Cowboy Dinner and Dance - Honoring Rural Families, Rural Traditions and our Rural Heritage

April 25, 2009

Lincoln County Fairgrounds - Capitan, NM

The Gila Livestock Growers Association (GLGA) www.gilalivestockgrowers.org and the Americans for the Preservation of Western Environment (APWE) www.amprowest.org are sponsoring a Cowboy Dinner and Dance at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds in Capitan, New Mexico on April 25, 2009. Dinner starts at 6:00 pm and the dance at 8:00 pm.

Music by Joe Delk, Bucky Allred and The Delk Band featuring Neal, Mark and Byron Delk, Robert Flowers, Roswell; Roy Garcia, Las Cruces; Dee Ford, Alma; Ty Martin, Silver City; Michael Dean, Muleshoe, TX and a special appearance by Jacy Yarbrough, Winston, NM.

Not too long ago, Saturday-night dances were a common occurrence at many rural locations throughout New Mexico. Families, friends and neighbors coming together to share a meal, visit with one another and enjoy an evening of dancing. We can certainly refer to those days as “the good ole days” and we want to show our younger generation what it was like and allow our older generation to remember the way it was.

There will be no admission charge for the Cowboy Dinner and Dance. All are welcome. However, this is a fundraising event and we ask that you contribute what you can. All monies raised in this effort will be utilized to help end the Mexican Wolf Reintroduction Program and preserve our rural heritage.

The Mexican Wolf Reintroduction Program has evolved into an assault on our rural way-of-life by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) with the help and support of extremist environmental groups like the Center for Biological Diversity, Wildearth Guardians and the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance.

Today, the people and communities in and around the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area, which encompasses the Gila and Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests, are bearing the brunt of the devastating impact the wolf reintroduction program is having on the people and communities that are forced to live with wolves on their ranches, in their yards and in their communities.

The FWS operates under federal law that requires them to work with local government to insure that federal programs are not in violation of local laws or local custom and culture. Federal law requires the FWS to consult with, cooperate with and be consistent with the laws and rights of local government that represents the people. FWS is either not aware of these federal laws or they just plain don’t care because they will run over local elected officials who may feel threatened or intimidated by the actions of federal agencies.

The Mexican Wolf Reintroduction Program has been grossly mismanaged by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and local residents are paying the price. The program is a bust. Ranches have been lost, local businesses are suffering, elk hunting in the Gila will never be what it once was and families are being put in danger every day.

Help us to stop the injustice in the Gila and Apache National Forests before it spreads to other areas of New Mexico.

So, put on your dancin’ boots, saddle up and come to the Cowboy Dinner and Dance in Capitan on April 25th because we’re figurin’ on having an old fashioned good time!

For contributions, please make checks payable to Gila Livestock Grower’s Association for “Preserving our Rural Heritage”. Bring your check to the Cowboy Dinner and Dance or mail to Gila Livestock Grower’s Association (GLGA), HC64, Box 30, Magdalena, NM 87825. Credit Card contributions can be made at www.wolfcrossing.org.


Joe Delk (575) 644-3082~~~~Laura Schneberger (575) 772-5753