North Texas has an invasive species problem, and the Dallas Park and Recreation Department is enlisting goats to help fix it.
The city is working with Open Space TX to bring goats into parks to remove privet, a dense shrub that displaces native plants.
A herd of about 300 goats are currently out grazing near the Bath House Cultural Center.
“They’re just on this beautiful, sunny hillside,” said Quincy Crow, owner of Open Space TX. “It is just so relaxing to see these, I think it's 300 head, grazing on this grass.”
Flocks of retirees, parents and young children stop to check out the grazing goats, or as Crow calls them, ruminants.
“I think there's something about humans and ruminants. I've often found myself describing it as biblical,” Crow said.
”Goats and sheep have this almost mesmerizing presence. I think it's a little bit like fire. People just sit around and watch fire [and] a lot of these people [watch goats].”
What looks like a walk in the park is an important method of land management.
“The ruminant will actually get into that heavily treed area without having a big access path or having to drive in,” he explained.
“They will just pull all the little leaves off that privet and leave that in a traumatized state. We're not looking to chew down the privet. We're just looking to traumatize it and put it in a state in which it's not growing and thriving.”
In addition to easily navigating the terrain, goats also don’t leave behind clippings or green waste that must be hauled off. Instead, that material gets recycled by the goats and turned into fertilizer.
Clearing the plants is a labor-intensive task for humans, and machinery like a forestry mulcher, can remove other plants in the process.
While goats aren’t known for being picky, they tend to gravitate toward plants that are flowering. At this point in the year, most of the plants that still have green leaves and berries are invasive, which is what the park department wants to clear.
“The vast majority of what they eat is privet,” said Brett Johnson, conservation manager for the city. “The goats really, really, really like those berries.”
The herd can clear about an acre to an acre and a half per day. They will be out at White Rock Lake near the Bath House Cultural Center for a little over a week.
“People like to really just come out and watch the goats in action, which we do encourage,” Johnson said. “We do ask, [that you] don't touch the goats.”
Signs are posted warning visitors not to touch the electric fence, and a shepherd keeps watch over the animals 24/7.
Got a tip? Email Marcheta Fornoff at mfornoff@kera.org.
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