Salem fires landscaping goats, citing cost, smell

SALEM – When four-legged landscapers made an appearance in Oregon’s capitol, the move was popular with park visitors. But authorities are giving them the boot.

Salem officials say the city’s pilot project employing goats to remove invasive species cost nearly five times what they would have spent to remove the vegetation using conventional methods. And that’s not the only drawback: Public works operations manager Mark Becktel noted that the city had to clean up the “heavily fertilized area” left behind by the goats.

The Statesman Journal reported that Salem contracted with Yoder Goat Rentals in October to unleash 75 rented goats on 9.1 acres at Minto-Brown Island Park, hoping they would eat up vegetation like Armenian blackberry and English ivy.

Becktel says the city will consider using grazing goats again for special projects.