Goats in the Greenbelt

If you haven’t seen the local news about this (Link, Link) we’ve got goats in the greenbelt! The Bachman Greenbelt to be more specific. The Dallas Parks Department recently announced the new goat program, soon after the goats arrived at Bachman Greenbelt on April 18. They should be there about 11 days, before moving on to other parks in the Dallas area.

What is the purpose?

One of the biggest scourges of our local native parks and preserves is an invasive plant called privet. Privet is not native to North Texas, and was introduced from Asia as a quick-growing ornamental plant. Its popularity in landscape use was due to how fast it could build hedges, the dense nature of the plant, and the fact that it stays green year round.

However, the very reasons that people liked having it in their yards, are exactly what makes it such a problem in our parks and natural areas. Privet is spread as birds eat its berries, and they can be dispersed for miles. Once spread, this privet can quickly outperform other plant species, and quickly takes over.

What this means is that we get dense growth of privet throughout the area, carried by the birds and also as berries are washed down streams and creeks where new privet can sprout. This fast growing privet quickly overtakes our native plants, resulting in dense impenetrable walls of green. As native plants are crowded out, our parks transition from a mosaic of plants and shrubs, to a monoculture of privet.

Why is this a bad thing? Some people do find the privet beautiful, but the spread of privet and reduction of other plants results has serious consequences:

• Crowding out: The fast growing nature of privet out-competes are native plants, resulting in less biodervisity.
• Loss of biodiversity: Many insects rely on specific native plants for food or reproduction. As native plant species disappear, so do the insects—and the birds and animals that feed on them.
• Tree regeneration suffers: Dense privet thickets block sunlight, preventing young trees from growing. Privet also competes with trees for nutrients and water and can disrupt the soil conditions that native species depend on.
• Safety concerns: Dense growth can obscure visibility, hiding encampments or illicit activity, making parts of the park feel unsafe.
• Soil impact: Privet may alter soil pH and nutrient composition, creating conditions that further disadvantage native species.
• Fire hazard: Dry, woody privet growth increases the risk of fire—especially in hot Texas summers.

Why Goats?

So privet is an issue, and something that local officials and volunteers have been fighting for years. Goats are a great tool in the arsenal to combat the spread of privet.

How?

• Goats love to eat shrubs and woody plants, and are voracious
• By stripping the privet plants of leaves and stems, over repeated grazings the goats can wear the plant down and kill it.
• Goats are a non-chemical treatment, which ensures that no harmful substances are introduced into our parks, which could hurt out other wildlife or damage the soil
• Goats can easily navigate hilly terrain and get where machinery is hard to introduce.
• Goat poop is a great fertilizer!
• Goats can clear over an acre of privet a day, making it a relatively quick and environmentally safe way to attack these invasive plants

Goats have been used elsewhere. Dallas isn’t the first. In fact, Arlington is also using goats to clear their nature preserves as well, and this strategy has been employed elsewhere in the country.

What’s Next

The goats will be traveling around the city chowing down on privet, so if you don’t get a chance to see them at Bachman Greenbelt before they depart, you may see them elsewhere. If you happen upon them, please don’t disturb the goats. They will be encircled by an electric fence, but also they are there to get a job done. If you are in an area with the goats, make sure to keep your dog leashed (or better yet, leave Fido at home), and watch from a distance.

Using goats is an effective and fun way to combat the spread of invasive, and continue to improve the parks for years to come!