8. get rid of poison ivy in parks
Borrow some goats from a local farm to graze at Sojourner Truth Park – goats eat poison ivy before grass, and they can eliminate poison ivy without use of toxic chemicals.
Thanks to Terence Ward for pointing out that only certain breeds of goats like poison ivy — Spanish and Angorra goats to be precise.
a spanish goat
100 Ideas for New Paltz 
Don’t forget the rail trail!
Good thinking, Frank, Thanks,
Jason
Great post!
There will also need to be a general landscaping plan to transition the edge areas of trails, fields and paths into other species, otherwise the Ivy will keep coming back. I’d say raspberries and native grapes (among hundreds of other potential species). Especially along the railtrail!
Don’t worry, all breeds of goats like poison ivy, and will eat it before they eat grass. Remember the song, Mairzy doats and dozy doats? A kid’ll eat ivy, too.
They also like all kinds of other ornamental plantings, which can be a problem, as well as their tendency to fertilize as they go with “nanny-berries.” And they’re really vulnerable to attacks by loose dogs. So if you don’t mind the turds and extra “pruning,” and can cope somehow w/ dog attacks, then they work great!
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