News Release

Vail Brings Back Goats to Help Fight Noxious Weeds
7/28/2004

The Town of Vail will once again use weed-eating goats to help in the ongoing fight against noxious weeds. The 500 goats will arrive on Aug. 2 and are scheduled to be in the area for 15 days. The herd will be staged in East Vail on the recreation path from Bridge Road to Sunburst Drive and on town property along Bald Mountain Road. During the weed mitigation operations, citizens are asked to be extremely diligent in keeping dogs leashed and away from the herd. In 2001, the first year the town hosted the goats, unattended dogs attacked the herd on three separate occasions causing the death of two goats. In addition, a goat-herding dog was killed during a hit-and-run accident on the South Frontage Road as it attempted to bring the herd under control during one of the attacks.

The weed-eating goats come from Maybell, Colo., and are managed by Laura Lou Colby of Golden Hooves Grazing Service. The unique weed mitigation method was initiated at the request of several citizens who asked the town to find alternatives to using pesticides and other chemicals. In addition to being environmentally friendly, the program is relatively inexpensive in that the cost of the operation is approximately $1 per goat per day. For more information, contact Joe Kochera, the town's landscape supervisor, at 390-5698.