"I would . . . say you cannot treat people the way you treat them. There's some personalities that need to be fixed," Moretti said.

Issues have arisen between the agencies, he said. "Mostly, we're trying to work with them and we continue to just get a bureaucracy . . . that just grinds everything to a halt. And after a while, you begin to take it personally."

Moretti cited the archaeological survey carried out before a land trade involving the Jensen property, part of the state's acquisition of the Range Creek site in eastern Utah. Wildlife Resources sent the state archaeologist's office a letter saying it wanted to survey 25 percent of the property to get the matter settled before the snow flies, he said.

"You just wouldn't believe" how upset the archaeologists were, he said.

In drafts of letters, the archaeologist's office accused Wildlife Resources of being unprofessional, Moretti said. Then both agencies decided to pull all their letters and work out a solution, he added. Hunt Oil, which was acquiring the Jensen property in a three-way trade, agreed to put up money to carry out an excavation, he added.

"That's just one of many incidents," Moretti said. "A lot of people are frustrated with them, not just us."

The state archaeologist takes umbrage at that.

"He said there's a problem. He said we were obstructionists in the way we deal with cultural resources, and we were inconsiderate of their employees. He said something about nasty e-mails. I really don't know what he's talking about," Jones said.

The Division of State History opposes the change, he said.

His office is independent and "dedicated completely to state history, to understanding it and educating our citizens, protecting historic sites," he said. "And we advise state agencies."

Other agencies are legally required to check with his office before they undertake a project that might have an impact on archaeological or historic sites, he said. "Our motives are to act in the best interests of the state, to protect our important heritage."

To move this watchdog office as proposed by Johnson would put it in a secondary role within an agency "whose purpose is to protect wildlife," he said.

When Wildlife Resources prioritizes its budget, will it place archaeology and history high on its list? "I don't think so. They have other priorities."

His take on the dispute over the Jensen property is that archaeologists worked hard with Wildlife Resources "to help them meet their statutory responsibilities."