A goat idea for overgrowth
Nature’s landscapers get to work in Brackenridge Park’s pilot project, suggested by the Houston Arboretum
SAN ANTONIO — Caretakers of one of San Antonio’s most popular historic parks aren’t kidding when they say goats are part of their plan for preservation and maintenance.
The Brackenridge Park Conservancy, in coordination with the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department, deployed 160 goats this week to remove overgrown vegetation. If the pilot project proves successful, the goats could be cleari dense brush elsewhere in the park to improve its aesthetics and safety on the trails.
“Goats, which graze on many varieties of grasses and plants, are an effective, eco-friendly and sustainable solution to vegetation management. The park’s unique approach will clear unwanted or undesirable plant species and remove extra brush, negating the need for commercial mowing and the use of herbicides,” the conservancy said in a release.
The goats are provided by Rent-A-Ruminant Texas, based in Brownwood near Abilene. They are climbing, scaling and munching on about 7 acres of greenery in an eastern section of the 343-acre park — in a wilderness area along Brackenridge Way just south of Tuleta Avenue. Depending on how fast they eat, they’re scheduled to continue feasting in that area until the end of May, removing plants that have overtaken natural areas and hiking paths that are difficult to reach with heavy equipment.
The goats are contained by portable low-voltage electrified fencing and are guarded by a Great Pyrenees at night. A transformer used to power electrified fencing to contain 160 goats was stolen Wednesday. But officials said the park’s conservancy has secured other equipment to keep the low-voltage fence charged and protect the goats.
The theft was reported in a tweet by Deceleration News, which describes itself as a “nonprofit bioregional news/analysis site” on Twitter. According to a tweet posted Thursday afternoon, someone stole the portable transformer “before the sun had gone down” Wednesday, several hours after the Brackenridge Park Conservancy held a media event at the site.
A spokeswoman for the conservancy confirmed that a transformer had been stolen, and a police report was filed. She said San Antonio park police and the city’s parks and recreation staff “are helping to keep our four-legged friends safe.”
A human goat wrangler and a border collie help manage the herd.
“They love to forage and browse,” said Kyle Carr, who has co-owned Rent-A-Ruminant with his wife Carolyn in the six years they’ve been in business.
“If we didn’t have them contained in this little area, they would just go through here and selectively grab what they’re going to eat,” he said. “They eat their favorites first, and they come back for seconds, thirds and so forth until they get the desired look of what we’re trying to go for with the park here.”
The city’s Animal Care Services Department reviewed and approved a permit for the project as a humane use of the animals.
For years, CPS Energy has used sheep at its solar farms to keep natural grasses from growing too high. But these goats can eat much more, including unwanted or undesirable plant species, such as chinaberries, greenbriers and poison ivy.
Private donations were used to hire the goats — $10,000 from the Alamo Heights-Terrell Hills Garden Club and $7,147 in other contributions to the conservancy.
Joe Turner, the conservancy’s executive director, said officials of the Houston Arboretum, now in its third year of using the goats to control vegetation, suggested the idea.
“Eco-friendly solutions to managing Brackenridge Park may be just the beginning. If this project is successful, it could be considered for other city parks,” Turner said.
Charlotte Mitchell, a member of the conservancy and liaison for the project, said the park stewardship group has been thinking of using goats for years as non-native plants have taken over in some areas.
“With the help of these goats, we’re able to address dense overgrowth in a natural and eco-friendly way” that doesn’t involve chemicals or gas-powered mowers, Mitchell said. “It’s simply amazing and should be a treat for the community to experience.”
Many of the goats were from animal rescues or private adoptions. They represent several different breeds, including Nubian, Boer, Kiko, Savanna and Nigerian dwarf.
The public is invited to see the goats at work but is urged, for safety reasons, not to touch or feed them.