"WEST YELLOWSTONE, Montana -- The nonprofit bison advocacy group Buffalo Field Campaign and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have reached a settlement that requires the agency to process and respond to Freedom of Information Act, FOIA, requests from citizens nationwide in a 'timely' manner."

"The settlement, filed in Montana federal district court on Wednesday, resolves a complaint by Buffalo Field Campaign alleging that the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, APHIS, had improperly withheld government documents and had engaged in a 'pattern or practice' of failing to respond to public information requests in a timely manner.

The complaint alleged that APHIS had repeatedly delayed public disclosure of the documents sought by Buffalo Field Campaign by giving itself extensions of time not permitted by the Freedom of Information Act."

Environment News Service had the story January 3, 2013. [2]