");vwo_$('head').append(_vwo_sel);return vwo_$('head')[0] && vwo_$('head')[0].lastChild;})("HEAD")}}, R_940895_48_1_2_0:{ fn:function(log,nonce=''){return (function(x) { if(!vwo_$.fn.vwoRevertHtml){ return; }; var ctx=vwo_$(x),el; /*vwo_debug log("Revert","content",""); vwo_debug*/; el=vwo_$('[vwo-element-id="1742919897117"]'); el.revertContentOp().remove();})("HEAD")}}, C_940895_48_1_2_1:{ fn:function(log,nonce=''){return (function(x) {var el,ctx=vwo_$(x); /*vwo_debug log("editElement",".stylingblock-content-margin-cell > table:nth-of-type(1) > tbody:nth-of-type(1) > tr:nth-of-type(1) > td:nth-of-type(1) > div:nth-of-type(1) > div:nth-of-type(1) > h2:nth-of-type(1) > span:nth-of-type(1)"); vwo_debug*/(el=vwo_$(".stylingblock-content-margin-cell > table:nth-of-type(1) > tbody:nth-of-type(1) > tr:nth-of-type(1) > td:nth-of-type(1) > div:nth-of-type(1) > div:nth-of-type(1) > h2:nth-of-type(1) > span:nth-of-type(1)")).html("Hello! David Brancaccio here. Do you want instant access to the free online course - “Economics 101” - to understand basic economic concepts?");})(".stylingblock-content-margin-cell > table:nth-of-type(1) > tbody:nth-of-type(1) > tr:nth-of-type(1) > td:nth-of-type(1) > div:nth-of-type(1) > div:nth-of-type(1) > h2:nth-of-type(1) > span:nth-of-type(1)")}}, R_940895_48_1_2_1:{ fn:function(log,nonce=''){return (function(x) { if(!vwo_$.fn.vwoRevertHtml){ return; }; var el,ctx=vwo_$(x); /*vwo_debug log("Revert","editElement",".stylingblock-content-margin-cell > table:nth-of-type(1) > tbody:nth-of-type(1) > tr:nth-of-type(1) > td:nth-of-type(1) > div:nth-of-type(1) > div:nth-of-type(1) > h2:nth-of-type(1) > span:nth-of-type(1)"); vwo_debug*/(el=vwo_$(".stylingblock-content-margin-cell > table:nth-of-type(1) > tbody:nth-of-type(1) > tr:nth-of-type(1) > td:nth-of-type(1) > div:nth-of-type(1) > div:nth-of-type(1) > h2:nth-of-type(1) > span:nth-of-type(1)")).vwoRevertHtml();})(".stylingblock-content-margin-cell > table:nth-of-type(1) > tbody:nth-of-type(1) > tr:nth-of-type(1) > td:nth-of-type(1) > div:nth-of-type(1) > div:nth-of-type(1) > h2:nth-of-type(1) > span:nth-of-type(1)")}}},rules:[{"triggers":["8639604"],"tags":[{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":1,"c":63}]},"metricId":951908,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":1,"c":64}]},"metricId":951908,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":5,"c":54}]},"metricId":951908,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":5,"c":55}]},"metricId":951908,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":1,"c":48}]},"metricId":951908,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":4,"c":62}]},"metricId":951908,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":1,"c":61}]},"metricId":951908,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":6,"c":16}]},"metricId":951908,"id":"metric"}]},{"triggers":["10589191"],"tags":[{"data":"campaigns.63","priority":4,"id":"runCampaign"},{"data":"campaigns.64","priority":4,"id":"runCampaign"},{"data":"campaigns.54","priority":4,"id":"runCampaign"},{"data":"campaigns.55","priority":4,"id":"runCampaign"},{"data":"campaigns.48","priority":4,"id":"runCampaign"},{"data":"campaigns.62","priority":4,"id":"runCampaign"},{"data":"campaigns.61","priority":4,"id":"runCampaign"},{"data":"campaigns.16","priority":4,"id":"runCampaign"}]},{"triggers":["8536415"],"tags":[{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":2,"c":63}]},"metricId":959033,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":2,"c":64}]},"metricId":959033,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":2,"c":39}]},"metricId":959033,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":3,"c":54}]},"metricId":959033,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