Some of the goats brought to Wausau by Liberation Farmers LLC in Almond, WI to eat invasive species on Barker Stewart Island. Image courtesy: Wausau/Marathon County Parks, Recreation, and Forestry Director Jamie Polley
CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – Wausau mayor Katie Rosenberg’s campaign ads say “Re-Elect Mayor Katie Rosenberg”. And then the ads say: Clean Water, Affordability, Inclusivity, Goats!
The goats are a microcosm of what’s wrong in Wausau.
For several years now, Wausau has hired out a herd of goats to feed on invasive weeds on Barker Stewart Island. The goats are penned in using temporary fencing to eat buckthorn. (Goats, I am told, will eat almost anything.) Every few days the location of the temporary fencing is moved, at the goats get new territory to feed on.
And apparently the goats are popular. There’s been talk of goatapalooza and yoga with goats. So, goats are cool according to the mayor.
So, what’s the problem? Well, months ago Meg Ellefson researched the goats. And – they’re more expensive and don’t do as good a job as using a chemical fungicide. Goats eat most, but not all, of the buckthorn seeds. The goats, apparently, are indiscriminate eaters. They chomp down on grass and flowers too. In one study, they ate the plastic flags that were being used to monitor the invasive weeds. And the goats must be brought back the next year to eat the buckthorn they missed the year before. Killing the buckthorn with chemicals, which break down and dissipate quickly, is a one time, environmentally safe approach. And, apparently, it’s cheaper and less labor-intensive.
And that is Wausau in a nutshell. The city is wallowing in debt. A few short years ago the city’s debt was around $50-million. Now it’s north of $200-million. Property taxes are up, despite a $1.1-million increase in state aid last year. The water bill is the most expensive in the state.
Goats are a tiny part of the city’s financial equation. But just once I’d like someone, somewhere in city government to stand up and say “we have to do this the least expensive way.” But, no, we’ll spend a little more to be cool.
How about spending a little less… and if you want a yoga session with the goats, pay for it yourself.
Chris Conley
Comments