• Timber Products Company abandons mill plans

In May 2004, thanks in large part to nearly 60,000 messages from BioGems Defenders, Oregon-based Timber Products Company withdrew from negotiations to reopen the Ketchikan veneer mill in southeast Alaska. Reviving the mill would increase demand for wood from the Tongass, a vital rainforest habitat for wild salmon, bald eagles and the Sitka black-tailed deer. In late 2003, the Forest Service used the potential reopening of the mill to justify removing federal restrictions on roadbuilding and logging in pristine areas of the forest.