Goats help control spread of invasive buckthorn

Posted 7/7/21

New visitors to Lebanon Hills Regional Park: Buckthorn-chomping goats During your next visit to Lebanon Hills Regional Park, look for our newest visitors — a trip, or herd, of goats. Goats are …

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Goats help control spread of invasive buckthorn

Posted

New visitors to Lebanon Hills Regional Park: Buckthorn-chomping goats

During your next visit to Lebanon Hills Regional Park, look for our newest visitors — a trip, or herd, of goats. Goats are being used to help control the invasive buckthorn plant in the park.

About 150 goats arrived this week and will be at Lebanon Hills for up to 10 days, primarily in an area of the park known as Roundtop Hill near the Visitor Center. Staff and county volunteers are checking on the goats daily.

A temporary electric fence will be installed to keep them contained within the project area. Please enjoy the goats from a distance and do not attempt to feed or pet them.

This is the first time Dakota County has used goats in natural resources work at Lebanon Hills. The animal is increasingly used to improve habitat in Minnesota and elsewhere.