The District has been using a herd of goats to help control thickets of Himalayan blackberry that have overgrown large areas along Weaver Creek west of Weaverville. The District contracted with rancher Rob Augusta of the Douglas City area to put some of his Boer meat goats to the task of grazing young blackberry shoots in a two-acre demonstration area in Weaverville Community Forest. The purpose was to learn how effective they could be in helping Trinity County landowners control this invasive non-native species as an alternative to chemical herbicides.

The demonstration area is along a new segment of Weaver Basin Trail between Mill Street and the Industrial Park. A crew from the Trinity River Conservation Camp built the mile-long trail in May by cutting away huge blackberry thickets to clear a route. The blackberries immediately began re-sprouting with renewed vigor, as expected, and a herd of 32 goats were brought in for two weeks in early July to browse back the carpet of new shoots. They will return for a few more meals of young blackberry leaves in late summer or early fall. According to Augusta, allowing goats to munch and trample blackberry vines in two or three repeat visits over several months can deplete and ultimately kill the plants.

The approach appears to be effective. “These goats have been incredible, I think they should be a follow-up treatment on almost every fuels reduction project we do" said John Condon, the District’s Project Coordinator. The trail construction and goat demonstration project were funded by the Weaverville Community Forest Stewardship Fund with proceeds from hazard trees that were sold to Trinity River Mill in 2006. Additional support for the blackberry control project came from Caltrans. For additional information on this innovative approach to invasive plant control, called “prescribed herbivory,” contact Mark Dowdle at the District’s office (530) 623-6004.