Updates
This timeline brings dated public records together while keeping media reports, direct agency statements, publisher-reported responses, approved public evidence, and waiting states visibly distinct.
The newest public evidence signals report August 28 follow-up concerns about concrete work, remaining water, and wildlife. These attributed community accounts are not independent verification.
Water-quality laboratory results and a complete species-by-species wildlife and relocation accounting remain outstanding in the reviewed public record.
AI-assisted discovery may identify candidate public sources, but every entry is reviewed before publication and nothing is published automatically.
Media report · KOB 4
AMAFCA finishes maintenance work at retention basin home to animals
This canonical publisher item was found through the project's reviewed media-discovery process.
The publisher source remains the authority for the report's wording and publication context.
Open sourceMedia report · Audubon Southwest
Extended Drying of The Rio Grande Affects Bosque
This canonical publisher item was found through the project's reviewed media-discovery process.
The publisher source remains the authority for the report's wording and publication context.
Open sourceApproved public evidence · reported beaver found dead
Dead beaver found near Paseo and Coors
Photograph attributed to Jenn Wilson in the accompanying public post. A supplied photograph shows an animal appearing to be a dead beaver beside a roadway. The accompanying public post says the dead beaver was found near Paseo and Coors and identifies it as the same beaver the community had been trying to save by comparing notches in its tail.
The photograph documents the carcass, while the location and identification come from the attributed post. The animal’s identity and the cause, timing, and circumstances of death have not been independently verified; the record does not establish that the La Orilla work caused the death.
Review public evidenceMedia report · Albuquerque Journal
City workers remove dozens of animals from trash catch amid AMAFCA maintenance
This canonical publisher item was found through the project's reviewed media-discovery process.
The publisher source remains the authority for the report's wording and publication context.
Open sourceApproved public evidence · public meeting notice
Public meeting announced for the proposed Bosque Water Reclamation Facility
A supplied screenshot of a public post by the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority announces a September 1, 2026 meeting from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. at the Raymond Sanchez Community Center, 9800 4th Street Northwest, Room 2125, Albuquerque. The agenda includes project purpose, the preliminary engineering report, alternatives, environmental-impact scope, applicable laws, coordinating agencies, project milestones, and public questions and comments.
The screenshot is a public notice and does not establish that the proposed facility is connected to the La Orilla incident or what its environmental effects will be. People who have concerns about what happened at La Orilla and why none of the proposed surveying was done in connection to the location should attend.
Open sourceApproved public evidence · attributed community report
Public post reports a turtle nest and says the beaver had not been removed
A supplied screenshot of a public post reports a nest of baby turtles, large snapping turtles, bullfrogs, and leopard frogs. It says the beaver had not been located or removed, that the Office of Mayor Tim Keller was responding to emails, and that wildlife biologists and the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish were aware.
The August 28 screenshot preserves an attributed community account. It does not independently verify the nest, species, animal status, agency awareness, or proposed handling plan.
Review public evidenceApproved public evidence · public post by Brittany Walters
Public post calls for peaceful advocacy as work continues
A supplied screenshot shows Brittany Walters asking people to make calls, express concerns, and protest peacefully while reporting that a bulldozer was removing material. The post credits its photographs to Kathleen Poole.
The screenshot was created on August 28 and shows the post as two hours old. It preserves an attributed community report and is not independent confirmation of the work or conditions.
Approved public evidence · attributed community report
New public exhibits preserve August 28 follow-up reports
The public gallery now includes supplied screenshots reporting completed concrete work, remaining water, and a smaller beaver that may still have been present.
These screenshots preserve attributed source accounts. They do not independently verify the work, animal count, animal condition, or water level.
Review public evidenceCommunity-supplied written office response
Mayor's office reports City wildlife assistance and a saved beaver
A supplied screenshot shows a written reply attributed to Mayor Tim Keller's office saying City crews assisted wildlife at the site and saved the beaver with other wildlife found there.
The email's authenticity, sender identity, and statements have not been independently verified beyond the supplied screenshots. The reply does not provide a species-by-species accounting, handlers, destinations, permits, work orders, treatment records, water-quality results, or a public canonical response URL.
