The Dallas Water Utilities Department is piloting a new vegetation management program this summer, bypassing gas-powered mowers and trimmers for a low-tech, environmentally-friendly option: goats.
City officials announced the program in a news release on Monday.
“The City is experiencing heavy underbrush problems along its creeks and floodway management areas (FMA) that impedes stormwater flow. The primary goal is to establish an overall approach to flood reduction due to heavy brush impeding stormwater flow by utilizing a natural control method.
“Additionally, this will reduce wildfire fuel loads and invasive species such as, but not limited to, Chinese privet and Asian bush honeysuckle.”
The goats will be allowed to graze in targeted locations “to help clear areas of woody, invasive understory vegetation.” The City announced that areas within Apple Valley and Frazier Dam will be closed to the public to permit the animals to graze freely.
Targeted grazing eliminates the need for fossil-fueled mechanized methods, thereby reducing carbon emissions. It is a way to control “problem vegetation” without erosion or the use of potentially toxic chemicals.
Other Texas cities like Houston and McKinney also use targeted grazing methods. McKinney’s grazing program recently resulted in a surprise for residents of a nearby neighborhood when a herd of goats showed up on their lawns, as reported by The Dallas Express.
The old-fashioned approach to vegetation control has proven to be an economical option for the City of Houston. Muhammad Khan, supervising engineer in the Houston Public Works division, said that renting the goats to clear an acre of land costs about $2,500, while it would cost about $8,000 to hire a group of humans with landscaping equipment to do the same job.
In addition, the goats are more agile and sure-footed on steep slopes and in thick underbrush than humans and are less susceptible to the effects of toxic plants, such as poison ivy and poison oak.
According to officials in Houston, some residents have expressed their appreciation for the goats.
“The neighborhoods love them because they are cute and make almost no loud noise during construction,” Khan said.
Houston obtained the goats for its vegetation management programs from Rent-A-Ruminant, a Seattle-based franchise that claims to be the only goat-rental franchise in the world.
However, the City of Dallas has not commented on where it obtained the goats for its pilot program or how much it is spending on the project. The goats’ first vegetation management project in Dallas is expected to be completed by the first week of August.
