Hawaii County’s Parks and Recreation director has given the green light to a herd of hungry goats to clear a half-acre of brush
in an area next to the Hilo Soccer Fields, the county
announced Friday.
The park maintenance manager was assigned to come up with different clearing options other than the use of herbicides and brought the idea forward
to the director.
“We’re always looking for different ways to control weeds,” said Parks and Recreation Director Roxcie Waltjien. So when the company owner “walked in one day, I said, ‘Let’s give this a shot.’”
“Since goats are essentially natural weed whackers, putting them to work in our parks is (good) for the goats and good for the environment,” she said.
The pilot project, set for July 16, will employ a company called 3C Goat Grazing, which will bring in nannies and kids to do the grazing in a day. No billies are used because they’re harder to control and “a little stinky,” said Deputy Director Maurice Messina.
The county will pay $500 for the job. 3C Goat Grazing charges a minimum of
$500 for an acre or any part thereof. The company will set up temporary fencing on the site to contain the herd.
The weeds are overgrown, roughly 3 to 4 feet high.
The area is near an embankment next to a canal, so the county wants to use natural methods of maintaining the park.
“We have been very proactive, limiting the use of pesticides,” Waltjien said. “Clearing and maintaining is quite a chore. This is a win-win for us, for the company and for the goats.”
The county plans to resurface the area after the weeds are cleared and put in grass, which can be easily maintained and mowed.
“The ground crew will be able to turn it into a nice lawn,” Messina said.
In the past the county used another company, which employed the same methods, but that company went out of business.
This company — 3C Goat Grazing — has done similar work for the Hawaii Army National Guard in the Hilo area at Keaukaha Military Reservation, which has
229 acres of lowland wet
forest, Messina said.
3C has a no-kill policy, and as the goats age they are put out to pasture, he said.
The public is asked not to approach the fencing while the goats are grazing.
The goats will not be in
an area where children can come in and play.
