"To everything there is a season . ."

A time to dispute, and a time just to talk

Column by David Warner

We regularly receive press releases from the Buffalo Field Campaign which the BFC calls a "Report from the Field."

In the most recent such report we read a description of an unusual encounter between two BFC'rs and a man identified as Travis and Travis's young son.

The encounter occurred near the home of Dale Koelzer, shortly after Koelzer passed away. Dale and the BFC had long been on directly opposite sides of the question of what to do with bison that leave Yellowstone Park. A well known, widely publicized, bison trap is located on Koelzer's property.

We quickly recognized the "Travis" in the report as Travis Uehling, Dale's grandson, Mary and Ken Davis's oldest son, a 1992 graduate of West Yellowstone High School. We were able to get in touch with Uehling and asked for his thoughts on what the BFC writer had provided.

He'd read the Report from the Field, and it told the story pretty much exactly the way he remembered it, he told us.

"We walked on up to where they were," he said, "and just before we got there, I warned my boy, 'These people might say some bad things about Grandpa.' But they didn't."

We explained to Uehling that, especially considering the season, we thought it would be a nice thing to share with our readers.

"I think so too," he responded.

WAYNE - MAYBE CHANGE FONT HERE

€ Last week, as Dale's family was in town, Laura and I were watching a group of bulls that were just within Yellowstone's borders. We were camped on a strip of National Forest land between Yellowstone and Dale Koelzer's property.

A man and a boy approached us from the Koelzer property. The man asked if they could come into our camp, and we welcomed them. He said, "Your 'favorite' person in the world just died - he was my grandfather."

He introduced himself as Travis. His son was with him and they wanted to talk about the buffalo - not about the politics - but about the buffalo themselves. We had good conversation. We shared stories. We joked with each other. We learned things from one another.

It was such a refreshing and human moment and it gave us a lot of hope for the future. Travis and his son were so friendly and genuine; new generations with, perhaps, different ideas on how things should be. Laura and I were moved by our interaction with them, we later regretted we hadn't shaken their hands.

We don't know what will happen next, but we can't help but be a little optimistic. Earlier that morning, those four bulls had been on Koelzer's property, and Travis and his son spoke to us about them and seemed pleased by their presence. It gives us strong hope for the future.

Thank you, Travis and son, for coming and talking with us. We look forward to building relationship, open dialogue, and a new direction.

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