"The legal battle continues over the fate of a herd of wild bison that are roaming the plains of northern Montana for the first time in more than a century.

In March, 63 bison from Yellowstone National Park were relocated to the Fort Peck reservation in northern Montana by federal, state and tribal officials with help from environmentalists. The animals were received with great fanfare by members of the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes, and witnesses described it as an emotional event. “It’s something I’ll never forget,” said Jonathan Proctor, an official with with the group Defenders of Wildlife, which helped arrange the transfer. “I’ve worked on a lot of issues, prairie dogs to grizzly bears. But never before have I seen an animal that’s so important to people.”

But three days after the transfer, a livestock and property rights collective sued, saying that the buffalo could spread disease and compete with their cattle for grazing."

Get the Story:
Leslie MacMillan: A Legal Battle Over Newly Returned Bison (The New York Times 5/31)

Related Stories:
Opinion: Reintroduce wild bison to native habitat in Montana (5/17)
Judge blocks transfers of Yellowstone bison to Montana tribes (5/10)
Non-Indian ranchers unhappy with transfer of bison to tribes (04/27)
Bison from Yellowstone gives birth at Fort Peck Reservation (4/23)
Editorial: Move of Yellowstone bison to tribes a good thing (4/10)
Opinion: Tribes looking to reclaim heritage with bison herds (4/6)
Group protests governor's visit to Fort Peck Tribe bison site (4/3)
Editorial: Allow transfer of bison to Montana reservations (3/28)
Judge's ruling puts hold on move of bison from Yellowstone (3/22)
Fort Peck Tribes accept transfer of bison from Yellowstone (3/21)