Review response recordApproved public evidence · attributed message screenshot
Community source reports more than 40 turtles counted
A public exhibit credited to Nichole Hopkins reports more than 40 turtles counted as of 3:30 and names several turtle species and reported relocation destinations.
The screenshot is source material, not an independently verified animal accounting.
Review public evidenceMedia report · KOB 4
Neighbors rally to save frogs, turtles from being buried alive
This canonical publisher item was found through the project's reviewed media-discovery process.
The publisher source remains the authority for the report's wording and publication context.
Open sourceMedia report · 96.3 KKOB
AMAFCA Responds to Wildlife Concerns at North Valley Trash Rack
This canonical publisher item was found through the project's reviewed media-discovery process.
The publisher source remains the authority for the report's wording and publication context.
Open sourcePublisher-reported agency response
Wildlife relocation, rescue access, and planned drainage changes
The publisher reports that the agency was working with Albuquerque Open Space and a wildlife biologist to relocate frogs and turtles, that a beaver had moved on, and that placed dirt was intended to improve rescue access.
A direct agency statement is now available separately in this catalog; this newsroom item remains limited to what 96.3 KKOB attributed to officials. The article does not provide a species-by-species accounting, permit record, named wildlife biologist, relocation destinations, animal-condition assessments, or post-release monitoring plans.
Review response recordApproved public evidence · original public community post
Original public call asks witnesses to document conditions and advocate for wildlife
A public post by Volunteers of the Valencia County Animal Shelter called for people to come to the retention basin east of Sagebrush Church on August 26. The post alleged that animals had been buried during the prior day’s work and asked the public to document conditions and advocate for wildlife.
The public Facebook metadata identifies the account and includes “today 8/26/26 at 9:30 AM,” establishing the calendar date. The allegations are preserved as an attributed community report, not independent confirmation.
Direct agency statement
Maintenance, wildlife relocation, and pending water-quality results
The agency says AMAFCA authorized on-site work at its La Orilla Outlet Water Quality Structure, identifies it as an AMAFCA-owned stormwater facility rather than a retention pond or permanent wildlife habitat, and describes coordination with Albuquerque staff and wildlife biologists while crews drain and clean it.
The statement is the agency's account, not an independent field verification. It does not publish permits or work orders, identify every wildlife professional or relocation destination, provide species-by-species records beyond the approximate count, publish laboratory results, or resolve whether earlier work caused any legal, habitat, or water-quality violation.
Review response recordMedia report · Albuquerque Journal
Neighborhood uproar turns routine ditch maintenance into rescue mission
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.
Publisher reporting is preserved as attributed coverage, not independent verification by this project.
Open sourceMedia report · KRQE News 13
Tensions flare as activists fear plan to clean Albuquerque retention basin would bury animals alive
The report describes advocates monitoring the work, a pause while crews pumped water and relocated wildlife, and uncertainty about the animals' eventual destinations.
Publisher reporting is preserved as attributed coverage, not independent verification by this project.
Open sourceMedia report · KOAT 7 News
'I'm pretty traumatized by it': Wildlife advocates protest decontamination effort at Albuquerque retention basin
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.
Publisher reporting is preserved as attributed coverage, not independent verification by this project.
Open sourceApproved public evidence · public post by Angela Shomin
Initial public post reports pumping, planned fill work, and wildlife concerns
Screenshot supplied by the project; public Facebook post by Angela Shomin. A supplied screenshot sequence of an August 25 Facebook post by Angela Shomin identifies the retention area behind and east of Sagebrush Church. The post reports active pumping and intended fill and bulldozing, reports frogs, turtles, lizards, fish, and beavers, and asks the public to help. A visible update says flood-control and Albuquerque Open Space workers were expected to return at 10 a.m. on August 26 with a biologist.
The post also alleges that animals were being killed or faced burial or impact from dirt and heavy equipment. The screenshots preserve those attributed statements and attached-image context; they do not independently verify deaths, species, animal counts, worker statements, the full work plan, or the time and location of each image.
Review public evidence