A coalition of environmental and Native American groups says it is suing the National Park Service to stop the mass slaughter of bison that migrate outside Yellowstone National Park. 

Listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Western Watershed Project, Buffalo Field Campaign, Tatanka Oyate, Gallatin Wildlife Association, Native Ecosystems Council, the Yellowstone Buffalo Foundation and individuals, including Meghan Gill of Missoula, Charles Irestone of Missoula and Daniel Brister of Arlee. 

The groups claim the “Park Service is violating its statutory mission to preserve wild bison and ‘leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generation,’” the groups said in a news release about the lawsuit. 

During the last 10 years, federal agencies working with the state of Montana have captured and shipped to slaughter more than 3,300 bison to prevent the spread of the animal disease, brucellosis, to cattle.

The lawsuit filed, which was filed Monday, asks for the National Park Service and Forest Service to be barred from taking part in the program. The suit claims the two federal agencies are ignoring their responsibility to preserve the animals. It also says the threat of brucellosis has been overstated. 

Yellowstone's 3,000 bison comprise one of the largest concentrations of the animals in the world. 

In the lawsuit, the groups also accuse the U.S. Forest Service for “failing to manage the Gallatin National Forest in a way that would allow for healthy populations of bison, sage grouse, and related wildlife.” 

According to the news release, the suit would not affect Montana’s bison hunt, which is scheduled to start Sunday, Nov. 15, nor would it affect Native American tribes that retain treaty rights to hunt bison on National Forest lands.

Click here to read more on the lawsuit.