Goats to manage weeds at Chicago airport

Below is an article from The Weed's News.

[TriplePundit 15 May 2013 by Tina Casey] -- Chicago’s Department of Aviation announced that O’Hare International Airport is getting its own herd of goats to help manage vegetation, so even though the pilot project hasn’t even gotten off the ground yet it’s already a whopping success.? That’s because, although the airport does expect to realize some concrete bottom line benefits from goat-powered landscaping, one goal of the project was to raise public awareness about environmental stewardship.? That might seem to be a curious message for a massive, sprawling, energy-sucking facility like an airport to promote, but take a look at O’Hare’s other activities and you can see how just about any business can seize the initiative and transition its operations to a more sustainable future.? The goat contract for “sustainable management grazing services” was awarded to a Chicago company called Central Commissary Holdings, LLC, which already has a grazing herd of about 25 goats at the ready near the city.? Once enough spring foliage fills out at the airport, the goats will be moved there.? For now, the pilot project consists of just 120 acres (the airport covers more than 7,000 acres in all), but these are key acres.? They include creeks, streams and roadways where hilly areas create obstacles for motorized equipment.? The goats are tasked with trimming down densely growing scrub, including poison ivy and other noxious or invasive species, while helping the airport to save fuel, cut down on herbicides and greenhouse gas emissions, reduce the potential for soil erosion, and of course, “naturally recycle nutrients as fertilizer.?”