Five years ago, our very first BioGems campaign won a stunning victory over the
Mitsubishi Corporation and its plan to build a colossal salt factory on the
banks of the world's last undisturbed gray whale birthing ground -- at San
Ignacio Lagoon in Baja, Mexico.
Thanks to our efforts, when hundreds of pregnant gray whales arrive at the
lagoon each winter they still find what generations of whales before them have
always found: warm, tranquil waters for giving birth . . . complete sanctuary
from killer orcas . . . and placid surf where one-ton newborns can hone their
swimming skills for the arduous journey back to Alaska.
But San Ignacio Lagoon has never received permanent protection. And, today,
there are ominous signs that this irreplaceable whale nursery may soon be
threatened by plans for industrialization . . . oil and gas drilling . . .
massive high-rise hotels . . . and resort marinas with ocean-bound ships.
That's why NRDC and our Mexican partners are now racing to safeguard the
whales' lagoon in the only way possible: by buying up the development rights to
the surrounding one million acres and putting them off-limits to industry
forever.
Securing a stretch of coastline this big could easily cost tens of billions of
dollars in the United States. But we estimate the total cost of permanently
protecting Mexico's San Ignacio Lagoon to be about $9.9 million. That's an
average cost of only $10 per acre!
At that price, saving the gray whale nursery is not just feasible, it's a dream
that BioGems Defenders like you can turn into a beautiful reality. And that is
how it should be. After all, it took one million citizens to bring Mitsubishi
to its knees back in 2000. So it's only right that every BioGems Defender
should have a stake in saving the gray whale nursery forever.
We need to purchase the development rights for the first 140,000 acres of land
within the next month. To meet that deadline, we're counting on your immediate
support.
Please look into your own heart and decide what it's worth that Pacific gray
whales will always have one perfect lagoon, where their newborns can enter the
world as Mother Nature intended -- wild and free.
Then please go to
https://www.savebiogems.org/baja/donate_d.aspand protect just as many acres of this irreplaceable whale habitat as you
possibly can by making your most generous donation.
If you want to do even more, then please forward this message to anyone you
know who might want to help save our planet's last undisturbed gray whale
nursery. Thank you.