In
Honor of Phil Morton, 1945-2003
Like most residents of the West Yellowstone area, phil
morton and barb abramo cherished the presence of wild buffalo
in Montana. And like most people in the community, they were
shocked and outraged when the Montana Department of Livestock
slaughtered nearly 1,100 buffalo during the winter of 1996-‘97.
Professional videographers and wildlife artists, phil
and barb spent much of their time together on the Yellowstone
Plateau, videotaping the wild critters and sharing their beauty
and singularity with the world. When they heard that a group
of people calling itself the Buffalo Field Campaign was working
in the area to call attention and build opposition to the buffalo
slaughter—and that their primary tool was to be the video
camera, phil and barb were overjoyed. |
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According to barb, “phil has always been a supporter
of an independent media in getting out the information that
the mainstream media thinks unimportant or trivial and for
this reason we have supported BFC since they came here ...
the footage the campaign captures is absolutely invaluable
in exposing the actions of the DOL who use snowmobiles, ATVs,
horses, trucks and helicopters in their relentless efforts
to keep the buffalo off public lands ... BFC’s footage
has been shown on national TV throughout the years of their
existence ... they also post volunteers on the road to warn
motorists of the presence of buffalo on the road ... as i
write, the DOL is busy hazing the buffalo off of their traditional
calving grounds on Horse Butte, driving these mainly pregnant
cows hard and fast, through the national forest, across the
highway and back into Yellowstone ... as soon as the agency
personnel leave, the buffs turn around and come back out onto
public lands, lands where cattle are never grazed ... these
agency actions cost taxpayers millions of dollars per year;
the federal trough, in particular, seems to be endless in
supplying state agencies with mega-buck$ for this purpose.”
For those working on the frontlines to protect the buffalo,
phil continues to be an inspiration. A first-rate wildlife
videographer, phil believed strongly in BFC's mission to document
and share with the world the buffalo's plight. Any time we
had a problem with an old 3/4 inch video deck or any of our
other video equipment, phil would be out at our cabin within
hours to fix it. He shared tips on shooting video in the Yellowstone
Ecosystem and produced videos with BFC footage. We moved together
into the world of digital video and we hope everyday we still
make him proud. Phil and barb have been family since the day
we moved into West Yellowstone and they both remain so today.
Shortly before his death, phil wrote a note with a present
of a buffalo tie to BFC's Campaign Coordinator, Mike Mease.
The note read:
"i regret not living long enough to see our beloved buffler
WILD, FREE and HUNTABLE again, so i’m depending on you
and barb to bring this about...when you make eye contact with
the big bull, know my spirit is staring back at you...
Love, Phil 'Buffler Bo' Morton"
Phil is survived by his beautiful companion barb, a tireless
advocate for the wild creatures of the Yellowstone ecosystem.
Phil and barb’s work, including their beautiful wildlife
videos, can be viewed on the following sites:
http://homepage.mac.com/philmorton/imovie2.html
http://homepage.mac.com/barbabramo/imovie.html
http://www.customflix.com/Store/ShowTtl.jsp?id=204948
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