Goats Are Coming to Alexandria—and They’ve Got a Job to Do

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Alexandria’s newest landscaping crew has four legs, a healthy appetite and absolutely no problem eating on the job.

Beginning Sept. 8, approximately 35 to 40 goats and sheep will move into James Marx All Veterans Park in Alexandria’s West End for an unusual assignment: eat the weeds.

The park is located at 4725 Duke St., along Holmes Run, with its entrance near the intersection of Pickett Street and Holmes Run Parkway.

The animals will spend an estimated five to 10 days munching their way through a steep, heavily overgrown slope as part of a new pilot project from the City of Alexandria’s Department of Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities.

On the menu? Kudzu, garlic mustard, multiflora rose and other unwanted vegetation.

No gas-powered mowers. No weed whackers. Just a hungry herd and plenty of work to do.

Why Goats?

There is real science behind the seemingly whimsical solution.

Livestock grazing using goats and sheep is a form of biological control — using one species to help manage another. In this case, the animals consume the green, leafy portions of invasive plants such as kudzu, weakening vegetation that can otherwise overwhelm native species.

Goats are voracious and not especially picky. They’ll eat native plants, too, which is why targeted grazing is best suited to areas already dominated by invasive species.

They also have a practical advantage: goats can navigate steep slopes, uneven terrain and other places that are difficult for human crews or machinery to reach. That makes them particularly useful in environmentally sensitive areas where land managers also want to limit the use of chemical herbicides.

And there is research behind the approach. A 2021 meta-analysis published in Restoration Ecology examined 70 studies involving livestock used to manage unwanted vegetation and found that targeted grazing significantly reduced undesirable plants while increasing plant-species richness.

The goats can’t do everything, however. Because they eat primarily the leafy vegetation, they leave woody stems and roots behind. After Alexandria’s herd finishes its work, a human crew will return to remove that material and spread native seed.

As the City points out in its Goat Grazing FAQs, there is no single “silver bullet” for controlling invasive vegetation. Targeted grazing is one tool in a larger toolbox — and Alexandria is about to find out how well that tool works along Holmes Run.

The Park Has a Story of Its Own

While the goats may introduce some Alexandrians to James Marx All Veterans Park for the first time, the green space has a history closely tied to Alexandria’s West End.

The land was originally part of the Holmes Run creek bed. After Hurricane Agnes struck the region in 1972 and Lake Barcroft flooded the Holmes Run channel, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers filled the area. It was subsequently used to store dredged gravel and collect debris.

West End civic leader and Navy veteran James H. Marx Sr. and other members of the Holmes Run Committee worked with City officials to reclaim the site and turn it into parkland.

Marx wanted “All Veterans” in the name to honor Alexandria veterans of all wars.

After Marx died in 1993, City Council added his name to recognize the man who had worked so hard to make the park a reality. James Marx All Veterans Park was dedicated on May 30, 1994.

Today, the park is part of the Holmes Run greenway, with trails, wooded areas and picnic space — a considerably greener legacy than the debris and gravel that once occupied the site.

And beginning Sept. 8, it will temporarily include a few dozen very hungry new residents.

Will the Goats Eat Everything?

Well, pretty much.

Goats aren’t particularly interested in distinguishing Alexandria’s invasive vegetation from its prized native greenery. They’ll eat most leafy plants within reach, which is one reason targeted grazing works best in areas already heavily overtaken by invasive species.

The animals will be monitored and moved before they overgraze the slope or leave the ground bare.

Timing also matters. The herd is arriving in late summer, before many invasive plants produce and disperse their seeds.

And then there is the inevitable question: What about all that goat poop?

According to the City’s Goat Grazing FAQs, goat droppings are dry and pellet-like and return nutrients to the soil.

Consider it organic employee benefits.

The Humans Take Over Next

The four-legged crew can handle the leafy stuff, but there are limits to even a goat’s landscaping skills.

They won’t remove woody stems or roots.

Approximately one to two weeks after the herd finishes grazing, a human crew will return to clear the remaining woody material and spread native seed, giving more desirable vegetation a chance to become established.

The City will then evaluate how well targeted grazing reduced invasive vegetation and whether the approach offers advantages over traditional methods, including reducing chemical use and creating greater public awareness about invasive plants.

Those results could help determine whether goats and sheep get future assignments elsewhere in Alexandria.

Yes, You Can Go See Them

Residents can visit James Marx All Veterans Park and observe Alexandria’s temporary four-legged employees — but from a distance.

This is a working grazing site, not a petting zoo.

The herd will remain behind temporary electric fencing throughout its stay. A handler will check the enclosure daily, provide fresh water and monitor the animals’ health and safety.

Visitors should not enter or touch the fenced area, pet or feed the animals, or allow children to approach the enclosure. Dogs should remain leashed and well away from the livestock, and particularly excitable dogs may be happier sitting this outing out.

The goats and sheep will remain at the park overnight rather than commuting back and forth each day.

The City describes their stay as a kind of “foodie vacation to Alexandria.”

For these particular tourists, however, nobody needs to make a dinner reservation.

The kudzu is all-you-can-eat.