NEWS
Neighborhood uproar turns routine ditch maintenance into rescue mission
Officials say animals gathering in trash catch areas due to drought and dry river
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What was once a routine maintenance of an arroyo trash catch turned into a community mission to save wildlife after numerous turtles, toads and one beaver reportedly made the West Side sump their home amid a historic drought.
Paula Dodge-Kwan, with the Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority, said removing the critters would delay by a few days the cleaning of one of dozens of trash catches in the city in need of annual maintenance.
She said there had not been wildlife in the drainage before, but likely due to a dry Rio Grande and little water elsewhere, the animals had found it where they could. Dodge-Kwan said there was never any intention by AMAFCA to bury the animals 鈥渁live鈥� as neighbors reported on social media.
鈥淚鈥檓 sure there are times we have run over frogs鈥� in day-to-day activities, she said, but the agency would not purposefully kill wildlife.
Dodge-Kwan said AMAFCA received complaints from residents near the catchment just east of Sagebrush Church near Coors about standing water, odors and mosquitoes 鈥� but the complaints became a lot louder when they went to clean it out.
Neighbors asserted that, had they not intervened, AMAFCA workers would have poured dirt into the sump and buried the animals alive. A social media post on the issue caught fire and complaints reached Mayor Tim Keller鈥檚 Office, which sent workers from the city's Open Space and Environmental Health departments to assist.
鈥淎 lot of the interactions have been very, very aggressive from the neighborhood 鈥� yelling and screaming 鈥� which is never a great way to start the conversation. I think we're definitely more aware of the wildlife that is in the pond now,鈥� Dodge-Kwan said. She said some people said they hoped she and AMAFCA staff 鈥済ets buried alive.鈥�
An AMAFCA supervisor said in his 10 years doing this maintenance he had never seen animals in the trash catches. He said he felt compelled to defend his workers who came under fire from the neighborhood.
鈥淢y guys would never do that 鈥� dump dirt on living things,鈥� he said above the roar of water pumps draining the catchment, revealing all manner of trash and toxic waste, covered with flecks of bright green algae.
Angela Shomin said she has been trying to catch a loose dog in the area and on Monday saw people fishing in the catchment. On Tuesday, AMAFCA was pouring dirt into one end, with wildlife mere feet away. Shomin said when she asked about the animals, a worker responded 鈥渨e have a job to do.鈥�
鈥淚 said, 鈥榃ell, please don't hurt the creatures.鈥� And I went to my vehicle overheated, and I posted on social media just to say, 鈥楬ow can I help?鈥欌�� Shomin said. The post was reshared and ended up with 115,000 views. Then, someone called the Mayor鈥檚 Office, she said.
鈥淎t the end of the day, there's a right way to do things and a wrong way,鈥� Shomin said.
On Wednesday, it was clear there had been a miscommunication about the scope of the work. Some neighbors believed the concrete space would be filled permanently. AMAFCA stated the plan was to build a dirt ramp to clean and empty the catchment, boring holes in one end so water and wildlife wouldn鈥檛 gather.
It was unclear how many animals, if any, would have died had AMAFCA鈥檚 work gone on undisturbed. However, it went anything but smoothly.
Since the social media post, neighbors and volunteers had come with sticks, nets and buckets to rescue the animals, until AMAFCA staff came and posted 鈥渘o trespassing鈥� signs.
On Wednesday, AMAFCA pumped water out of the drainage as city workers in hazmat gear with nets caught frogs and massive snapping turtles. Once the pros arrived, neighbors gathered around the fenced area keeping a watchful eye.
They yelled directions and criticized the net-catching abilities of the workers. One woman snapped her fingers, unsuccessfully, to alert workers to a red-eared slider poking its head up from the muck. Another man said they needed to get closer, with a worker responding that the water was toxic and dangerous.
Mark DiMenna, deputy director of the city鈥檚 Environmental Health Department, said any animals they pulled out would be relocated to ponds on city property.
鈥淲e're trying to get whatever we can removed from the site that's in jeopardy because of this operation. So we suspect there are probably some wildlife was already buried,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nything that could burrow its way out has, and anything that hasn't probably isn't going to, and is probably already dead.鈥�
Dodge-Kwan said she expected the drainage to be cleaned and emptied by Friday.
