The decision by ExxonMobil subsidiary Imperial Oil to seek a new route for its three-story-high shipments is a victory for Kooskia residents Linwood Laughy, his wife Borg Hendrickson and Peter Grubb, co-owner of the River Dance Lodge in Syringa, and ROW Adventures.

These Idahoans took on the state and one of the biggest corporations and won. Imperial is spending an additional $72 million to break down 145 of the Korean-built modules and ship them on alternative routes.

The lawsuits the three brought along with Idaho Rivers United and other environmental groups became a national cause célèbre against the tar sands oil fields where the modules were bound in northern Alberta. Their fight to simply keep their highway open for emergency vehicles, anglers and floaters became a part of the larger fight to block approval for the Keystone XL Pipeline from the tar sands region to the Gulf.

This weekend, thousands turned out to circle the White House in opposition.

Idaho’s other interests in the shipments, the future of the Port of Lewiston and the ability of other shippers to move smaller and fewer larger loads on the state’s highways has been lost in the specific fight to protect the Wild and Scenic River corridor on U.S. 12. which snakes up the Clearwater River past Orofino and into Montana. But its not for lack of use of the power of state government.

The state’s industry lobbyists got fully behind the effort to permit the loads at all costs even though there was little economic benefit for Idaho. Unlike many of the state’s traditional industries, the oil industry has shown it will pay whatever it takes as long as it is profitable to do what it needs to do to drill, ship and deliver its products.

Imperial was told the shipments through the Port of Lewiston would not be a problem if a few power lines were moved, a few trees trimmed and it paid for extra Idaho State Police patrols. In the end Imperial is paying $500,000 per module to break them down here so they can use another route.

One could argue that more jobs were created in Idaho by the environmental law firm of Advocates for the West in forcing the alternative routes than all the state and industry lobbying combined.

What didn’t happen was a complete public process before Imperial was told it would be able to make the shipments. It had already begun shipping the modules to Lewiston in 2010 before any official approval based on assurances from Gov. Butch Otter’s administration.

It wasn't until public safety issues from blocking the highway were identified. It took a lawsuit for consideration of the implications for the Wild and Scenic River corridor to rise.

Would Imperial be better off now had the public process come before the shipments arrived in Lewiston? We’ll never know.

And Imperial wasn’t the only company that paid. ConocoPhillips only wanted to move four loads but is plan got caught up in the fight over Imperial’s 205 loads.

ConocoPhillips had to go all the way to the Idaho Supreme Court to get its shipments approved. The oil refiner’s experience demonstrated just how hard the over-sized loads would be to ship over the route that Lewis and Clark took in 1805.

Imperial said it isn’t giving up on the U.S. 12 route and that’s keeping opponents vigilant.

“While we’re celebrating Imperial’s immediate change of plans, the long term threat remains,” said Kevin Lewis, Idaho Rivers conservation director.

The uncertainty for the future of the Port of Lewiston also continues. But for Laughy, Hendrickson and Grubb life along the Lochsa may get back to normal for now.