An independent negotiator will help resolve a dispute over the operations of a dude ranch owned by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director John Turner and his family, officials say.

The operation of the Turners' Triangle X ranch located within Grand Teton National Park has come under attack by retiring park Superintendent Jack Stark, who contends the Turners' livestock are damaging sensitive wetlands.National Park Service Director James Ridenour said Thursday he would enlist an intermediary to find solutions to the perceived problems.

When the family's contract to operate the ranch expires next year it will be put out to bid, and there is no guarantee the Turners will get a new agreement, even though they have run the ranch since 1926, Ridenour said in an interview with the Denver Post.

He also said Turner's high government post has never been an issue in the Park Service's attempts to resolve conflicts with the ranch.

The Turners operate the Triangle X guest ranch under a special concession agreement with the federal government. John Turner removed himself from the daily operations of the ranch when he was appointed to the federal office two years ago.

In a letter to Ridenour, Stark had contended that the Park Service should negotiate a new contract because livestock quartered on the ranch - and unnatural hay meadows used to feed them - are degrading areas important to native wildlife.

In an interview Thursday, Stark said the agency must confront the problem the ranch poses for the park.

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