LANDER - Five conservation organizations sued the federal government today in an attempt to stop the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from feeding elk on the National Elk Refuge in Wyoming.

The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., argues that continued wintertime elk feeding on the federally run refuge near Jackson will "maintain ideal conditions for the transmission of brucellosis, and also is highly likely to invite a devastating outbreak of lethal chronic wasting disease."

Among the groups that have signed on the lawsuit are the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance and the Wyoming Outdoor Council.

An outbreak of chronic wasting disease, which the lawsuit characterizes as "the elk equivalent of 'mad cow' disease," would damage the native habitat around Jackson Hole and "otherwise disrupt the function and stability of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem," the lawsuit claims.

"Basically, we've got way too many animals on too small an area for too long a time," said Barry Reiswig, former National Elk Refuge manager. "They're way over the Elk Refuge's carrying capacity."

Brucellosis, chronic wasting disease, scabies and hoof rot are all diseases of concern for the estimated 7,500 elk that congregate on feedlines each winter, according to Jeff Welsch, spokesman for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition.

"Scabies and hoof rot are already visibly prevalent on the refuge, and the crowded conditions foster brucellosis as well," Welsch wrote in a prepared statement. "The most ominous possibility is the spread of [chronic wasting disease]. In the farm-like conditions of the refuge, disease can spread quickly through the herds. CWD has already been found as close as Thermopolis, about 70 miles to the east."

Rick Coleman, assistant regional director for refuges with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said his agency was aware of the lawsuit Tuesday, but officials didn't yet know the details. Coleman said he was not at liberty to discuss the case or any of its arguments today.

For more, see Wednesday's Casper Star-Tribune.