The Goat-Powered Revolution
Pierce County farmers discover that Angora goats are the ultimate tool for clearing the rugged, wild Pacific Northwest landscape.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Angora goat farming is attaining large proportions in Pierce County. The largest goat farm in the county, and probably in the Northwest, is that located on the Orting branch of the Northern Pacific railroad, and belonging to the Carbonado Cattle company. The company now has 2,000 goats and the goats are cleaning the hills off at a rate that is astonishing the settlers in the vicinity of the farm. The farm consists of 5,000 acres of land. Of this, 1,700 acres are cleared, or, rather, have been logged off and slashed. The goats are expected to keep down all undergrowth, brush and weeds. A member of the company who is in the city said that the goats eat salal brush, the Oregon grape, weeds of all kinds, young fir, cedar, pine, hemlock, spruce and all other kinds of young trees that may peep through the ground. It is even claimed that the goats find skunk cabbage an excellent relish. The promoters of the company declare that the Angora goat is a revolutionizing factor in the settlement and reclaiming of the wild lands of the state. The goats make an absolutely clean sweep, leaving nothing behind them after they have pastured on a logged tract for a time, but the old stumps and logs. On this land grass may be sown and will thrive luxuriantly.
“The goats make an absolutely clean sweep, leaving nothing behind them... but the old stumps and logs.”
While industrial logging methods eventually took over, the use of goats for 'targeted grazing' to clear brush and mitigate wildfire risk has seen a massive resurgence in modern Washington, reflecting a shift toward ecological land management.
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