The goats are baaaaack this year at Nose Hill Park, as part of a multi-year effort by the City of Calgary to use a natural and environmentally appropriate way to improve habitats for native fescue grasses.
The grasses, which evolved alongside the buffalo and bison that no longer inhabit most of Southern Alberta, are being given a next-best solution with the goats, which, like their herbivore, much-removed cousins, help to improve native prairie growing conditions.
Jeannette Hall, a shepherd and owner of BAAH’D Plant Management and Reclamation, said that the roughly 800 goats this year in the Rubbing Stone Hill Natural Parkland Zone are being scientifically utilized on the 58-hectare site.
“Goats aren’t magical unicorns that kiss the ground and make the brush and the weeds go away. There’s an actual strategy to how we’re utilizing them. So, when we look at the budgets and we look at the projects that go into this, every project is going to be different, and it’s based on the logistics, how much staff we need, and all the requirements of each individual site,” she said.
“This is a specially trained group of goats who’ve been doing this for over 20 years.”
She said that this year, the goats were being used to eat the woody brush that is fighting for dominance against the fescue grasses.
That differs from years past, where the goats were used as a natural weeding solution first and foremost.
“This is not a weed program. What we’re doing here is vegetation reduction, and what we’re actually going after is the woody brush, as the woody brush is taking over from the prairie aspects of Nose Hill. So we’re trying to re-establish that balance in the ecosystem,” said Hall.
The removal of excess vegetation ends up improving the soil conditions at Nose Hill Park, and in turn reduces the dead vegetation that could lead to increased fire risks along 14 Avenue NW.
The goats that BAAH’D Plant Management and Reclamation use target broadleaf plants, weeds, seeds, and bark over grasses.
Hall said that differs from other types of ungulates like sheep or cattle, as the goats browse rather than graze.
That selected eating has benefits as it removes vegetation overgrowth and stimulates shoot growth for a healthier ecosystem.
Improving the ecological health of Nose Hill Park
Andrew Phelps, a parks ecologist with the City of Calgary, said without the goats, there would only be a handful of white-tailed deer to fill the ungulate ecological niche.
“The goats are really beneficial, better than mowing or other vegetation management control, because they come in, they ingest those weed seeds, and their stomach acids actually neutralize the seed coating, which renders those seeds useless. They can’t germinate, and so it really takes them out of the population and allows the less competitive native species to come back in,” he said.
This year was the third time that the goats would be returning to the same area, said Phelps.
He said the cost was similar to other types of vegetation management methods, but come with many other valued-added services that don’t come with mowing or applying herbicides.
“With the goats, we get tilling of the soil when they move across the landscape with their hooves. So they aerate the soil. They till in those seeds, which helps them germinate. They also leave their droppings on the soil, so that cycling of nutrients and fertilization really helps our native species,” Phelps said.
“It draws in a lot of attention, and we use that to our benefit here at the City of Calgary by getting our educators in front of folks and talking to them about Nose Hill and the ecology on Nose Hill, as well as conservation and other ecological items, and that helps promote ecological literacy.”
As for whether Calgarians would get a chance to see the goats this year, Hall said that visitors may see them on the ridge, but the area they would be working in would be largely inaccessible due to the steep embankments in the Rubbing Stone Hill Natural Parkland Zone.
Calgarians are being asked, however, if they do venture into the park, to keep a respectful distance from the goats, avoid touching the electric fences being used to contain the goats, and keep dogs on leash to avoid conflicts with the herding dogs.
They are also being asked to respect all posted signage on trails and to obey area closures.
