Unconventional Science: Controlling Invasive Species With Goats
CHAPTER ONE
CAN GOATS SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT Andy is a tall goat He often eats can eat plants more than eight standing on his hind legs He feet 2 4 m high Andy loves many kinds of plants including poison ivy thorny roses and bittersweet He is part of a herd of 70 goats known as the Eco Goats They work along the East Coast of the United States They eat invasive plants These are non-native plants that grow so fast they become a nuisance Brian Knox owns Eco Goats He says goats provide a simple solution to the problem of Goats eat many kinds of invasive plants even those that are hard to reach
invasive plants He rents his goat herds by the week They clean up overgrown vegetation A herd of 35 goats can eat approximately half an acre 0 2 ha of vegetation in four days By then they are tired of that food and ready to move on Knox loads them onto a trailer He moves them to a new location with a new type of food Knox says I joke that I drive the bus but they’re the real rock stars PLANTS TAKING OVER Invasive plants are overtaking native plants across the United States Sometimes humans plant the invasive seeds Other times wind or WHY GOATS Goats are an ideal way of controlling invasive plants They enjoy eating plants humans want removed They graze in places machines can’t go such as steep rocky hillsides Pulling plants by hand is difficult but goats often pull them to eat Herbicides are toxic and dangerous Machines are noisy They use harmful fossil fuels They also pack down the soil This makes it less able to soak up water With goats pesticides and machines can be unnecessary
US INVASIVE PLANT MAP This map gives results of a 2016 study by the US Forest Service It shows the percentage of forested land having at least one invasive species Where in the United States do forests have the greatest invasive plant problem Why do you think these regions have more invasive plants than others Pacific Northwest 19 North Central 52 Northeast 45 Great Plains 12 South Central 45 California 11 Intermountain 6 Alaska 6 Hawaii 70 W N S E Subplots invaded percent 0 0.1 15 16 35 36 55 56 80 81 100 No data Southeast 39
