‘Goats on the Go’ make McIntosh Woods State Park their new home away from home

(Above) DNR Park Ranger Tammy Domonoske (left) and others smile as Goats on the Go are released at McIntosh Woods State Park Monday.-Reporter photo by Marianne Morf.

Just as the camping season is slowing down at McIntosh Woods State Park, 48 new visitors arrived Monday.

“Goats on the Go,” as they are known, have taken up residence at the camp for the next six weeks.  They will be contained in one to two-acre areas where invasion species are choking out native plants.

“We’re going to actually get some invasive species cut, killed, and get some native stuff returning,” said Department of Natural Resources Park Ranger Tammy Domonoske.  The goats will be grazing on non-native honeysuckle, buckthorn and other nuisance vegetation that have crowded-out native plants in the park’s woodlands.  Domonoske said she hopes to re-generate the oak savannah which grace the park.

The goats belong to Goats On The Go, a targeted grazing company based in Ames, Iowa and owned by friends Aaron Steele and Chad Steenhoek.

For the next few days the public can catch site of the goats just west of the main entrance and fish cleaning station.  After that area has been cleared, they will be relocated to other locations within the State Park.  An electric fence is keeping the goats contained.  While the public is welcome to observe their work, they should not attempt to pet or feed the animals.

Funding to bring the goats to McIntosh Woods State Park was provided by the Kinney Lindstrom Foundation and the Association for Preservation of Clear Lake.