Belen Marsh Steward Eileen Beaulieu Champions Wetland Conservation in Valencia County

On a 16.5-acre lot off Don Felipe Road in Belen, wedged between the I-25 bypass and a fast-food strip, 205 bird species touch down each year. That patch of open water and grassland is the only wetland of its kind left in Valencia County, and it currently holds no formal protected status. Eileen Beaulieu has spent two decades trying to fix that.

Beaulieu, who chairs the Belen Marsh Committee of the Bird Alliance of Central New Mexico and serves on the board of the Isleta Reach Stewardship Association, made her most direct public appeal yet in a March 26 interview published in the Valencia County News-Bulletin. The conversation, conducted by Valencia Soil and Water Conservation District Chairwoman Teresa Smith de Cherif, covered the marsh's ecological role, the threats closing in on it, and what residents can do.

"The Belen Marsh is a rare oasis in the Middle Rio Grande Valley," Beaulieu said. "It is a living mosaic of wetlands, grasses and open water that provides essential habitat for hundreds of species. It is especially vital for migratory birds, serving as a seasonal refuge along the Central Flyway."

The marsh's origin is itself an accident of infrastructure. More than 30 years ago, contractors excavated over 30 acres of Belen soil to use as fill for road construction. The region's shallow water table did the rest: water pooled in the disturbed ground and a wetland took hold. What the project left behind now buffers nearby neighborhoods from drainage and floodwater, supports environmental education programs, and draws birders from outside the county whose spending supports local businesses along the corridor.

That value is not self-sustaining. Water availability in New Mexico's arid climate makes the marsh perpetually precarious. Development pressure has materialized before: the Valencia Fair Association, which holds the property, began backfilling the marsh in 2008 to expand parking, prompting the formation of the Belen Marsh Committee to push back. Routine dumping along the site's edges requires organized cleanup events to keep the habitat functional, and encroaching invasive vegetation poses an ongoing ecological challenge.

Beaulieu's request to Valencia County officials is specific: "I respectfully request the county to designate the Belen Marsh as a protected open space or conservation land, integrate wetland preservation into the county planning documents, and explore partnership with conservation organizations, schools and local birding groups."

Residents ready to act have three immediate options. The most direct is joining a volunteer cleanup through the Bird Alliance of Central New Mexico; contact Beaulieu at (505) 249-7929 or dulcebeaulieu@comcast.net to get on the schedule. Second, illegal dumping or other disturbances at the Don Felipe Road site can be reported to Beaulieu and the Belen Marsh Committee through the same contacts. Third, writing to Valencia County commissioners in support of a protected open space designation would directly advance Beaulieu's stated goal. The Valencia Soil and Water Conservation District, which lists wetland protection among its top three institutional priorities, also welcomes public engagement.

"Together, we can make this request to save the Belen Marsh a reality," Beaulieu said.