ABQ 7th on listing of wildlife-friendly cities

From rosy-finches flocking on Sandia Crest to porcupines cavorting in the Rio Grande bosque, Albuquerque is a vast haven for wildlife, a fact trumpeted this week by a national conservation organization.

The National Wildlife Federation named Albuquerque one of the top 10 wildlife-friendly cities in America. Albuquerque placed seventh, just behind Seattle and just ahead of Indianapolis. Austin is the top pick. Others on the list are Portland, Ore. (2), Atlanta (3), Baltimore (4), Washington, D.C. (5), Charlotte, N.C. (9) and New York City (10).

Announced as part of National Wildlife Week celebrations, selections were based upon criteria such as percentage of parkland in each city, citizen involvement in creating wildlife habitat and school learning programs rooted in wildlife gardens. Albuquerque won its place on the list primarily because 25 percent of the city is parkland, by far the largest percentage in the nation.

The city has 293 parks and 29,000 acres of open space, according to Barbara Taylor, director of the city Parks and Recreation Department. She said there are more than 50 acres of preserved land per 1,000 residents.

“I was out in the bosque today and saw an owl nesting,” Taylor said. “The preservation of wildlife in urban areas is so important, especially here in the West. We need to stay close to nature and not be in front of video games all the time.”

Beth Dillingham, superintendent of the Rio Grande Nature Center State Park in the North Valley, said she is grateful to people who had the vision to create open spaces around the city so that there is a beautiful bosque through the middle of Albuquerque and no houses up the sides of the Sandias.

“There are lots of wild creatures in and around Albuquerque,” she said. “Somehow we are doing something right if people and wildlife can live together.”

The Wildlife Federation noted that Albuquerque’s public parkland provided a home for resident and migratory wildlife such as sandhill cranes, Cooper’s hawks, black bears, bobcats and deer.

Camilla Feibelman, director of the Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club, said she loves going into the bosque and seeing coyotes, raptors and the courting ritual of porcupines.

“They call to each other, and then they come down from the trees and chase each other around the willow habitat,” Feibelman said of the frisky, prickly rodents.

Judy Liddell, co-author of “Birding Hot Spots of Central New Mexico” and vice president of the Central New Mexico Audubon Society, said Albuquerque is a splendid place to see many different kinds of birds because the city boasts a wide variety of habitats.

“We have the sandhill cranes that visit here in the winter, bald eagles along the river and three kinds of rosy-finches in the Sandias,” she said. “I think we are so lucky to live here.”

What Dillingham enjoys most is watching the seasonal change in the bosque.

“I love the cycle of change,” she said. “The cranes were overhead this morning. They are moving north, and the hummingbirds are about to come. There is always something happening. It is so dynamic.”

Top 10

Here is the list of cities recognized Tuesday by the National Wildlife Federation for their commitment to protecting wildlife:

1. Austin, Texas
2. Portland, Ore.
3. Atlanta
4. Baltimore
5. Dist. of Columbia
6. Seattle
7. Albuquerque
8. Indianapolis
9. Charlotte, N.C.
10. New York City