"The temporary restraining order marked a major victory for American Prairie, which has spent more than 20 years restoring buffalo in Montana."
"A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to evict hundreds of bison from public lands in Montana.
The preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order, issued by U.S. District Judge Brian Morris, marks a win for American Prairie, a Montana-based conservation organization that for more than two decades has worked to restore bison to public and private lands in the state.
“Bison belong on this landscape, and today’s ruling gives them a chance to stay,” American Prairie CEO Alison Fox said in a statement. “For more than 20 years, our bison have grazed these lands under federal authorization and without grazing violations. The court recognized the concrete harm that removing them would cause, not just to our work, but to our Tribal partners and the broader effort to return bison to their native home.”
The Bureau of Land Management withdrew American Prairie’s permits to graze buffalo on federal public lands earlier this year, arguing that the animals amounted to wildlife rather than “production-oriented” livestock. A few days later, BLM issued new grazing regulations that could block future permittees from grazing buffalo on federal public land."
Jimmy Tobias and Roque Planas report for Public Domain September 4, 2026.
