The U.S. Forest Service maintains the Shawnee National Forest and has been embroiled in legal battles with various environmental groups for decades.

Three major issues — logging, all-terrain vehicle use and horseback riding — have led to a series of legal battles over the past 20 years.

The tranquility of the Shawnee National Forest belies the turmoil of its recent past.

Stretching across 284,000 acres of rolling hills in southern Illinois, the forest encompasses diverse terrain from lowlands to scenic stone bluffs. It is a hub of biological diversity, with more than 500 wildlife species, seven of which are on the list of federally threatened or endangered species.

For this reason, the 85-mile-wide stretch of countryside from the Ohio River to the Mississippi holds unique value for environmentalists, equestrians, hikers and biologists. The groups’ interests and philosophies have sometimes conflicted with the U.S. Forest Service, which manages the area.

To burn or not to burn? When it comes to issues of forest management in the Shawnee, the debate between wildlife biologists and environmentalists can become heated.

Southern Illinois may not strike anyone as “exotic,” but the area is home to swamps, bluffs,steep hills, rivers, wetlands, miniature canyons and one road full of snakes. The diversity is so thick in this area that Franklin D. Roosevelt sought to protect it in 1939, creating the Shawnee National Forest.

Emphasis: The Right to Know (Say No)