With little snowpack and early season heat waves hitting the city in February, 2026 is shaping up to be an historically dangerous year for wildfire conditions so the City of Albuquerque is getting a head start on wildfire prevention along the Bosque.
City officials will close an 18-acre area north of Campbell Rd. and west of the Rio Grande Nature Center State Park to remove Jetty Jacks and dead woody materials.
The Bosque is connected by long lines of Jetty Jacks. These large metal structures were installed in the 1950s to limit flooding from the Rio Grande but now limit wildfire response.
City workers, with aid from the New Mexico Forestry Division and Ciudad Soil and Water Conservation District, will also “treat up to 126 acres on the east side of the Rio Grande (from Campbell to Montaño)” to remove invasive species. The project’s first phase starts the week of March 30, with treatment of a small area of around 20 acres.
The rest, the city says, will be treated in fall 2026 and spring 2027 following migratory bird nesting season.
Learn more about this project at cabq.gov