The combination of RACE's public campaign in opposition to clearcutting in combination with Mr. Woods' letter was enough to break the Forest Service. They sent a letter in response to Mr. Woods letter in which they announced that they were suspending all the timber sales on the Shawnee National Forest. It was an incredible moment for a grassroots, poorly funded, organization like RACE. We had actually brought the Shawnee National Forest to it's symbolic knees, in spite of their coalition with the Sierra Club, Illinois Audubon and others. These groups were quiet on the sidelines waiting for the plan amendment promised by the settlement. This victory was RACE's and RACE's alone, and people in the Shawnee counties knew it.

But the battle was just beginning.

To be Continued.