In a second attempt to eliminate public-land grazing in the Gravelly Range, a Bozeman-based wildlife group is suing the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest.

On Thursday, the Cottonwood Environmental Law Center filed a lawsuit alleging that the U.S. Forest Service is violating the Endangered Species Act and National Forest Management Act by allowing 8,000 domestic sheep to graze in the Gravelly Mountains. The lawsuit was filed in the Missoula federal district court on behalf of the Gallatin Wildlife Association.

The plaintiffs claim that allowing domestic sheep to graze on the national forest, especially in a wild area near Yellowstone National Park like the Gravelly Range, endangers grizzly bears and wild sheep.