":2,"c":55}]},"metricId":959033,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":3,"c":48}]},"metricId":959033,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":1,"c":62}]},"metricId":959033,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":2,"c":61}]},"metricId":959033,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":3,"c":16}]},"metricId":959033,"id":"metric"}]},{"triggers":["12454056"],"tags":[{"data":{"type":"g","campaigns":[{"g":5,"c":39}]},"metricId":0,"id":"metric"}]},{"triggers":["8536412"],"tags":[{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":3,"c":63}]},"metricId":959030,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":3,"c":64}]},"metricId":959030,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":1,"c":39}]},"metricId":959030,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":2,"c":54}]},"metricId":959030,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":3,"c":55}]},"metricId":959030,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":4,"c":48}]},"metricId":959030,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":2,"c":62}]},"metricId":959030,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":3,"c":61}]},"metricId":959030,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":4,"c":16}]},"metricId":959030,"id":"metric"}]},{"triggers":["12639747"],"tags":[{"data":{"type":"g","campaigns":[{"g":5,"c":16}]},"metricId":0,"id":"metric"}]},{"triggers":["12454059"],"tags":[{"data":{"type":"g","campaigns":[{"g":6,"c":39}]},"metricId":0,"id":"metric"}]},{"triggers":["12454053"],"tags":[{"data":"campaigns.39","priority":4,"id":"runCampaign"}]},{"triggers":["8536409"],"tags":[{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":4,"c":63}]},"metricId":959027,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":4,"c":64}]},"metricId":959027,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":3,"c":39}]},"metricId":959027,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":4,"c":54}]},"metricId":959027,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":4,"c":55}]},"metricId":959027,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":5,"c":48}]},"metricId":959027,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":3,"c":62}]},"metricId":959027,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":4,"c":61}]},"metricId":959027,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":1,"c":16}]},"metricId":959027,"id":"metric"}]},{"triggers":["8459768"],"tags":[{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":5,"c":63}]},"metricId":951905,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":5,"c":64}]},"metricId":951905,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":4,"c":39}]},"metricId":951905,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":1,"c":54}]},"metricId":951905,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":1,"c":55}]},"metricId":951905,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":2,"c":48}]},"metricId":951905,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":5,"c":62}]},"metricId":951905,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":5,"c":61}]},"metricId":951905,"id":"metric"},{"data":{"type":"m","campaigns":[{"g":2,"c":16}]},"metricId":951905,"id":"metric"}]},{"triggers":["12454062"],"tags":[{"data":{"type":"g","campaigns":[{"g":7,"c":39}]},"metricId":0,"id":"metric"}]},{"triggers":["8"],"tags":[{"priority":2,"id":"groupCampaigns"},{"priority":3,"id":"prePostMutation"}]},{"triggers":["9"],"tags":[{"priority":2,"id":"visibilityService"}]},{"triggers":["2"],"tags":[{"id":"runTestCampaign"}]},{"triggers":["75"],"tags":[{"id":"urlChange"}]},{"triggers":["5"],"tags":[{"id":"checkEnvironment"}]}],pages:{"pc":[{"141375":{"inc":["o",["url","urlReg","(?i)^https?