Employees from the Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority were accused of burying animals alive at a site along the Rio Grande this week in a Facebook post by a page belonging to the Volunteers of the Valencia County Animal Shelter.
Witnesses Angela Shomin and Brittany Walters say they encountered AMAFCA workers pumping the La Orilla Outlet Water Quality Structure dry and filling it with dirt on Tuesday, suffocating the animals that called the basin home, according to the post. On Wednesday morning, volunteers came to the site with nets and buckets to catch any wildlife left in the basin.
La Orilla is a stormwater facility designed to capture debris before it reaches the Rio Grande. A statement issued by AMAFCA on Wednesday said that though some water could persist at the site, it is not intended to function as a permanent pond or wildlife habitat and is designed to drain following storm events. The draining of the La Orilla structure was ordered with the intention of cleaning the site and reestablishing the drainage process.
“We have to maintain this facility so it continues keeping trash and debris out of the river. At the same time, we want to do everything we reasonably can to protect the wildlife we encounter while we do that work,” AMAFCA Director of Operations and Management Paula Dodge-Kwan wrote in the statement.
After AMAFCA crews were notified of wildlife in the area, they halted the draining operation and contacted the City of Albuquerque and other organizations, who met with AMAFCA and wildlife biologists the following morning on Wednesday. The biologists recommended that the drainage continue to “restore the facility to its intended function and to allow wildlife professionals to safely locate and relocate animals remaining in the structure,” according to the AMAFCA statement.
According to Walters, communication between volunteers and AMAFCA was unclear.
“The biologists wouldn’t tell us how many animals they were taking out. I mean, we were just guessing,” Walters said of the number of animals rescued Thursday. Walters went on to say that the basin was completely emptied as of Friday.
The statement issued by AMAFCA claimed that, as of Wednesday evening, “approximately eight to ten turtles, primarily red-eared sliders, and several bullfrogs” had been relocated.
On Saturday, a beaver was found dead next to a road near La Orilla, according to another post by volunteers visiting the site. Walters said that she was told by the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish and AMAFCA that the beavers would leave and find a new water source.
“They manage forests. They help with forest fires. They help retain water,” Walters said of the importance of beavers to an ecosystem.
The Daily Lobo made multiple attempts to contact Dodge-Kwan via email and phone regarding the beaver and the timeline for the operation at La Orilla.
Max Ulz is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @Dailylobo
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
