A U.S. judge on March 7 ruled against native tribes seeking to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline from moving forward on the basis that it would prevent them from practicing religious ceremonies, as legal options for opponents of the project narrow.

Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, in a written ruling, rejected the tribe's request for an injunction to withdraw permission for the last link of the oil pipeline under Lake Oahe in North Dakota.