\\:\\\/\\\/(w{3}\\.)?mprnews\\.org\\\/story.*"],["url","urlReg","(?i)^https?\\:\\\/\\\/(w{3}\\.)?mprnews\\.org\\\/episode.*"]]}}],"ec":[{"1625289":{"inc":["o",["url","urlReg","(?i).*"]]}},{"2121531":{"inc":["o",["pg","eq","141375"]]}}]},pagesEval:{"pc":[141375],"ec":[1625289,2121531]},stags:{}}})(); ;;var commonWrapper=function(argument){if(!argument){argument={valuesGetter:function(){return{}},valuesSetter:function(){},verifyData:function(){return{}}}}const getVisitorUuid=function(){if(window._vwo_acc_id>=1037725){return window.VWO&&window.VWO.get("visitor.id")}else{return window.VWO._&&window.VWO._.cookies&&window.VWO._.cookies.get("_vwo_uuid")}};var pollInterval=100;var timeout=6e4;return function(){var accountIntegrationSettings={};var _interval=null;function waitForAnalyticsVariables(){try{accountIntegrationSettings=argument.valuesGetter();accountIntegrationSettings.visitorUuid=getVisitorUuid()}catch(error){accountIntegrationSettings=undefined}if(accountIntegrationSettings&&argument.verifyData(accountIntegrationSettings)){argument.valuesSetter(accountIntegrationSettings);return 1}return 0}var currentTime=0;_interval=setInterval((function(){currentTime=currentTime||performance.now();var result=waitForAnalyticsVariables();if(result||performance.now()-currentTime>=timeout){clearInterval(_interval)}}),pollInterval)}}; var pushBasedCommonWrapper=function(argument){var firedCamp={};if(!argument){argument={integrationName:"",getExperimentList:function(){},accountSettings:function(){},pushData:function(){}}}return function(){window.VWO=window.VWO||[];const getVisitorUuid=function(){if(window._vwo_acc_id>=1037725){return window.VWO&&window.VWO.get("visitor.id")}else{return window.VWO._&&window.VWO._.cookies&&window.VWO._.cookies.get("_vwo_uuid")}};var sendDebugLogsOld=function(expId,variationId,errorType,user_type,data){try{var errorPayload={f:argument["integrationName"]||"",a:window._vwo_acc_id,url:window.location.href,exp:expId,v:variationId,vwo_uuid:getVisitorUuid(),user_type:user_type};if(errorType=="initIntegrationCallback"){errorPayload["log_type"]="initIntegrationCallback";errorPayload["data"]=JSON.stringify(data||"")}else if(errorType=="timeout"){errorPayload["timeout"]=true}if(window.VWO._.customError){window.VWO._.customError({msg:"integration debug",url:window.location.href,lineno:"",colno:"",source:JSON.stringify(errorPayload)})}}catch(e){window.VWO._.customError&&window.VWO._.customError({msg:"integration debug failed",url:"",lineno:"",colno:"",source:""})}};var sendDebugLogs=function(expId,variationId,errorType,user_type){var eventName="vwo_debugLogs";var eventPayload={};try{eventPayload={intName:argument["integrationName"]||"",varId:variationId,expId:expId,type:errorType,vwo_uuid:getVisitorUuid(),user_type:user_type};if(window.VWO._.event){window.VWO._.event(eventName,eventPayload,{enableLogs:1})}}catch(e){eventPayload={msg:"integration event log failed",url:window.location.href};window.VWO._.event&&window.VWO._.event(eventName,eventPayload)}};const callbackFn=function(data){if(!data)return;var expId=data[1],variationId=data[2],repeated=data[0],singleCall=0,debug=0;var experimentList=argument.getExperimentList();var integrationName=argument["integrationName"]||"vwo";if(typeof argument.accountSettings==="function"){var accountSettings=argument.accountSettings();if(accountSettings){singleCall=accountSettings["singleCall"];debug=accountSettings["debug"]}}if(debug){sendDebugLogs(expId,variationId,"intCallTriggered",repeated)}if(singleCall&&(repeated==="vS"||repeated==="vSS")||firedCamp[expId]){return}window.expList=window.expList||{};var expList=window.expList[integrationName]=window.expList[integrationName]||[];if(expId&&variationId&&["VISUAL_AB","VISUAL","SPLIT_URL"].indexOf(_vwo_exp[expId].type)>-1){if(experimentList.indexOf(+expId)!