VOA新闻杂志2024--Some US Cities Use Sheep, Goats to Control Plant Growth

Some American communities and universities have been experimenting with sheep and goats to keep plant growth under control.

Along the Cumberland River near Nashville, Tennessee, visitors on boats watch the large buildings of the city in the distance. But they also can see something few expected: hundreds of sheep eating grass, or grazing, along the river.

Sheep to remove unwanted plants

Zach Richardson oversees¹ the sheep. His business is called Nashville Chew Crew. Richardson said sometimes the boats will go out of their way to let passengers get a closer look at his sheep. The group of sheep can be seen grazing a few hundred meters away from places where many people live and work.

The joy people get from watching sheep eat is partly why the creatures are becoming popular workers in some urban areas.

"Everybody that comes out here and experiences the sheep, they enjoy it more than they would someone...with a leaf blower or a weed eater," Richardson said.

Using sheep to control plants is not a new method. But more American communities are choosing sheep to deal with problems such as invasive species, wildfire risks, native plant protection, and to keep historic places in good condition.

In 2017, Nashville's parks department paid for the Chew Crew to control unwanted plant growth at Fort Negley. The Union Army built the fort during the U.S. Civil War. Unwanted plants, or weeds, were growing between and along its stones. Tools like lawnmowers could easily damage the stones.

Sheep now graze in an area of about 61 hectares of city property yearly, including in the historic Nashville City Cemetery².

Jim Hester is assistant director of Metro³ Nashville Parks. Speaking about the sheep, he said, "It is a more environmentally sustainable way to care for the greenspace and oftentimes is cheaper than doing it with handheld equipment and staff."

Dogs watch over the Chew Crew's sheep. The dogs spend their whole lives with the sheep and keep visitors and animals from getting too close. The group of sheep, or flock, is made up of hair sheep, a kind of animal that naturally releases its hair fibers⁴ and is often used for meat.

Santa Barbara fire protection

Santa Barbara, California, has been using sheep for about seven years to protect land buffers⁶ that can slow or stop the spread of wildfires.

"The community loves the grazers and it's kind of a great way of community engagement," said Monique O'Conner, open space planner for the city's parks and recreation.

The grazed areas can change how fire moves, said Mark vonTillow, the wildland specialist for the Santa Barbara City Fire Department.

VonTillow said that, if a fire hits a grazed area, "The fire behavior reacts drastically and drops to the ground." He added, "That gives firefighters a chance to attack the fire."

Some universities have tried using goats and sheep on their properties. In 2010, weeds were overtaking an area at the University of Georgia that was not used by students or staff. The weeds were pushing out native plants, said Kevin Kirsche, the school's director of sustainability.

Rather than using chemicals or mowers, Kirsche said the university hired Jennif Chandler to send in a herd⁷ of goats.

"Bringing the goats to the site was an alternative means of removing invasive plants in a way that was nontoxic to the environment and friendly to people," Kirsche said.

At the time, Richardson, the owner of Chew Crew, was a student at the University of Georgia studying landscape architecture. He got the idea to create his own goat grazing business. The goats became the most popular four-legged creatures on campus, he said.

Richardson, who moved his company to Nashville after finishing his studies, now prefers sheep over goats. Sheep have closer group ties and are not as likely as goats to climb and explore.

"I'll never own another goat," he admitted. "It's like trying to fence in water."

But sheep are not an answer for all cities and their lands, O'Conner said. "We want to educate the public on why we're choosing to graze where we're grazing," she added.

Hundreds of sheep can affect the environment by spreading seeds. The city of Santa Barbara does environmental studies before bringing in grazers since the process can also affect birds.

"Throwing like 500 sheep into an area is a much larger impact on the land and those soils than our native herbivores would have," O'Conner said.

Words in This Story

leaf blower -n. a machine that uses a fan to blow away leaves

weed eater -n. a machine that cuts soft plants and grass

species - n. a class of individuals having common attributes and designated by a common name

sustainable - adj. of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted⁸ or permanently⁹ damaged

staff -n. a regular employee

buffer⁵ - n. any of various devices or pieces of material for reducing shock or damage due to contact

drastically - adv. severely¹⁰ or seriously

herd -n. a name for groups of certain animals such as cattle, sheep and goats

alternative - adj. offering or expressing a choice

impact - n. a significant or major effect

herbivore -n. an animal that only eats plants

1 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

2 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

3 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

4 fibers   

光纤( fiber的名词复数 )； （织物的）质地； 纤维，纤维物质

参考例句：

• Thesolution of collagen-PVA was wet spined with the sodium sulfate as coagulant and collagen-PVA composite fibers were prepared. 在此基础上，以硫酸钠为凝固剂，对胶原-PVA共混溶液进行湿法纺丝，制备了胶原-PVA复合纤维。
• Sympathetic fibers are distributed to all regions of the heart. 交感神经纤维分布于心脏的所有部分。

5 buffer   

n.起缓冲作用的人(或物)，缓冲器；vt.缓冲

参考例句：

• A little money can be a useful buffer in time of need.在急需时，很少一点钱就能解燃眉之急。
• Romantic love will buffer you against life's hardships.浪漫的爱会减轻生活的艰辛。

6 buffers   

起缓冲作用的人（或物）( buffer的名词复数 )； 缓冲器； 减震器； 愚蠢老头

参考例句：

• To allocate and schedule the use of buffers. 分配和计划缓冲器的使用。
• Number of times the stream has paused due to insufficient stream buffers. 由于流缓冲区不足导致流程暂停的次数。

7 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

8 depleted   

adj. 枯竭的, 废弃的 动词deplete的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Food supplies were severely depleted. 食物供应已严重不足。
• Both teams were severely depleted by injuries. 两个队都因队员受伤而实力大减。

9 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

10 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。