They’re baaaaack!
Last year, you may have read about our partnership with BAAH’D Plant Management and Reclamation to use goats to remove invasive weeds at Pipestone Creek Conservation Lands. We saw huge successes last year, and we are excited to both continue and expand this program this year, thanks to support from TD Friends of the Environment Foundation and the Alberta Invasive Species Council.
Invasive plants are one of our biggest stewardship challenges – these plants outcompete native plants and can create monocultures that choke out native species and reduce biodiversity. At EALT, we use a variety of approaches to control invasive weeds on our conservation lands. By utilizing goats to target browse invasive weeds, we can be more effective at managing invasive plants to give native plants and ecosystems a chance to thrive.
What’s New?
In 2020, over 400 goats browsed on common tansy, creeping thistle, and other species at our Pipestone Creek Conservation Lands. In 2021, 700 goats are back at Pipestone Creek, and are also visiting Glory Hills conservation lands. At Glory Hills, the goats are tackling common tansy, creeping thistle, and orange hawkweed.
In order to most effectively inhibit these invasive plants, the goats will visit the lands two or more times in a season to thoroughly deplete the plants’ energy stores.
Managing Invasive Plants through Target Browsing: How Does it Work?
Goats naturally browse on broad-leaved plants, unlike other domesticated herbivores which prefer to graze on grasses. The goats contracted through BAAH’D Plant Management and Reclamation are also trained to prefer browsing invasive plants. The goats are raised with invasive plants in their diet so that they identify them as food, and mother goats teach their kids this preference and pass it on to the next generation.
By browsing the above-ground section of the plant, goats reduce the energy stores of invasive weeds and stop or reduce their ability to flower and produce seeds. When this method is applied repeatedly over time, the regrowth of the plants is greatly reduced, leaving space for native plants to flourish.
Browsing by goats has a similar impact on invasive plants as mowing or clipping, but there are a number of benefits of targeted browsing over mowing or cutting.
Efficiency
Goats can remove invasive weeds very quickly, even from hard-to-access places or where there are large volumes of invasive weeds. Pipestone Creek and Glory Hills both have steep hills that can be difficult for staff and volunteers to access, Glory Hills has large areas of shoreline dominated by invasive weeds, and Pipestone Creek has thousands of planted spruce trees with weeds growing in between them. Each of these can be difficult to manage through mowing, spraying, or hand pulling, but are easily accessed and managed by the goats.
Effectiveness
Several hundred goats can easily eat huge volumes of invasive weeds, covering a large area. Weed seeds are also destroyed when digested by goats, so there is no risk of spreading seeds as there may be with other livestock. This further limits the potential of these invasive weds to regrow. They also recycle the nutrients from the weeds and put organic matter and nutrients in the soil to promote native plant growth.
They are also pretty cute!
Note: If you visit our lands while the goats are here, you will see a lot of equipment. Goats need water to drink and herders to protect them from predation and escape. They also have dog companions to help keep them in specific areas, so if you’re bringing your dog for a walk while the goats are around, be sure that they are on a leash so as not to alarm them or their canine companions!
Baby Goat Naming Contest
Do you just love goats? Help us name five baby goats from BAAH’D Plant Management and Reclamation’s target browsing herd. You can submit your name suggestions here, and vote for your favorites when our next Conservation Connections newsletter comes out! Sign up for our newsletter here so you don’t miss out.
Special thanks to BAAH’D Plant Management & Reclamation for partnering with us for this program, and to TD Friends of the Environment Foundation, and the Alberta Invasive Species Council for making this possible!