The adjacent photo is of the first kid and its mother goat at the Conservancy’s Silva preserve this year. The Conservancy maintains a small herd of goats to do the “soft path” vegetation management around giant garter snake-sensitive areas. Goats are lighter in weight, soft-footed and generally avoid water. They do a tremendous job of keeping aquatic weeds like water primrose at bay and thus keep the marsh complexes fully functional for giant garter snakes and other aquatic species. They also reduce the need for other types of weed management intervention. The little goat in the photo is less than two hours old, and comes from a brown-coated mother, but curiously has the black and white patches. A real cutie.
One Against Many?
The Conservancy uses a variety of tools to manage vegetation on its preserves, guided by a strategy known as “the soft path first.” One of those tools is grazing. Over the years, the Conservancy has used large grazing animals to manage marsh and adjacent upland vegetation, including Hereford, Black Angus, …