Prospect Park Hires Goats As Adorable Fix for Hurricane Damage

Mountain Goat (Oreamnos americanus) juvenile, Glacier National Park, Montana
It turns out goats love poison ivy. Photo: Donald M. Jones/Corbis

Chickens are so last year — Brooklyn is all about the goats now. In fact, the Prospect Park Alliance just coughed up $15,000 to bring a heard of hungry goats to Prospect Park, where they will eat their way across the aptly named Vale of Cashmere.

The goats are part of a scheme to help undo some of the damage done by Hurricane Sandy and other storms that have battered the park in recent years. Storms knock down trees, allowing invasive plants such as poison ivy to take over. But it just so happens those are the types of plants goats love to eat.

Goats aren’t just the most fun solution — they might also be the only solution. The area where the goats will be used is so remote and rugged that using human labor there would be untenable. Also, goats are cuter.

What does $15,000 in goats look like? Not much, actually — just eight goats for a short stay. They arrive on May 16, and the park has put together a whole program of goat-centric activities. We know what you’re thinking, and yes, there will be pygmy goats.

Goats Will Save Prospect Park