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BILLINGS, Mont. — A wildlife advocate and a freelance journalist sued the National Park Service on Tuesday to gain access to a program that ships Yellowstone National Park bison to slaughter.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Wyoming comes as federal and state officials plan to kill up to 900 bison this winter through slaughter and hunting. It’s part of a much-criticized effort to reduce the size of the park’s bison herds, in order to protect livestock in Montana from the disease brucellosis.

During the capture operations, portions of the park near its border with Montana are closed as bison attempt to migrate in search of food at lower elevations in Montana. Public access also is restricted at a large corral that holds bison destined for slaughter.

Those restrictions violate free speech protections under the First Amendment by limiting access for journalists and the public, according to the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs in the case are Stephany Seay with the Buffalo Field Campaign and New York-based freelance journalist Christopher Ketcham. They’re being represented by attorneys with the Animal Legal Defense Fund; a private Wyoming law firm, Fuller, Sandefer and Associates; and two constitutional law professors from the University of Denver.