A herd of about 25 goats hired to eat invasive plants at Vancouver’s Raymond E. Shaffer Community Park will not be available for petting at the end of their dining gig, after all.
The farewell petting zoo was canceled after the East Minnehaha Neighborhood Association expressed concerns about parking logistics at the park, which lacks a parking lot. The park, a 10-acre undeveloped natural area the city acquired from the county in 201, lies on the north side of Northeast 58th Street between Northeast 76th and 81st avenues near Vancouver Mall.
The goats left Thursday night, and the park is now open to the public. The goats did a “great job” clearing out the invasive plants aside from the ivy, “which we knew was not their favorite snack,” said city park planner Monica Tubberville.
The four-legged gardeners’ work opened up visibility in the overgrown park and will improve access for future maintenance efforts to prune tree branches, mow, treat the remaining vines and remove trash the goats’ munching exposed.
