Goats cleared invasive plants from a park slope in six days

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A herd of goats and sheep stripped the invasive plants off a slope at James Marx All Veterans Park in six days, and city crews are now clearing what the animals could not eat.

The city had allowed five to 10 days for the grazing, which began Sept. 8 and cost $9,500.

"It went well," Katrina Napora, natural resources manager for the Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities, said in a written response provided by the city to questions posed by The Alexandria Brief. The animals cleared "a ton of invasive biomass," she said, and the project was a good first test.