The Beaverhead Deerlodge National Forest must level the playing field for bighorn sheep when evaluating grazing allotments in the Gravelly Mountains, according to a federal court judge.

Last week, Butte federal District Judge Brian Morris concluded that the Beaverhead Deerlodge National Forest didn't follow laws related to public process and preservation of wildlife habitat when it allowed sheep grazing to continue near bighorn sheep in the Gravelly Mountains of southwestern Montana.