Last June, more than 100 weed-munching goats were brought to Confluence Park in northwest Calgary to feed on noxious weeds, like Canada Thistle. By all accounts, the pilot project has been a complete success.
“Goats are absolutely part of the solution,” Mayor Naheed Nenshi said.
City administrators agree and want to expand the program. So they proposed some changes to city laws at a Calgary Planning Commission meeting last week that would allow the program to grow.
“We introduced some amendments to the land use bylaw that would allow for grazing on city-owned land for the purpose of weed control,” said Chris Manderson, urban conservation lead for Calgary Parks.
Manderson said the city has some locations in mind where goats would be ideal.
“We would be focusing I think primarily on natural areas. We would also be looking at areas that would be difficult to access, near water bodies where you don’t want to spray. So, things like that, steep slopes, places where we’ve got some persistent weed problems,” he said.
Despite his support for the program, Nenshi is realistic about how far it can go and how much it can accomplish.
“I don’t see armies of goats in every park and on every boulevard in the city, but we have to be creative and think about this, and certainly the goats in Confluence Park are doing a great job.”
“There may be an opportunity to expand that a little bit, but we also have to be cost effective and thoughtful on how to do this,” the mayor added.
And when it comes to costs, it’s estimated the savings for reducing the need for chemicals are as much as $1,500 a hectare.
The matter is scheduled to go before city council at the end of July.
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