Judge Orders BLM to Fix Montana Grazing Review
A federal judge found the Bureau of Land Management's 2024 environmental assessment of Montana grazing permits fell short on sage-grouse habitat analysis.
Updated on Nov. 14, 2026 in Environmental
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Chief U.S. District Judge Brian Morris ordered the Bureau of Land Management to address shortcomings in its 2024 environmental assessment of renewed grazing permits in the Grasshopper Watershed. He declined to vacate the assessment, granting in part and denying in part cross motions for summary judgment.
Why it matters
The ruling addresses how federal agencies must account for declining sage-grouse populations when approving grazing on public land in Montana. Montana residents and ranchers who depend on these permits will be affected by how the agency responds to the court's directive.
Montana's sage grouse population declined around 30% from 2021 to 2024 and nearly 50% from 2002 to 2024, according to figures cited in the ruling. The agency's response to the forb data omission has not yet been reported.
The players
Brian Morris
Brian Morris is the chief U.S. district judge for the District of Montana who presided over the case and issued the order.
U.S. Bureau of Land Management
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is the federal agency that manages public lands, including grazing permits in Montana, and prepared the environmental assessment.
The details
The court required the agency to include all available data on sage-grouse status and population trends in the Grasshopper Watershed. The judge found the agency's exclusion of forb data from its habitat assessment, without explanation, arbitrary and capricious. The Alliance for the Wild Rockies, Native Ecosystems Council and Council on Wildlife and Fish brought the 2025 suit.
Timeline
2024: Bureau of Land Management issued the environmental assessment of grazing permits.
2025: Conservation groups sued the Bureau of Land Management.
Earlier in 2026: Judge Morris declined to block the southwest Montana grazing project.
November 13, 2026: Judge Morris ordered the agency to fix the environmental assessment.
April 1: Grazing typically begins.
Seasonal Patterns
The ruling enforces the procedural review standards federal agencies must follow under environmental law before approving grazing on western public lands. It applies those standards to sage-grouse habitat in the Grasshopper Watershed, where population declines have been documented over two decades.
Ranchers holding grazing permits in the Grasshopper Watershed could see changes in how and when they graze if the agency revises its analysis. Residents who use public land for recreation may see changes in management of sage-grouse habitat.
The takeaway
Federal grazing decisions on public land must rest on complete habitat data, and courts will test whether agencies have met that standard. Readers tracking Montana wildlife can watch the agency's revised analysis as it is released.
What happens next
Grazing on the permits typically begins April 1, so the agency's response to the court's order will bear on that start.
Further reading
For related coverage, see Environmental news on how federal land decisions affect Montana wildlife.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Court House News Service.
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Should federal agencies have to weigh wildlife population declines before approving public land grazing?
