CRA To Use Goats to Clear Angels Knoll Hillside

By Eric Richardson
Published: Friday, September 05, 2008, at 03:06PM

Eric Richardson [Flickr]

Starting Monday, the overgrown hillside between Upper and Lower Angels Knoll parks will be home to 100 goats for two weeks.

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Here’s one you don’t see everyday: On Monday morning one hundred goats will be brought Downtown and released into Upper Angels Knoll park. The animals are intended to clear the steep hillside below the park, a job that has previously been performed by crews with loud weedwhackers. The animals will be on-site for two weeks, tended by a full-time herdsman.

UPDATE: Be sure to check out Monday’s story, featuring a photo gallery of the goats on Angels Knoll.

The site is owned by the Community Redevelopment Agency, which today put out a press release touting the plan’s economic and environmental benefits. The goats will cost the agency $3,000, compared to the $7,500 it had spent on previous weed abatement contracts.

“These goats cost us a fraction of what we previously paid to vendors who cleared the hill with weed whackers that spewed heavy smoke and toxic emissions on people walking by,” said CRA head Cecilia V. Estolano in the release. “Plus, using goats for weed abatement supports our green urbanism and open space goals.”

The animals will come from Ranchito Tivo Boer Goat in Chino. They’ll be judged on their performance at the completion of the two week project. The goats will be introduced to the park on Monday morning, with Estolano coming by to see them in place at 9:30am.

Below the hillside, work is slowly progressing on Lower Angels Knoll park, which was slated to be open at the end of June. A little over two months later, the space is still open only to the area’s burgeoning pigeon population.

Lower Angels Knoll Quietly Opens at Foot of Bunker Hill
December 12, 2008
Angels Knoll Goats Wasting No Time in Brush Clearance
September 10, 2008
Downtown Gets Its Goats
September 08, 2008
Downtown Gets Its Goats
September 08, 2008
Straw Poll: What's Opening First?
August 12, 2008
Angels Knoll Park Still Coming Soon
July 24, 2008
Angels Knoll Park Gets a Planting
June 24, 2008

Comments

edgycated writes:

that is awesome. can we let a few of them up to upper angels knoll? our corgis would have a blast trying to herd them.

# on Sep.05.2008 AT 04:23 PM

steve writes:

I would love to see the corgi’s heard them! Although, knowing that it tends to be classified as a “homeless park” do you think anything could happen to the goats? (ok, well maybe they wouldn’t eat them, but who knows)

# on Sep.05.2008 AT 05:07 PM

® writes:

This should make for an interesting walk to work in the morning.

# on Sep.05.2008 AT 05:15 PM

Darby writes:

That is one of the best things I’ve seen since I moved downtown.

# on Sep.05.2008 AT 05:43 PM

Benjamin Pezzillo writes:

Um, as the people at Angelus Plaza may soon learn, 100 goats are not exactly noise or odor free.

# on Sep.05.2008 AT 09:32 PM

Juanito writes:

Queso de Cabra! Bunker Hill brand, for sale at Grand Central Market.

# on Sep.05.2008 AT 09:48 PM

Ginny writes:

Goats in downtown. O M G…so many jokes come to mind, none of which are funny enough to share.

# on Sep.05.2008 AT 10:10 PM

Chattycathy writes:

Do goats do well in the heat? Will there be shade? Is there a water trough? Who’s going to tend to them at 2:00 in the morning?

# on Sep.06.2008 AT 10:46 AM

Purple Haze writes:

News flash: GOATS ESCAPE BUNKER HILL, LAST SEEN HEADING FOR MAGUIRE GARDENS.

# on Sep.06.2008 AT 02:58 PM

Farmer Juan writes:

Hey, Goats! Walk to work! Black marble countertops! Live / work / play in the heart of it all! Steps away from the Opera! Lap pool! Take the DASH! Welcome to Loft Angeles!

# on Sep.06.2008 AT 10:52 PM

Norbie 7 writes:

Angels’ Flight: gone to the goats, finally and at long last.

# on Sep.07.2008 AT 10:01 AM

trixiegal writes:

I first saw this done in Berkeley over 10 years ago. As a bonus, the droppings should improve the soil as well.

Go CRA!

# on Sep.07.2008 AT 01:05 PM

JM writes:

I saw this on the way home tonight. Hilarious! I can’t believe it’s not a put-on though. How about elephants or water buffalo for construction work?

# on Sep.07.2008 AT 08:27 PM

Dubby writes:

Goats ain’t so green after all. Rumor has it they damaged if not killed a bunch of trees by stripping off their bark at this site. Will the contractor be required back to replant - I doubt it.

There is also a lot of concern about goats being vectors for weeds as they move from site to site with weed seed in their gut and on their fur.

Goats don’t spew exhaust like mowers do, but weeds are pollution too.

http://www.cal-ipc.org/resources/pdf/BioPollution.pdf

# on Oct.14.2008 AT 03:42 PM