Media coverage
Review credited reports from local publishers about the La Orilla waterway. Every video report is paired with publisher attribution, a visible source link, and a readable text alternative.
The project distinguishes publisher reporting from independently verified facts and identifies claims that still require official confirmation.
AMAFCA finishes maintenance work at retention basin home to animals
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KOB 4 did not publish a downloadable caption track or transcript with this report. This fallback follows the text published with the report and preserves the publisher’s wording for quoted speech; it is not a verbatim or time-coded transcript.
KOB 4 reports that the Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority finished maintenance at the La Orilla Outlet Water Quality Structure and that wildlife teams relocated more than 65 turtles. The report says AMAFCA reported no dead or injured wildlife during the work, while some advocates disputed that account. It also says Albuquerque's Environmental Health Department Urban Biology Division led the wildlife response and that dry conditions contributed to wildlife using the facility.
Extended Drying of The Rio Grande Affects Bosque
Read at Audubon SouthwestCity workers remove dozens of animals from trash catch amid AMAFCA maintenance
Read at Albuquerque Journal
Neighbors rally to save frogs, turtles from being buried alive
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KOB 4 did not publish a downloadable caption track or transcript with this report. This fallback follows the text published with the report and preserves the publisher’s wording for quoted speech; it is not a verbatim or time-coded transcript.
KOB 4 reports that community advocates said they saw AMAFCA crews pushing sand into the basin near Coors Boulevard and Sagebrush Church and feared that tadpoles, frogs, and turtles were being buried. The article includes a correction stating that the Water Authority was not involved and that the basin is under the control of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority. It describes the area as a stormwater trash rack and reports AMAFCA's account that the work was maintenance, while wildlife advocates raised concerns about the animals.
AMAFCA Responds to Wildlife Concerns at North Valley Trash Rack
Read at 96.3 KKOBNeighborhood uproar turns routine ditch maintenance into rescue mission
The Albuquerque Journal reports that routine maintenance at a West Side arroyo trash catch became a community wildlife rescue after turtles, toads, and a beaver were reported at the site during historic drought.
The report documents Albuquerque Open Space biologists and community members searching the drained trash catch for animals while the Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority delayed cleaning work.
Read the full story at the Albuquerque Journal
Tensions flare as activists fear plan to clean Albuquerque retention basin would bury animals alive
KRQE News 13 reports on a planned retention-basin cleanup, wildlife advocates' concerns, and crews working around animals including turtles, frogs, tadpoles, and beavers.
The report describes advocates monitoring the work, a pause while crews pumped water and relocated wildlife, and uncertainty about the animals' eventual destinations.
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KRQE News 13 did not publish a downloadable caption track or transcript with this report. This fallback follows the text published with the report and preserves the publisher’s wording for quoted speech; it is not a verbatim or time-coded transcript.
The published report says flood-control workers planned to fill part of a retention pond near Coors Boulevard while turtles, frogs, tadpoles, and beavers were living there, prompting community concern.
Brittany Walters said tadpoles, frogs, and turtles were being covered and pushed away. She said advocates later saw turtles trying to crawl out and escape.
The report recounts an Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority worker telling advocates they could use a net to remove animals. Angela Sochil said nets were on the way. The worker replied that the project still had to be completed and people could not enter the work area.
Advocates continued monitoring the work on Wednesday. The authority slowed the project while crews pumped water and relocated wildlife. A worker said the project had changed from two days to two weeks; an advocate responded that it should have been a two-week project from the beginning.
Albuquerque’s Environmental Health Department said the work was intended to keep stagnant water from flowing into the Rio Grande because of contamination concerns. The department’s deputy director said the city’s policy is to coexist with wildlife and protect animals using the site as habitat or seeking water.
The report says the city was still deciding where to move the animals, with the bosque ponds at Tingley Beach mentioned as one possible destination for turtles. The flood-control authority said it had caught and relocated some wildlife and hoped to drain the pond by Monday.
'I'm pretty traumatized by it': Wildlife advocates protest decontamination effort at Albuquerque retention basin
A decontamination effort at a west Albuquerque retention basin has sparked protests from wildlife advocates concerned about its impact on local animals.
KOAT reports that the Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority was pumping the basin dry while wildlife advocates raised concerns about animals and the surrounding ecosystem.
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KOAT 7 News did not publish a downloadable caption track or transcript with this report. This fallback follows the text published with the report and preserves the publisher’s wording for quoted speech; it is not a verbatim or time-coded transcript.
The published report says Angela Shomin recorded the Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority pumping the basin dry on Tuesday while advocates feared local wildlife would be buried.
Shomin said, “They are covering them with dirt and going to be running them over,” referring to the animals.
Brit Walters said the scene made her sick to her stomach and left her traumatized. She said she could not understand how anyone could bury a living animal and that advocates had been told crews had a job to do.
Alex Price said too many people were fighting over too little water and feared the animals would suffer.
Mark DiMenna, deputy director of Albuquerque’s Environmental Health Department, said the city’s open space is shared and should be preserved. He said shrinking habitat brings wildlife wherever water is available and that the animals must be handled accordingly.
The report says the flood-control authority returned Wednesday to work with the Environmental Health Department to move wildlife to safety. The city said no animals were killed during the process and directed environmental or animal-welfare concerns to 311.