==-1){firedCamp[expId]=variationId;var visitorUuid=getVisitorUuid();var pollInterval=100;var currentTime=0;var timeout=6e4;var user_type=_vwo_exp[expId].exec?"vwo-retry":"vwo-new";var interval=setInterval((function(){if(expList.indexOf(expId)!==-1){clearInterval(interval);return}currentTime=currentTime||performance.now();var toClearInterval=argument.pushData(expId,variationId,visitorUuid);if(debug&&toClearInterval){sendDebugLogsOld(expId,variationId,"",user_type);sendDebugLogs(expId,variationId,"intDataPushed",user_type)}var isTimeout=performance.now()-currentTime>=timeout;if(isTimeout&&debug){sendDebugLogsOld(expId,variationId,"timeout",user_type);sendDebugLogs(expId,variationId,"intTimeout",user_type)}if(toClearInterval||isTimeout){clearInterval(interval)}if(toClearInterval){window.expList[integrationName].push(expId)}}),pollInterval||100)}}};window.VWO.push(["onVariationApplied",callbackFn]);window.VWO.push(["onVariationShownSent",callbackFn])}}; var surveyDataCommonWrapper=function(argument){if(!argument){argument={getCampaignList:function(){return[]},surveyStatusChange:function(){},answerSubmitted:function(){}}}return function(){window.VWO=window.VWO||[];function getValuesFromAnswers(answers){var values=[];for(var i=0;i=timeout;if(toClearInterval||isTimeout){clearInterval(interval)}}),pollInterval)}}window.VWO.push(["onSurveyShown",function(data){commonSurveyCallback(data,argument.surveyStatusChange,"surveyShown")}]);window.VWO.push(["onSurveyCompleted",function(data){commonSurveyCallback(data,argument.surveyStatusChange,"surveyCompleted")}]);window.VWO.push(["onSurveyAnswerSubmitted",function(data){commonSurveyCallback(data,argument.answerSubmitted,"surveySubmitted")}])}}; (function(){var VWOOmniTemp={};window.VWOOmni=window.VWOOmni||{};for(var key in VWOOmniTemp)Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(VWOOmniTemp,key)&&(window.VWOOmni[key]=VWOOmniTemp[key]);;})();(function(){window.VWO=window.VWO||[];var pollInterval=100;var _vis_data={};var intervalObj={};var analyticsTimerObj={};var experimentListObj={};window.VWO.push(["onVariationApplied",function(data){if(!data){return}var expId=data[1],variationId=data[2];if(expId&&variationId&&["VISUAL_AB","VISUAL","SPLIT_URL"].indexOf(window._vwo_exp[expId].type)>-1){}}])})();; ;var vD=VWO.data||{};VWO.data={content:{"fns":{"list":{"args":{"1":{}},"vn":1}}},as:"r5.visualwebsiteoptimizer.com",dacdnUrl:"https://dev.visualwebsiteoptimizer.com",accountJSInfo:{"ts":1743592072,"noSS":false,"pc":{"a":0,"t":0},"rp":30}};for(var k in vD){VWO.data[k]=vD[k]};;var gcpfb=function(a,loadFunc,status,err,success){function vwoErr() {_vwo_err({message:"Google_Cdn failing for " + a + ". Trying Fallback..",code:"cloudcdnerr",status:status});} if(a.indexOf("/cdn/")!==-1){loadFunc(a.replace("cdn/",""),err,success); vwoErr(); return true;} else if(a.indexOf("/dcdn/")!==-1&&a.indexOf("evad.js") !== -1){loadFunc(a.replace("dcdn/",""),err,success); vwoErr(); return true;}};window.VWO=window.VWO || [];window.VWO._= window.VWO._ || {};window.VWO._.gcpfb=gcpfb;;var d={cookie:document.cookie,URL:document.URL,referrer:document.referrer};var w={VWO:{_:{}},location:{href:window.location.href,search:window.location.search},_vwoCc:window._vwoCc};;window._vwo_cdn="https://dev.visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/cdn/";window._vwo_apm_debug_cdn="https://dev.visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/cdn/";window.VWO._.useCdn=true;window.vwo_eT="br";window._VWO=window._VWO||{};window._VWO.fSeg={};window._VWO.dcdnUrl="/dcdn/settings.js";window.VWO.sTs=1743587860;window._VWO._vis_nc_lib=window._vwo_cdn+"edrv/nc-e76f33e8accfa6859749db0f9a4d4230br.js";var