The scourge of leafy spurge.Angora goats, landowners, and Forest Service rangeland managers are joining forces in an uncommon partnership to control leafy spurge Noun 1. leafy spurge - tall European perennial naturalized and troublesome as a weed in eastern North America Euphorbia esula, wolf's milk Euphorbia, genus Euphorbia - type genus of the Euphorbiaceae: very large genus of diverse plants all having milky . Two years ago Ron and Jean Peterson of Dickinson, North Dakota Dickinson is a city in Stark County, North Dakota in the United States. It is the county seat of Stark CountyGR6. The population was 16,010 at the 2000 census. Dickinson was founded in 1882. The local paper is the Dickinson Press. , approached the Medora Ranger District with a proposal to graze Angora goats on the Little Missouri National Grasslands Little Missouri National Grassland is a National Grassland located in North Dakota, USA. At 1,028,051 acres (1,606 sq mi - 4,160 sq km), it is the largest grassland in the country. . An agreement was struck for 200 goats to graze 100 acres infested in·fest tr.v. in·fest·ed, in·fest·ing, in·fests 1. To inhabit or overrun in numbers or quantities large enough to be harmful, threatening, or obnoxious: with leafy spurge, a perennial weed increasingly common in the north-central U.S. The Forest Service had been looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. ways to control leafy spurge other than herbicides, which pose environmental problems and are not cost-effective in bottoms and woody draws. Goats, on the other hand, are well suited for grazing such areas. And they show a strong preference for leafy spurge, even to the point of addiction. "They strip the leaves and eat the flower, and their digestive Systems seem to destroy the seeds to a much greater extent than sheep do," according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. range conservationist Mark Hatcher. The project was so successful that other grazing permittees are expanding the program to 5,000 acres of federal, state, and private lands. These projects are indicative of a growing trend throughout western rangelands-the use of goats, sheep, and cattle to control brush in tree plantations, seed orchards, campgrounds, and firebreaks. The cost to treat leafy-spurge areas with conventional methods is about $150 an acre and has to be repeated year after year. The goats do the job for $10 an acre. |
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