Send In The Goats?

Should Milwaukee County use a herd of goats to nibble away at invasive species in the parks system?

At least one county supervisor thinks so. Sup. Jason Haas introduced a resolution Tuesday before the county board’s Parks, Energy and Environment Committee seeking to employ goats for landscaping purposes around the county.

“I have long ruminated over how to deal with the issue of overgrown vegetation in our county parks and on the bluffs on Lake Michigan,” Haas said, adding that the “sheer cost of people and equipment” makes it an expensive problem to manage. “The solution to this thorny problem, I offer, is goats.”

Haas said goats can be “deployed” in herds to eat up overgrown vegetation and invasive species like buckthorn and honeysuckle. The supervisor is proposing that the county contract with a third party — a “goat vendor” — to deploy and manage the goats.

Haas noted that goats have been used by the City of Madison, the City of Mequon and the City of Wausau and O’Hare International Airport for landscaping related services.

Haas’ resolution asks Milwaukee County Parks to review and develop a plan outlining parks and county grounds where goats could be deployed, identifying invasive species in county parks; and the costs, feasibility and timeline for using goats for landscaping in the parks.

Sup. Steven Shea posed the dirty question that was on everyone’s mind. “My only concern here, I’m thinking about the residue of goat droppings. How is that managed in this solution here?”

Sup. Sheldon Wasserman, chair of the parks committee, said, “Please proceed, this is a critical question, people are very concerned about this issue.”

Haas said the “droppings” are “definitely a thing,” adding: “If it’s in a trafficked area, even a slightly trafficked area, that would need to be an item of concern. That would be handled within the… contract discussion.”

Sup. Felesia Martin asked what the cost associated would be. Haas said that is still to be determined, but said the county would not be responsible for the goats.

“The goats would go home at night,” Haas said. “This would not be a new county asset.”

Martin also seconded the concern about goat feces, explaining that she didn’t want this to end up in Milwaukee’s waterways.

The committee laid the item over for a month so the parks department could study the costs and feasibility of using goats for landscaping.