loadWorker=function(url){_vwo_code.load(url, { dSC: true, onloadCb: function(xhr,a){window._vwo_wt_l=true;if(xhr.status===200 ||xhr.status===304){var code="var window="+JSON.stringify(w)+",document="+JSON.stringify(d)+";window.document=document;"+xhr.responseText;var blob=new Blob([code||"throw new Error('code not found!');"],{type:"application/javascript"}),url=URL.createObjectURL(blob);window.mainThread={webWorker:new Worker(url)};window.vwoChannelFW=new MessageChannel();window.vwoChannelToW=new MessageChannel();window.mainThread.webWorker.postMessage({vwoChannelToW:vwoChannelToW.port1,vwoChannelFW:vwoChannelFW.port2},[vwoChannelToW.port1, vwoChannelFW.port2]);if(!window._vwo_mt_f)return window._vwo_wt_f=true;_vwo_code.addScript({text:window._vwo_mt_f});delete window._vwo_mt_f}else{if(gcpfb(a,loadWorker,xhr.status)){return;}_vwo_code.finish("&e=loading_failure:"+a)}}, onerrorCb: function(a){if(gcpfb(a,loadWorker)){return;}window._vwo_wt_l=true;_vwo_code.finish("&e=loading_failure:"+a);}})};loadWorker("https://dev.visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/cdn/edrv/worker-1135852b6bc11a94eb64017a8d120ad8br.js");;var _vis_opt_file;var _vis_opt_lib;if(window.VWO._.allSettings.dataStore.previewExtraSettings!=undefined&&window.VWO._.allSettings.dataStore.previewExtraSettings.isSurveyPreviewMode){var surveyHash=window.VWO._.allSettings.dataStore.plugins.LIBINFO.SURVEY_DEBUG_EVENTS.HASH;var param1="evad.js?va=";var param2="&d=debugger_new";var param3="&sp=1&a=940895&sh="+surveyHash;_vis_opt_file=vwoCode.use_existing_jquery&&typeof vwoCode.use_existing_jquery()!=="undefined"?vwoCode.use_existing_jquery()?param1+"vanj"+param2:param1+"va_gq"+param2:param1+"edrv/va_gq-a062e7c4223b2b89f5cddb5055816677br.js"+param2;_vis_opt_file=_vis_opt_file+param3;_vis_opt_lib="https://dev.visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/dcdn/"+_vis_opt_file}else if(window.VWO._.allSettings.dataStore.mode!=undefined&&window.VWO._.allSettings.dataStore.mode=="PREVIEW"){ var path1 = 'edrv/pd_'; var path2 = window.VWO._.allSettings.dataStore.plugins.LIBINFO.EVAD.HASH + ".js"; ;_vis_opt_file=vwoCode.use_existing_jquery&&typeof vwoCode.use_existing_jquery()!=="undefined"?vwoCode.use_existing_jquery()?path1+"vanj"+path2:path1+"va_gq"+path2:path1+"edrv/va_gq-a062e7c4223b2b89f5cddb5055816677br.js"+path2;_vis_opt_lib="https://dev.visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/cdn/"+_vis_opt_file}else{_vis_opt_file=vwoCode.use_existing_jquery&&typeof vwoCode.use_existing_jquery()!=="undefined"?vwoCode.use_existing_jquery()?"edrv/vanj-55389bda300ad24b514d62f335aa126abr.js":"edrv/va_gq-a062e7c4223b2b89f5cddb5055816677br.js":"edrv/va_gq-a062e7c4223b2b89f5cddb5055816677br.js"}window._vwo_library_timer=setTimeout((function(){vwoCode.removeLoaderAndOverlay&&vwoCode.removeLoaderAndOverlay();vwoCode.finish()}),vwoCode.library_tolerance&&typeof vwoCode.library_tolerance()!=="undefined"?vwoCode.library_tolerance():2500),_vis_opt_lib=typeof _vis_opt_lib=="undefined"?window._vwo_cdn+_vis_opt_file:_vis_opt_lib;var loadLib=function(url){_vwo_code.load(url, { dSC: true, onloadCb:function(xhr,a){window._vwo_mt_l=true;if(xhr.status===200 || xhr.status===304){if(!window._vwo_wt_f)return window._vwo_mt_f=xhr.responseText;_vwo_code.addScript({text:xhr.responseText});delete window._vwo_wt_f;}else{if(gcpfb(a,loadLib,xhr.status)){return;}_vwo_code.finish("&e=loading_failure:"+a);}}, onerrorCb: function(a){if(gcpfb(a,loadLib)){return;}window._vwo_mt_l=true;_vwo_code.finish("&e=loading_failure:"+a);}})};loadLib(_vis_opt_lib);VWO.load_co=function(u,opts){return window._vwo_code.load(u,opts);};;;}}catch(e){_vwo_code.finish();_vwo_code.removeLoaderAndOverlay&&_vwo_code.removeLoaderAndOverlay();_vwo_err(e);window.VWO.caE=1}})();

