GOATS AT WORK

Goats are being used at our Rinearson Natural Area site as a method to control invading plant species. Several characteristics of goats make them a great choice for vegetation management. They are a low-input animal, have diverse dietary preferences, and consume a wide variety of plants. They have very nimble lips, allowing for selection and consumption of the most nutritious components of the available biomass, and they can stand on their hind legs to reach more than 6 feet into browse plants. 

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Through their grazing habits, goats reduce the production of seeds by consuming seeding stems; the immature seeds consumed do not survive passage through the digestive tract. Goats may also reduce woody vegetation through debarking, resulting in plant death. 

BEFORE: Looking west along the north bank of the floodplain island colonized by dense blackberry thickets.

AFTER: Dense blackberry brush is gone. An added benefit is the reduction of fire hazard due to the removal of brush and undergrowth.