BILLINGS — A settlement in a legal dispute over an endangered fish in the Yellowstone River has been delayed.
Environmental groups sued the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in February, challenging a $59 million dam and irrigation diversion on the Yellowstone near the Montana-North Dakota border.
The groups claimed the dam would hurt a small, aging population of pallid sturgeon. U.S. District Judge Brian Morris blocked construction of the project in September.
Attorneys in the case said Wednesday that the U.S. Justice Department still was reviewing a tentative agreement that would resolve the matter. The attorneys said they will finalize a deal or notify the court otherwise by Jan. 8.
Pallid sturgeon are known for their distinctive shovel-shaped snout and can live 50 years, reaching 6 feet in length.