The kids are all right
City utilizing goats to control vegetation in Cottonwood Park
The City of Lethbridge is testing a new method to manage vegetation around the pathways in Cottonwood Park which can’t be mechanically mowed. Residents who visit the park will notice some new visitors helping to remove the vegetation and invasive species.
Two hundred Spanish-Boar goats will fill park fields as part of a pilot project to determine if the program in the river valley is feasible for next year. Municipalities like Calgary and Edmonton have successfully used goats to control invasive weeds and manage vegetation in a safe and environmentally responsible manner. The approach to managing the local natural landscape in the parks comes from the Lethbridge River Valley Parks Master Plan, which was approved in 2017.
“This is something that we have been thinking about for a couple of years now and it kind of landed in our lap and lined up perfectly and we are really excited to be here,” says Jackie Cardinal, Parks Natural Resource co-ordinator. “We have a lot of invasive weeds, so that is the main thing we are looking at. Our river valley is tricky, it is steep and has areas that you can’t get to, so these goats are nimble and can get down into those areas and fix them. It is kind of a win-win, because it is environmentally friendly.”
The City does some spraying for overgrow control, but does not possess the manpower, equipment or funds to keep up with the overgrown vegetation and invasive plants. If the pilot project goes well, the City, it will consider bringing the goats back for the summer months to help other local parks.
“We do some spraying, a little bit of management for firefighting and sightliness and keeping the public comfortable in the parks, but not a ton of management,” says Cardinal. “We are hoping that everything goes well and it is something that we can implement more in the summer seasons, so that we can target more of our invasive species. We don’t have the manpower to do that, but we have goat power which is great. They are also pretty cheap and they are happy doing it.”
Creek Side Goats owner Robert Finck from Magrath thought of the idea when he heard about it in other cities and saw the opportunity in Lethbridge. Cottonwood Park spans around 100 acres, and with the help of a dog and a horse, they will be able to guide the goats to cover a couple acres of the land every day.
“As they are grazing we follow along with them with a dog and a horse and we can guide them in whatever direction we want them to go in, but the dogs do most of the work,” says Finck. “We are looking for about three weeks that the goats will be here. It won’t cover the whole thing, but with winter coming and budgets, that is what we have planned for this year. We will leapfrog down and clear about 60 feet wide from the trail and when we hit the bottom, we will graze with dogs. There is 100 acres here and we will see if we can make our way around it.”
While the goats are clearing the area, residents are reminded the herd dogs are friendly towards people, but residents are asked to keep their dogs out of the area and to not pet the herd dogs while they are working. The project is scheduled to continue over the next three weeks, depending on weather conditions. For more information on the program, visit lethbridge.ca/goats.