Ode to Billy Goats? An alternative to herbicides.

Could it be we, as a species, have turned a corner? I can remember when, as a kid staying with grandparents in a semi rural area, listening to Grandma and Grandpa gripe about the "city folks" who were moving out to the country, then complaining about its charms, such as crowing cocks at 6am and pig squeals and stink. Eventually Grandma and Grandpa sold out, since they could no longer keep those chickens or the billy goat they affectionately named Houdini, since no fenced area would hold him and he had a fondness for flower bulbs. They were victims of suburban zoning and laws passed by newly elected (former city resident) officials.

Fast forward to 2007, and the City of Chattanooga, Tennessee, after fighting a losing battle against Kudzu on city properties with herbicides and heavy equipment, decided to try a novel (for 2007) solution. They imported a Goat Herd to munch the kudzu vines that were choking off the entrance to the McCallie Tunnel under Missionary Ridge. This is an area where digging equipment couldn't be used because of the rocky slope, and where herbicides didn't work and would make the fumes in the tunnel an environmental disaster. The kudzu vines were so invasive that they were literally creating a driving hazard. Kudzu, an asian invasive imported into this country in the 1800's, can grow as much as a foot a day.

Did it work? So well that residents created "Goats Working" signs, and one man wrote a song, Ode to Billy Goats,  which has been enjoying a lot of play on the local radio stations by request. Now they're talking about renting roaming goatherds out for kudzu control. Could it be that those expensive homes up on Missionary Ridge will one day each sport a pet goat in the yard?