Goats Return To Cheyenne To Feast On Creek Vegetation

Goats will return to Cheyenne to help City officials manage vegetation in Dry Creek and Crow Creek.

“As vegetation increases in the creek areas, there is the potential that there could be flooding in the creeks,” said Vicki Nemecek, Public Works Director for the City of Cheyenne. “As they graze, the goats eat the vegetation, including noxious weeds, and help keep floodwaters down.”

The goats cut down on invasive weeds that can take over the watershed area. And in watershed areas their seeds are able to spread to a wider area. Nemecek said the city could use human labor to manage the vegetation, but that would be substantially more expensive than goat labor.

There will be two herds of goats. One will start out at Dry Creek and Dell Range and move east. The second group of goats will be located at the Crow Creek and Ames Avenue underpass. The goats will be here about a month and are funded through the Fifth Penny Sales Tax.

The goats will be contained to specific areas using a portable electric fence and trained border collies.