Rent-a-goat? Hoofed critters might graze at city parks

Salem might hire some temporary workers who can climb steep hillsides and chew through thick vegetation with ease. And did I mention they have horns?

Following the lead of other cities, Salem is considering whether to rent herds of goats to clear park land of invasive blackberries and weeds. The city would need to change its land-use code before goats could graze at city parks, but a code amendment is being drafted.

Mark Becktel, the city's parks and transportation services manager, said goats can be deployed in environmentally sensitive areas, as well as in terrain that is difficult to reach with machinery. City staff have discussed using rent-a-goats for several years, he said.

Salem City Councilor Laura Tesler has moved the issue to the forefront by asking for changes in the city zoning code.

City rules only allow goats in exclusive farm use and forest use zones, and as a conditional use in the residential agricultural zone. Telser maintains that the rules are too restrictive.

"They're good for riparian areas where you don't want to spray chemicals," Tesler said of the hoofed animals.

Tesler's proposed code amendment would allow goats to be temporarily kept in other locations, such as city parks, as long as they were being used for brush control projects.

"Goat as pets? No, that's not the idea," Tesler said.

Minto Brown Island, and a nearby property the city plans to buy for an expansion of Riverfront Park, would be likely places to use goats, she said.

The Audubon Society has also contacted Tesler about using goats on property it owns in Salem.

Several companies in the Willamette Valley provide goats for brush control, including Yoder Goat Rentals, located near Molalla.

Rachel McCollum, who owns Yoder Goat Rentals with her husband, Bill, said goats are used in areas that are so overgrown with blackberry vines that property owners don't know where to begin.

The animals eat the leaves and new growth from blackberries, not the older canes. Their grazing weakens the plants, but to obliterate blackberries goats have to be brought back to the area repeatedly, McCollum said.

Property owners often use rental goats as kind of a first wave attack on berry bushes, and then follow up with machinery or herbicides, she said.

When McCollum brings her goats to job site, a herder and Val, the guard dog, keep watch over the animals. Her company has worked with the cities of West Linn, Wilsonville and Fairview, as well as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

A group of 35 to 40 goats can usually clear an acre of ground in less than two weeks, depending on the density of vegetation, she said.

"Blackberries are like candy to them," she said.

Each of McCollum's goats has been given a name from the Bible. Jonah, Solomon and Goliath are among the members of the 100-animal herd.

Their names are written on ear tags. Naming helps with record-keeping, such as tracking the health and history of individual goats.

The naming also helps involve the community when Yoder Goat brings its herd to a city park, McCollum said. Children, who are fascinated by the animals, learn to recognize each goat by name.

mrose@StatesmanJournal .com (503) 399-6657 or follow on Twitter @mrose_sj

Public meeting

The Salem City Council is expected to schedule a public hearing in December to consider a land-use code amendment that would allow goats to be used for vegetation control.