VIRGINIA CITY (AP) - Bringing goats to Virginia City was one of Allyson Adams' first acts as the new mayor of this old gold mining town.
Nearly 200 of the animals are on Boot Hill, eating knapweed.
"We need more goats," Adams, who became mayor this spring, recently told some people at Virginia City's Metropolitan Market. "Next year, we'll probably need 1,000."
Goats were brought from Conrad to eat weeds that threaten Virginia City's native plants. Adams sees the animals as an alternative to spraying chemicals, but said continue chemical use along some roadways here will continue.
The mayor believes goats remind Virginia City's tourists and residents that Montana is an agricultural state, where animals serve a purpose.
"With all the development happening and people moving in, it's important to keep animals in front of people's eyes," she said.
The use of goats is being termed an experiment, for now.
"Anytime you try something new, people are skeptical, and they should be," Adams said. "That's why we called it an experiment -- the goat experiment."
Several participating landowners are likely to keep the goats busy all summer, said Kim Harris, who owns the animals. He charges $13 for every acre they cover.
Between Thursday afternoon and Friday afternoon, they chewed their way across 10 acres of city property.
"They've really demolished that," Harris said approvingly as he surveyed a patch of land that used to have a lot of knapweed.
Harris hopes that by summer's end the goats will have made two sweeps on the 650 acres or so where he has been asked to reduce weeds. Of that total, only about 30 acres belong to the city.
Harris said that since his arrival in Virginia City on Thursday, several people asked to have goats on their land.
Published on Saturday, June 17, 2006. Last modified on 6/17/2006 at 4:01 pm
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ljs
wrote on
June 17, 2006 4:07 PM Wasn't there recently a big stink raised because a goat used for the same purpose was eightysixed from Manhattan?
Cats & Dogs
wrote on
June 17, 2006 4:25 PM Great Story! I'll pass it along to the folks in Manhattan when we go there tomorrow. Looks like the new Mayor in Virginia City is at least trying some creative solutions and keeping AG alive in a responsible way.
QB
wrote on
June 17, 2006 4:29 PM They can go to Manhattan, MT and talk to that guy for his goat.
warren
wrote on
June 17, 2006 10:12 PM So they have 200 goats and will go to 1000 next year and will pay for them while the guy in Manhattan can't have one in town just for his own use. Governments work in mysterious ways...
someone tell
wrote on
June 17, 2006 11:27 PM that guy in Manhattan to move to Virginia City, where the goats can roam. Only in MT!!
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