A federal judge has halted a contentious government directive that ordered the removal of more than 900 bison from open public grasslands in north-central Montana, delivering a temporary win to conservationists who have managed the herds for over two decades (Our Public Lands and Waters). The ruling, issued on Friday, September 4, 2026, by U.S. District Judge Brian Morris of the Montana District Court, Great Falls Division, grants a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order that keeps the animals in place while the underlying legal battle plays out in court (Our Public Lands and Waters).
The dispute centers on bison owned by the American Prairie Foundation, a conservation nonprofit that has grazed the animals on federal public allotments under permits issued by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) (Our Public Lands and Waters). The legal showdown escalated after Interior Secretary Doug Burgum personally assumed control of the decision-making process at the end of 2025, leading the agency to propose reversing permits it had previously approved following years of environmental reviews (Our Public Lands and Waters). On May 8, the agency issued a final decision ordering the clearance of the herds, which would have forced American Prairie to pull the animals off the range by September 30 (Our Public Lands and Waters).
Court Findings and the Legal Arguments
Judge Morris concluded that the administration’s attempt to scrap the bison grazing permits was probably unlawful, finding merit in arguments brought forward by Earthjustice and the Cochenour Law Office on behalf of the conservation group (Our Public Lands and Waters). Lawyers for American Prairie argued that the BLM had misrepresented the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934, effectively violating federal law by trying to invent a novel legal distinction between livestock raised strictly for commercial profit and livestock managed partly for conservation goals (Our Public Lands and Waters).
“This is an important victory in the fight to ensure American Prairie’s bison can continue grazing on Montana’s prairie, as they have for over two decades,” said Jenny Harbine, Managing Attorney with Earthjustice’s Northern Rockies Office (Our Public Lands and Waters). “The Trump administration’s decision to force more than 900 bison off federal land was illegal and politically motivated. We look forward to presenting our case to ensure bison can remain on public lands across the country.” (Our Public Lands and Waters)
Impact on the Allotments and Herds
The court’s injunction protects bison spanning three specific federal grazing allotments: Telegraph Creek, Box Elder, and Whiterock (Our Public Lands and Waters). Together, these lands support two distinct herds, with roughly 550 animals ranging across Telegraph Creek and Box Elder and another 400 animals located on Whiterock (Our Public Lands and Waters).
Without the judicial intervention, conservation leaders warned that constrained forage and fencing options elsewhere would have left them with no choice but to sell, transfer, or cull approximately 300 bison (Our Public Lands and Waters). Organization representatives noted that such a forced reduction would have risked damaging the herd’s genetic diversity while imposing costs running into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, compounding tens of thousands of dollars in operational losses already incurred due to summer disruptions (Our Public Lands and Waters).
Next Steps in the Federal Lawsuit
While Friday’s order is not the final resolution of the litigation, it successfully preserves one of the most ambitious bison-restoration efforts in the United States for the immediate future (Our Public Lands and Waters). Legal teams from both sides are now preparing for further proceedings in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana to determine the permanent status of the grazing permits.
We welcome your thoughts on this developing legal story. Join the conversation below by sharing your perspective, and feel free to share this report with others interested in public lands and wildlife management.