Skip to Main Content
Skip to audio player to listen live

Create a Free MPR

news profile

for you

Sign up

Already have an account?

By submitting, you consent that you are at least 18 years of age and to receive information about MPR's or APMG entities' programs and offerings. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about MPR, APMG entities, and its sponsors. You may opt-out at any time clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any email communication. View our Privacy Policy.

Welcome back

to news for you

Sign in to your profile

New to MPR News?

Welcome back

to news

for you

Reset Password

Still require assistance or not sure what your User Name is?

Welcome back

to news

for you

Email Verification

A verification code has been emailed to

Still awaiting the code?

Stephanie Hemphill

ST. PAUL, Minn.

August 30, 2013 7:51 AM

Ecologists deploy goats to eat buckthorn on Miss. River bluffs

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Log in Create a free Account

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Goats — Goats on the Hay Creek area trails near Red Wing chow down on buckthorn. The animals are part of a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources project to stop the spread of the invasive plants in the area.
Photo courtesy of the Minn. Dept. of Natural Resources

It's buckthorn for breakfast for a herd of goats in Rosemount.

Goats will begin chomping the invasive shrubbery at the Flint Hills Resources crude oil refinery for two weeks starting Friday as part of a Mississippi River bluffs habitat restoration program.

Why goats? Workers sprayed buckthorn with herbicide a few years ago, but the stubborn plants are making a comeback.

"We're going to sow some native grass seed under their hooves," said Wiley Buck, a restoration ecologist with the nonprofit group Great River Greening.

"One thing they'll do while they're bouncing around eating buckthorn is they'll work this seed into the ground. Otherwise it would be pretty labor-intensive to go around and rake it in."

The long-term goal is to restore the bluff land to oak forest with prairie openings and some swamp wetlands.

Gallery

1 of 1

Goats — Goats on the Hay Creek area trails near Red Wing chow down on buckthorn. The animals are part of a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources project to stop the spread of the invasive plants in the area.
Photo courtesy of the Minn. Dept. of Natural Resources

Turn Up Your Support

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.