What's going on, Albuquerque?

Is it really conservation

I have been walking the west side of the bosque north of central for 10 years now. They recently started doing some conservation work. I agree that some of these things needed to be done but some of them I question. They are removing the trees that are not native which I love as most of the non native trees really drink a lot of water. My question on this is they are leaving the stumps and as it has warmed up the stumps are showing new growth if you are going to get rid of a tree shouldn't the root be taken care of as well. The second thing is they are working on building a slow moving back canal as a breeding ground for the silvery minnow. This is again good but I am confused at the process. They have already bulldozed the canals and they don't seem to have any grade to them at all so the canal isn't a slow moving canal it is a 3/4 mile long stagnant breeding ground for mosquitos. I know this because I have walked the river for ten years and cant remember mosquito attacks and now every time I walk down there I am mauled by them. Does anybody know do silvery minnows feed on mosquito larvae or mosquitos themselves. I called 311 and they said they would order a spraying of the area. I don't want pesticides either because it seems to me pesticides would affect the silvery minnow if its swimming in the water their spraying for mosquitos. Go walk the bosque north of Central on the westside and see what you think I don't know Im just a nature loving fool who thinks this conservation project is more destructive than conservative.

Tags: bosque, conservation, minnow, mosquitos, silvery

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Comment by shotsie on May 29, 2009 at 10:58am: A bacteria called "Bti" (Bacillus thuringiensis) is often used for mosquito larvae control in standing water. Or the mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis, is a voracious eater of mosquito larvae. (I use these in my pond.) Of course, every time you mess with Mother Nature (see trying to revive minnows by building a stagnant bog), something else always squirts out.

Comment by EJW on May 29, 2009 at 11:30am: I thought the mosquitos were out because it's been cool and rainy.

Comment by Mike on May 29, 2009 at 12:14pm: I'm not an expert, but I will play one on the interwebs...

Depending on the species of tree/shrub, cutting off at the stump and letting regrowth occur is part of the removal process. The regrowth is then treated with something. Taking out all the roots is nearly impossible, and very destructive.

As for the slow moving channel - many in the scientific community are of the opinion that silvery minnows prefer slow moving water to spawn in. That is the reason for making the side channels - to provide slow moving water. The main channel is too incised due to our "improvements" (dams, flood control, etc), so the water runs fast.

As for the mosquitos - I don't know if there are more or less now as a result of the new channels.

Mike

Comment by Chroma Studios on May 29, 2009 at 2:26pm: Like Aaron said, we have been walking in this area of the bosque for nearly ten years and this is the first year rain or not, that we have been literally "attacked" by mosquitos in that area. My hope is that the city will take a green approach to mosquito control down there, but somehow, I don't know. We shall see.

Comment by aaron lewis on May 29, 2009 at 3:02pm: The mosquitos started when it was hot and dry.

Comment by killbox on May 29, 2009 at 3:21pm: need more minnows! they eat mosquito larvae!

The trick is not having any other standing water, like what collects in old tires, and coffee cans, and rain barrels. and stagnant ponds

Comment by Dave on May 29, 2009 at 4:03pm: And, if you want to see a few pics of the Bosque revitalization project over the last few months, I posted a blog in the walk group http://www.dukecityfix.com/group/walk/forum/topics/westside-bosque-walk

Comment by Chroma Studios on May 29, 2009 at 5:37pm: Dave, thanks for the link to the project pics, that was a great post! We've been watching it during the process every time we walk down there, of course we didn't have the camera though. :)

Comment by Nicole Gramlich on May 30, 2009 at 1:45pm: I agree with a few of the others here... mosquitoes are having a field day due to our unusual rainfall. Chances are that there are TONS of places in people's back yards that normally aren't confronted with rainwater and are now holding water for the mosquito to breed.

I'd just recommend using insect repellent on yourself. I'm hoping the city doesn't add more fish or spray... just like shotsie mentioned... when we try to mess with Mother Nature... Soon enough we'll be back to our normal weather and won't have to worry about the flying bloodsuckers. ;)

Comment by Mike on June 4, 2009 at 8:16am: I found out more about the particular area you are talking about. Seems that was a channel dug out to provide silvery minnow habitat. However, they left the inlet and outlet blocked so no water could get in until they built bridges for people over the channel. But due to the high water conditions water from the river got through the dam (I think from the output end - so it backed up into the channel). And since the water table rose, ground water seeped in. So it is essentially a big puddle that was supposed to be a slow moving channel. Hopefully the bridges will be build in time for next year's high water flow so they can fully open the channel and the water will be able to actually move. Maybe there will be less mosquitoes that way. And of course more of our silvery friends.

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