Orangetown using goats to clear invasive plants for first time
The goats are expected to be at a basin in Tappan for two weeks, day and night, rain or shine.
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The town of Orangetown is using goats for the first time to get rid of invasive plants, like mugwort, from around a basin off Bogart Place in Tappan.
They're expected to be there for two weeks, day and night, rain or shine.
Getting rid of these plants is expected to help prevent flooding in downtown Tappan as well as keep the water clean that goes from it into the Sparkill Creek.
The more than two dozen animals are with Fat and Sassy Goats out of Westchester owned by Jenn Balch.
Balch explains that goats get rid of these weeds better than mowing could because they eat the leaves which effects the plants ability to continue growing.
She adds even the animals waste makes a difference, "birds and deer, the more they eat, the more seeds they spread of a lot of these weeds. But the way the goats digest seeds, nothing is viable post digestion. So they're also just halting it in its tracks."
"I can't stop coming here once or twice a day just to see how they're doing," said Orangetown Highway Superintendent James Dean.
Dean tells News 12 the job would have taken two months to do considering the terrain and vast amount of plants.
He hopes to use the goats again in the future.
