Goats will take on landscaping duties at McIntosh

If you visit McIntosh Woods State Park near Ventura in the coming months you’re likely to see more than just a beautiful view.  A herd of goats will call the park home for six weeks beginning right after Labor Day. Yes, goats. About 40 of them will be chowing down on non-native honeysuckle, buckthorn and other nuisance vegetation that have crowded-out native plants in the park’s woodlands.

The goats belong to Goats On The Go, a targeted grazing company based in Ames and owned by friends Aaron Steele and Chad Steenhoek. Park Manager Tammy Domonoske took the innovative step of hiring goats because it just made so much sense. “My staff and I have been cutting and treating invasive species for several years and not getting ahead of the problem.  Our woodlands are sick and they need this prescription of grazing to regenerate a high quality woodland forest and vegetation.  The goats can accomplish acres by eating 24/7 vs. manually, we could only cover a few hundred feet for similar money,” said Domonoske.  She was able to secure money from the Kinney Lindstrom Foundation and The Association for Preservation of Clear Lake

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(APCL).  “I really appreciate their support behind this unique project,” stated Domonoske.   

“Goats are amazing creatures,” Steele says.  “They like to eat weeds and brush more than grass, and many of our biggest nuisance plants are at the top of the goats’ list.”

That fact has significant implications for conservation groups that manage complex properties.  Goats can be put to work controlling noxious honeysuckle, poison ivy, buckthorn, and multiflora rose without the use of chemical herbicides or gas-powered machinery.  They also happily work in areas that would be uncomfortable and even dangerous for human workers – like steep slopes and dense woods.

Ecosystem management at McIntosh Woods State Park has been ongoing since 1996. Domonoske’s most recent efforts have been targeting invasive species that have become out of balance.

“Our woodlands, need a predator to get back into balance so goats are a browser option that can devour woody vegetation that have overpowered the native species,” Domonoske said.   

The non-native species limit native diversity, which have a deeper more complex root systems that hold soil, prevent erosion and infiltrate storm water carrying nitrogen and phosphorous.

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