Herd for hire

The city of Breckenridge’s newest clean-up crew, 150 rented goats, have already been hard at work clearing the almost six acres of overgrown Walker Branch Creek. The herd arrived last week and has completed the first section of their project.

Kyle Carr, with Rent-A-Ruminant Texas (RART), gave an update at the Tuesday, Sept. 7 meeting.

“The goats have arrived. There are 150 of them right now and they’ve finished the first area,” Carr said. “They’re now on the second section and they’ll probably be in that area for about two to three days. We’ve had (a) great response from the citizens, a lot of them are stopping and taking pictures.”

The unique approach to the creek clean-up was presented by Terry Carr, Kyle’s father, and approved by Breckenridge City Commissioners during their July 6 meeting. According to the company’s website, RART can provide an eco-friendly vegetation management solution for everything from corporations and governmental entities to private property owners.

“Goats can go places where it is unsafe or unsuitable for humans and heavy machinery,” the company’s website also states. “They are also used to preserve existing trees or other established features you’d like to maintain, while removing invasive and unwelcome vegetation that you despise.”

The proposal from RART estimated that the 5.85-acre area, from the 100 block of N. Oakwood St. northeast to the 700 block of N. Breckenridge Ave., would take 15-24 days to clear out.

According to the service agreement, a job could take longer than anticipated due to bad weather, sick or injured goats, or a sick or injured herder. The cost of the project is $17,652.