Ottawa County Will Now Use Goats to Kill Invasive Plants

The Ottawa County Parks Department has a new approach to getting rid of the invasive plants in the area - goats.

They believe that using goats will reduce the amount of herbicides that are detrimental to the environment and sometimes dangerous for humans.

The hungry goats are expected to eat the plants that the parks department would like to get rid of.

The species being targeted include bush honeysuckle, autumn olive, Oriental bittersweet, poison ivy, and buckthorn. The more poison ivy we get rid of the better, I say. (Will it make the goats itchy?)

The cost for this project start-up was a one-time fee of $3,000 for fencing plus $2,500 each year to lease the goats (you can lease goats?!?). A generous donation of $2,500 was received from the Friends of the Ottawa County Parks group to support the project. The goat project is expected to start in May.

This has to be the cutest form of pest prevention ever!