Goats help clear out noxious plants along Allegheny River in Oakmont
Goats are clearing brush, poison ivy and other noxious plants along the Allegheny River in Oakmont.
They began their work June 6 along a hillside in the Edgewater housing development.
Phyllis Anderson, assistant to the borough manger and the person who proposed the idea of using the animal landscapers, said the group of goats are known as the “munch bunch.”
It is unclear how long they would be in the borough.
“Because they do not work in the rain, I’m not sure how long it is going to take them to munch the brush along the river, and it has been raining a lot since their arrival,” Anderson said. “It appears as if they are eating a lot of the knotweed along the fence. I saw some goats in the thick of the brush below their tent munching away.”
She said it is a sustainability effort of cleaning up the community without using chemicals or machinery.
Jake Rose, 18, of Pittsburgh’s Regent Square neighborhood was visiting friends June 9 in Oakmont. He and a small group gathered by a fence to watch the animals in action.
“I think it’s pretty cool,” he said. “I think it’s better than actual landscapers. It’s something cool people can look at, and I’d pay people for it, too. They almost fought earlier, a couple of (the goats).”
People may see goats in other parts of the borough as council has offered its support for goat usage.
“I love the idea,” Lindsay Osterhout, council Ppresident, said. “It’s an innovative and natural way to weed the hillside that keeps pesticides from running into the river. The borough is working on sustainability efforts. The goats are just the beginning.”
Anderson said she has received a lot of positive feedback.
“The goats are making the residents feel good about something, since so much negativity has been going on for so long,” she said.
Borough officials declined to release the name of the company providing the goats or how much it costs to use them.
Goats in Oakmont pic.twitter.com/VmkUytbldS
— Mike D. (@MikeJdiVittorio) June 9, 2022
Michael DiVittorio is a TribLive reporter covering general news in Western Pennsylvania, with a penchant for festivals and food. He can be reached at mdivittorio@triblive.com.
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