Park gets the goat
Fairview brings in 240 animals to clear vegetation
Contributed photo
Goats graze in Fairview Woods Park.
To reclaim Fairview Woods Park from 3 acres of overgrown invasive vegetation, the city’s solution didn’t involve tractors, herbicides or dirtying the hands of volunteers. The secret weapon was to call in 240 grazing goats.
After approval from the City Council and the Parks Advisory Committee, the goats were delivered to the park Wednesday, June 17. They cleared the unwanted vegetation, reaching more than 5 feet high in some areas, in four days – nearly a week before anticipated.
“We were expecting them to be there for 10 to 12 days,” said John Gessner, Fairview community development director. “But the woods were not as dense as we thought, and the goats moved through more quickly.”
Formally considered “both invasive and obnoxious” species, Himalayan blackberry and English ivy are the park’s most formidable green foes, Gessner said.
Native to the eastern portion of the world, Himalayan blackberry blocks sunlight from reaching other plants and can cover entire stream channels and ditch banks. English ivy also blocks sunlight and prevents native plant growth by covering the ground. Densely matted, ivy has the ability to kill trees.
Thinning the overgrowth was a far too daunting and time-consuming task for volunteers, despite high turnouts. Herbicides would kill not only invasive plants but native species the city wished to restore. At a cost of $4,700, goats provided a non-toxic, more financially friendly option than the use of mechanical equipment, Gessner said.
“The park was established in 1995 as a natural park with the expectation to be a very low level of maintenance,” Gessner said. Despite a severe ice storm that damaged vegetation, trail infrastructure and interpretive signs, the plan for low maintenance had shifted to 13 years of no maintenance, allowing invasive plant species to take over.
“Both Himalayan blackberry and English ivy are major invasive plant problems in the Portland metro area,” he said.
“Over the last year, we’ve been doing invasive plant removals in the park.”
In November 2007, bullets fired from the park struck two homes on Northeast 229th and 230th courts, reawakening city and neighborhood efforts to maintain the area and remove 3 acres of heavy brush.
After ruling out the use of herbicides and mechanical equipment, a doctoral student studying vegetation management at Oregon State University, Claudia Ingham, was brought in to assess the park. Ingham then referred the city to Craig Madsen, the owner of Healing Hooves. Conversations about using goats had been ongoing for over a year.
The park was closed while the goats did their job, with signs posted at all of the park entrances and an electrical fence set up to hold the animals. That’s not to say neighborhood children were kept out, or the goats were kept in.
“When I got there on Saturday I noticed the park was empty and the herd was gone,” Gessner said.
Gessner’s investigation into the situation met quick results, as two young culprits standing in the park readily admitted what they had done.
“A couple of boys from the neighborhood went into the park, turned off the electric fence and threw logs into the park (knocking down the fence) so the herd could escape,” Gessner said. “And they did.”
Madsen and Gessner spent more than an hour herding the goats back into the park from a nearby area of the woods. A punishment for the mischievous youngsters is yet to be determined.
Despite the setback, Gessner said the solution was an overall success in removing the unwanted vegetation. However, he learned goat appetites aren’t easily satisfied – even some of the wanted vegetation is now gone.
“Because of its environmental benefits, it’s such a great alternative to more chemical intense options,” Gessner said.
By August, the city hopes to begin a trail improvement process and make progress toward more aggressive vegetation management.