Judge Halts Grazing
Near Yellowstone Park

BILLINGS, Mont. — A federal judge has ordered a halt to cattle grazing on land near Yellowstone National Park's western border until the U.S. Forest Service studies how it affects bison.

U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina adopted the recommendation made by a federal magistrate earlier this month.

Environmental activist groups called the decision a win in their effort to stop grazing in the Horse Butte area, which is frequently used by bison that leave the park each winter in search of forage.

Fears the bison may spread brucellosis to cattle herds led to a management plan that sometimes calls for the killing of infected bison, a practice many activist groups oppose.

``With this ruling, there should be no reason to continue killing bison,'' said Michael Scott, executive director of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition.

Rich Inman, deputy supervisor of the Gallatin National Forest, said the agency would comply with the injunction.

A coalition of activist groups sued the Forest Service last year, arguing the agency never completed a required environmental assessment before re-issuing a 10-year grazing permit for the roughly 2000-acre Horse Butte allotment. The Forest Service said its environmental review was delayed by a backlog and that it was required to re-issue the permit in the meantime.

In his order, Urbina agreed with the magistrate's findings that the Forest Service did not meet its required deadline to complete the study. Inman said the environmental review is expected to be completed by 2004.

Many bison in Yellowstone carry brucellosis, which can cause cows to abort. Ranchers fear bison that leave the park will spread the disease to their cattle.