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BioGems Update
 A BIG thank you to BioGems Defenders who recently sent more than 30,000 letters urging the Mexican government to protect the coral reef at Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park.
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 America's Arctic
Keep Shell out of the polar bear's home
The Shell oil company is pressing ahead with a new plan to begin drilling this summer in the Beaufort Sea, just off the coastline of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. As America's largest onshore birthing area for polar bears, this fragile shoreline would be devastated in the event of an oil spill. Oil-covered polar bears stand virtually no chance of survival, and beluga whales and other Arctic wildlife would face a similar fate. What's worse, Shell is relying on an oil spill response plan -- created and approved before last summer's Gulf oil disaster -- that is outdated and woefully inadequate. There is NO proven technology for cleaning up oil in ice-filled waters like the Beaufort. With the Obama Administration under tremendous pressure from Big Oil to allow new drilling in the Arctic, Americans need to send a message loud and clear that we won't stand for another catastrophic oil spill.
»Tell Interior Secretary Salazar to deny Shell's permit to drill in the Beaufort this summer.
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| In the News |
| HUGE VICTORY FOR SOUTHERN FORESTS
In a major victory for NRDC and our environment, Georgia-Pacific, one of the world's largest wood and paper product companies, recently announced it will no longer purchase trees from Endangered Forests and Special Areas, or from new pine plantations established in place of natural hardwood forests on 90 million acres across the south, including parts of our Cumberland Plateau BioGem. The 11 designated Endangered Forests and Special Areas span 600,000 acres across North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Georgia and will be extended over the next few years as additional areas are mapped and identified. Over the past several decades, the intense wood and paper production in the region has destroyed millions of acres of natural hardwood forests to make way for pine plantations. The agreement is a result of six years of discussion between Georgia-Pacific and NRDC, the Dogwood Alliance and the Rainforest Action Network. Congratulations to everyone who worked tirelessly to bring about this historic agreement!
ALASKAN HABITAT DESIGNATED FOR POLAR BEARS
 In good news for polar bears, the Obama Administration has designated more than 187,000 square miles along the north coast of Alaska as “critical habitat” for the bears. The important new safeguard was part of a settlement in an ongoing lawsuit brought by NRDC, Greenpeace and the Center for Biological Diversity. Under the Endangered Species Act, the federal government cannot allow any action that would harm or damage lands designated as critical habitat -- in this case, coastal lands and waters that are vital to the survival of the polar bear. Alaska has already sued to overturn the habitat designation, even though the state's polar bears are increasingly threatened by global warming and Arctic oil development and could face extinction by 2050. In a separate legal challenge also brought by NRDC and our allies, a federal judge is now considering whether polar bears should be granted the full-fledged endangered species protection they so urgently need.
SALAZAR ENDS THE "NO MORE WILDERNESS" POLICY
Last month, Interior Secretary Salazar issued a Secretarial Order ending the Bush-era "no more wilderness" policy, which prevented federal agencies from protecting wilderness-quality lands across the West from destructive oil and gas drilling. More than 10 million acres of western lands have wilderness characteristics but have not been designated as wilderness, including Utah's Upper Desolation Canyon, Wyoming's Adobe Town and New Mexico's Otero Mesa. In the wake of Secretary Salazar's order, we are hopeful that these spectacular lands will now be afforded the protection they need. Thanks to all the BioGems Defenders who made their voices heard on this issue.
BIOGEMS DEFENDERS KEEP EXXONMOBIL OUT OF LOLO NATIONAL FOREST FOR NOW
You've been heard! Officials at the Lolo National Forest have agreed to conduct additional environmental analysis regarding ExxonMobil's request to bury power lines within the forest for an industrial transportation corridor. The corridor would allow ExxonMobil to haul super-sized loads of mining equipment through the forest and onward to tar sands developments in Alberta. Many local residents raised concerns about the possible noise, traffic and pollution from the project, as well as its impacts on nearby Lolo Creek and the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. Back in the summer of 2010, we asked BioGems Defenders to speak out against the proposal, and more than 18,000 of you took action. Forest Service officials have even acknowledged that the overwhelming response from BioGems Defenders -- which made up the majority of comments submitted -- influenced their decision to pursue additional analysis. Kudos to our BioGems Defenders!
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| Action Insider |
| ROBERT REDFORD SPEAKS OUT FOR BRYCE CANYON
 Long-time environmental activist and NRDC Trustee Robert Redford takes a stand against the proposed Alton Coal Mine -- located a mere 10 miles from Bryce Canyon National Park.
GOOD NEWS ON WILDLIFE
Read Andrew Wetzler's latest roundup on good news for wildlife around the world.
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