Using goats as a means to mitigate unwanted vegetation in vacant property and parkland settings addresses both environmental and community challenges. Invasive species run rampant in our urban and suburban settings, including the beautiful parks therein. Too often the solution is to apply chemical treatments that puts poisons into our environment, with residual effects. Mechanical solutions often fall short due to the topography of our region; our municipalities and land steward capacity simply don't have the capacity to address these vigorous growers. In some cases, invasive vines have blanketed large areas, choking out the native vegetation; in other situations unwanted plants have taken over lots, making neighborhood spaces appear to be blighted rather than a community asset.

Goats are an all-natural solution to these issues. Their ability to eat through vegetation reduces need to spray additional herbicides where they have worked. They also are able to get to hard to reach places that are difficult or impossible for humans and machines. 

Once goats have eaten through a property, the opportunities for that space can be reimagined. Parkland that was once seen as obstructed now carries the potential for new trails or native vegetation restoration. Vacant lots that only seemed to serve to collect trash considered an eyesore and liability can become spaces for neighborhood development.

Applying a goatherd to invasive plant-infested areas in the Pittsburgh region is not an end-all-be-all to address the environmental and community challenges we face with these areas, but it can be a significant piece of the solution.