BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Sixty-four bison from Yellowstone National Park have arrived at northeastern Montana’s Fort Peck Reservation.
Monday’s transfer is part of a long-stalled initiative meant to repopulate parts of the West with genetically pure bison.
The nearly 500-mile trip was capped by a welcoming caravan of tribal members who fell into line behind the five trailers that carried the bison across the Missouri River and onto the reservation.
Tribal leaders have long sought the relocation as a chance to revive their connection with an animal that has close cultural and historical ties to their ancestors.
Opposing landowners and property rights groups tried to stop the move by filing a request for a temporary restraining order Monday afternoon, but a state judge did not rule in time to halt the bison’s arrival.
