Article by Amanda Walker, Bosque del Apache Park Ranger
When recalling your mental photo album from your last visit to Bosque del Apache, is the first picture from the Flight Deck? The Wetland Roost? Undoubtedly, it includes a wetland – perhaps full of water and cranes, or a bit drier, green, and a family of mule deer. Does that album include the Boardwalk? For many, it does.
The Boardwalk wetland, on the south loop, is one of the more visceral reminders of the historic Rio Grande flowing through Bosque del Apache. A remnant oxbow of a wild river, it’s a bit different from everything else. It stays wet nearly all year – ebbing and flowing with the water table. Fish grow large and secretive marsh birds thrive here.
But this wetland needs help. Over the years, cattails have invaded, growing so dense in some places they’ve shaded out themselves. Limited water has a tough time reaching the south end of the Boardwalk footprint due to sedimentation. The boardwalk that spans the wetland needs constant repair and maintenance. The water table can’t keep up with evaporation, so ditch water is used in increasing amounts to try and stabilize the water level – ditch water that currently voyages through failing infrastructure.
A long-term plan is in the works. Part of that plan includes replacing the water control structure along the northeast corner which connects the Boardwalk wetland to the nearby Elmendorf ditch. This would improve the ability of refuge staff to direct limited water into the wetland, maintaining habitat for rails, egrets, shorebirds, ducks, dragonflies, and fish. Instead of using mud to regulate water flow, a screw gate will allow refuge staff to change the level of water in and out of the Boardwalk wetland.
Other parts of the plan will include developing a long-term management strategy to address the cattail encroachment and replacing the wooden decking with something requiring less regular maintenance. This spring, eight new interpretive signs were installed along the Boardwalk trail, providing inspiration to sit and journal along your next journey to the refuge.
Friends of Bosque del Apache, in close collaboration with refuge staff, have received quotes from a local contractor to replace several water control structures on the refuge starting in the fall of 2026. This will include the Boardwalk inflow water control structure. Over the next 8-12 months, we hope to draft a Boardwalk-specific management plan, which will include habitat objectives and a schedule of actions. Look for future updates as pieces and materials line up! And during your next visit, consider taking a glimpse at what has changed at the Boardwalk!