Protecting Albuquerque Area Wetlands

With more and more wetlands drying every year due to increased water shortages, it's important we conserve these critical jewels. 

Audubon Southwest has recently partnered with City of Albuquerque’s Open Space Division and Bernalillo County Open Space to provide water to two wetlands in the Albuquerque area: the Open Space Visitor Center’s wetland and the Alameda Wetland associated with Bernalillo County’s Bachechi Open Space. These two publicly revered wetlands provide essential habitat to birds such as Lucy’s Warblers, Summer Tanagers and Wood Ducks,  native plants including coyote willow and numerous other wetland dependent species.  

Wetlands are incredibly important to the Rio Grande ecosystem corridor. Historically, the Rio Grande Valley contained numerous wetlands often in former locations of the river channel. Today, there are but a few wetlands remaining in the Albuquerque area due to drainage and flood control measures taken in the valley to make it more suitable for human settlement. In 1993, The Bosque Biological Management Plan estimated that 80% of the wetlands were lost in the valley between 1935 and 1990. Today, this number is closer to 90% with more and more wetlands drying every year due to increased water shortages. The few remaining wetlands are critical jewels in the corridor and a conservation priority for Audubon and many partner organizations.   

As water shortages in New Mexico persist, the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer is working to ensure that all water uses are properly permitted. Some wetlands in the valley have relied on underlying agricultural water rights for water supply. Where, in many cases, the underlying agricultural water consumption was greater than the current wetland water consumption, these wetlands are vulnerable to being drained without proper permitting as wetlands and without new water rights to cover the wetland water consumption.  

The New Mexico Office of the State Engineer approached Albuquerque Open Space in the summer of 2023 about the importance of providing permitted water for these beloved yet vulnerable wetlands. Audubon Southwest, in partnership with the municipalities of Bernalillo, Los Lunas and Belen, leases water for environmental purposes along the Rio Grande. Funding for these leases is provided by Amazon and Meta, corporations that are looking for opportunities to offset the local water impact of data and distribution centers.  

In April 2025, Audubon Southwest and the Albuquerque Open Space Division were able to secure a water right permit for these wetlands using Audubon’s water. This 18-month process benefited from kind support from the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer and the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District.  

 “The City of Albuquerque is appreciative of our partnership with Audubon Southwest to protect these important Albuquerque wetlands,” said James Lewis from the City of Albuquerque’s Open Space Division. “We look forward to our continued partnership for protecting these and other local wetlands for future generations.” 

This permit provides water for the wetlands for the next 10 years. During this period, Audubon, along with partners, will be looking for opportunities to protect these and other wetlands through more permanent transactions. Audubon continues to look for opportunities to protect water for wildlife throughout the Rio Grande.