrificed to trophy hunting and the commercial trade each year -- to support stronger polar bear protections. The CITES vote was close, and NRDC will be expanding our campaign to win the long-term fight for the polar bear.

NRDC BATTLES DIRTY MINE IN REDROCK COUNTRY
NRDC litigators have defeated an industry-backed motion to dismiss our challenge to a proposed coal mine just 10 miles west of Utah's renowned Bryce Canyon National Park. The Coal Hollow mine would operate 24 hours a day, six days a week, and produce some two million tons of coal annually. Coal shipments would be transported by highway, unleashing a steady parade of double-trailer trucks, dust and vibration into local communities while putting sensitive historical and cultural sites at risk. The National Park Service and the Forest Service have raised concerns that mining-related dust, as well as lighting for the round-the-clock mining operation, could degrade the quality of Bryce Canyon's spectacular night skies -- a major draw for the park's 1.5 million annual visitors. We'll keep you posted on our ongoing legal battle to protect this national treasure.

GRIZZLY BEAR FAVORITE TREE IN JEOPARDY
NRDC is headed to court to win federal protection for the whitebark pine tree, a key food source for threatened Yellowstone grizzly bears and other western wildlife that is rapidly vanishing due to climate change and other threats. We filed suit after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service missed a 90-day deadline to assess our petition requesting protection for the high-elevation tree under the Endangered Species Act. Whitebark pines provide habitat, food and shelter for a vast range of wildlife and are particularly important to the future of Yellowstone's imperiled grizzly population. NRDC is helping to track and monitor the health of whitebark pine forests in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem through a citizen science program and other research efforts.

NEWS FROM OUR CHILEAN PARTNERS
For five years, NRDC's BioGems Initiative has helped defend the pristine beauty of Chile's Patagonia from an unnecessary hydropower development scheme. We, along with the rest of the world, were deeply saddened to hear of the massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Chile on February 27. We have received confirmation that our local partners in Chile are all safe and accounted for, but the country is only beginning to recover from the earthquake's devastating effects. With our partners, we will be encouraging Chile's new president, Sebastian Piñera, to fulfill his vow to make renewable energy and efficiency technologies an important part of the rebuilding process.



Action Insider
LOVE BIRDS?
We do, too. Check out We Love Birds, the new social network for birders, created by NRDC and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Connect with birders across the country and share sightings, stories, tips, photos and videos, watch live nest cams and get the latest bird news. Connect with birders today.