Turkey Mountain bringing in goats for brush control

Visitors at Turkey Mountain may soon spot an unusual sight: goats helping clear overgrown vegetation.

River Parks officials approved a plan Thursday to bring in goats as a natural tool for managing brush in hard-to-reach areas of the urban wilderness.

“Really with vegetation management and when you think about areas that are hard to maintain or get to, the topography is challenging,” River Parks Executive Director Jeff Edwards said. “Yeah, we’re looking at goat grazing.”

The program will begin as a test within the next month to see how much the goats can eat and which plants they target. Edwards said the trial comes at no cost to River Parks.

Officials hope the goats could eventually reduce some of the manual labor currently required to maintain the rugged terrain.