Salem gives goats the boot
The city's experiment with getting goats to do its dirty work has failed the smell test, literally.
It seemed like an environmentally good idea at the time: Set 75 rented goats loose on 9.1 acres of city park to chomp and chew invasive plants such as Armenian blackberry and English ivy that were choking native flora out of Minto-Brown Island Park.
So the city, responding to community interest, launched a pilot project last October, contracting with Yoder Goat Rentals out of Molalla to remove the invasive species. But in a report submitted this week to the Salem City Council, the public works department revealed that the six-week project cost the city almost five times what it would normally have spent had it removed the vegetation using more conventional, and less odoriferous, methods.
According to the report presented Monday, the total cost to the city for using the nannies and billies, which were "universally welcomed by park users as a pleasant pastoral addition to the scenery," was $20,719. Ruminate on that, if you will.
This amount included paying the contractor a $11,375 flat rate for the goat rental, $2,560 for goat monitoring and $540 to remove weeds in order to erect temporary fencing to contain the goats.
The city had to clear a perimeter path, rent a portable bathroom for the contractor, who remained on site, and bring in potable water, which cost $4,203. It also paid $2,041 for an inmate crew to remove blackberry canes after the goats ate all the leaves but left the bramble.
The city also had to deal with what the goats left behind, which was a "heavily fertilized area," said Mark Becktel, public works operations manager for the city of Salem. "If you know what I mean."
Had the city alternatively used a city parks maintenance operator for 32 hours, it could have achieved nearly the same results for $3,370. Since the park area is relatively flat, it can be mowed using a Bobcat unit with a mowing attachment. The site would still require a small inmate crew to clear vegetation from around trees and from tight corners.
Goats to beat back weeds at Minto-Brown park
Another option would have been for the city to employ more inmate crews to clear the entire northeast corner of the park of blackberries using gas-powered weed eaters. This method would have cost the city $4,245.
In addition to being more expensive and a tad pungent, the goats also caused a few problems. While the targeted grazing was successful with the goats removing ivy from the trees and ground and leaves from blackberry canes, they were not selective about what they ate.
The report indicates the goats devoured native plants along with invasive species, and they were drawn to the bark of certain trees including maples and hazelnut trees, which they ate and damaged. Becktel said the native plants were "nibbled to the ground, but are expected to grow back in season."
"The trees weren't girdled, so the goat damage was minor. None of it was permanent," Becktel said. He credits the goatherd for moving the goats frequently to keep them from furthering damaging the area.
The baaaad smell was another issue.
The goats were lovely to look at, according to park users, but the area "had a barnyard aroma during the time the goats were present," said the report. The project has left some sheepish about trying again, but the city isn't willing to kick the goats off a cliff just yet.
"We made it clear at the council meeting that we would not say we would never use goats again," Becktel said. "We consider them a special tool in our toolbox. But you're not going to see large numbers of happily grazing goats in our park system anytime soon."
Rachel and Bill McCollum, who have been renting goats since 2010, said they have asked the city's public works department for a meeting to evaluate the project and talk about ways to make the service work better for the municipality in the future. Rachel said the couple's business has been growing annually, and they have clients from Eugene to Portland.
Their goats mow through parks in places like Wilsonville, and they've serviced difficult terrain for the Army Corps of Engineers.
They have more than 100 goats on their ranch, approaching 125 now as this is the season for the kids to be born, and the Minto-Brown project was the most acreage they've tackled. Rachel said. She was proud of getting the city of Salem's job done early which allowed it to come in under bid, she said. Rachel said she and her husband try to match the number of goats to the scope of the project, and she hopes to work with the city again.
Becktel said there might be places in the city where goat use could be worth the added cost.
"They can do well on very steep slopes, hillsides and embankments, places where you can't get a mower or a crew. So we'll never say never. But they're just not cost-effective for a project like this," Becktel said.
ccurrie@statesmanjournal.com; (503) 399-6746 or follow on Twitter at @CATMCurrie