Rebecca Clarren

I hate to mow the lawn. My yard spans a hill and cutting the grass with the electric mower I borrow from the neighbors is some strange hybrid of yoga and modern dance. (Flick the yellow power cord to the left over my shoulder, now to the right, under my leg.) My neighbor Allison, the one who so kindly lends me her mower has a solution: a neighborhood goat. We could all keep the goat for a week at a time and then, at the end of the summer, we’d slaughter and grill her up for one fantastic neighborhood block party.

The BBQ-part aside, using goats in lieu of lawn mowers or insecticides is gaining traction all over the West. For several years, Wilsonville, Ore. has hired a herd of 450 grazers to chomp down invasive plants at city parks. Clackamas County, not far from Portland, has used goats to manage weeds near reservoirs. This past May, the Getty Museum in Los Angeles hired several dozen goats (and a goatherd and a few dogs) to chew up the flammable brush around its 110-acre hillside. Ranchers in New Mexico have used hundreds of goats to eat and kill off tamarisk.

Claudia Ingham, a doctorate in rangeland ecology and management at Oregon State University, is studying the impact of grazing on landscapes rife with invasive English ivy. So far her results indicate that goats are the most effective at controlling the ivy so that native plants have space to flourish.

Using insecticides and fuel-powered mowers increasingly make little sense with raising gas prices and data about the impacts of toxic chemicals on humans and the environment. Call your local officials and get them to hire a flock of goats. It’s an idea that should take root.