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Thursday, June 27, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com NEWS
For
the
past
three
weeks, Ann Arbor has
been
using
a
more
unorthodox
landscap-
ing method: goatscaping.
Ten goats placed on two
of Gallup Park’s islands
have
been
conducting
brush
management
to
prevent invasive species
from entering the area.
According to a press
release from the city of
Ann Arbor, using goats
for brush management is
an alternative to typical
invasive species manage-
ment, as the city man-
ages these areas by hand.
According to Erika Pratt,
Parks
and
Recreation
GIVE 365 volunteer and
outreach coordinator, the
goatscaping project is a
pilot program with hopes
to expand.
“I know there’s a lot
of interest within differ-
ent parks, different folks
that have different areas
in mind for future goat-
scaping, so I’m hopeful
that we’ll continue this
practice,”
Pratt
said.
“It’s really affordable …
By and large people have
really loved it. We live
in a community where
people really care about
whether or not we’re
putting chemicals on our
spaces.”
On
June
24,
more
than 100 people showed
up to Gallup Park for a
“Goats at Gallup” Talk
and Walk for a tour with
Mike Mourer from Twin
Willow Ranch. Mourer
and his family breed and
raise the goats on their
farm in Milan, Michigan
and is home to more than
70 goats.
The tour groups had
the opportunity to pet
and interact with the
goats as they were eating
leaves off a fallen tree.
LSA sophomore Emma
Hammond
visited
the
goats with her mother
after hearing a lot about
the project.
“I
think
it’s
really
cool to see up close what
they’re
doing,”
Ham-
mond said. “We’ve been
on the island before the
goats and it was so over-
grown, so it’s cool to
actually see how much
they eat.”
The goats have cleared
away much of the brush
on the islands. All 10
goats have been living
on the islands full time
for the past three weeks.
They eat invasive spe-
cies like honeysuckle and
buckthorn, as well as poi-
son ivy, which is harm-
less to the goats.
“They’ve got it made
here, they get to eat and
take it easy,” Mourer
said. “They are good for
the environment because
as they eat the seeds and
everything else it grinds
it up so small because
they have four stomachs
… so by the time it comes
out its not viable as a seed
anymore, so that’s part of
breaking the cycle of the
invasives.”
On Thursday afternoon,
the University of Michigan
Board of Regents gathered
at the Richard L. Postma
Family Clubhouse for the
annual meeting to approve
budget proposals for the
University’s three campuses,
athletic department and the
University Health System.
The board also appointed a
new U-M Flint chancellor
and a new LSA dean.
University President Mark
Schlissel began the meet-
ing by holding a moment of
silence for the passing of
Douglass Diggs, husband of
Regent Shauna Ryder Diggs
(D).
“(Douglass
Diggs)
was
passionate about creating
opportunities for talented,
but underrepresented stu-
dents,” Schlissel said. “He
was active in the U of M
community, and the Michi-
gan family will miss him
deeply.”
Schlissel then announced
the winner of the Russell
Lectureship, the University’s
highest honor for senior fac-
ulty, as Engineering profes-
sor Steven Forrest.
He also recognized Carrie
Ferrario, assistant professor
of pharmacology, Xianzhe
Jia, associate professor of
climate and space sciences
and engineering, Corinna
Schindler, associate profes-
sor of chemistry and Megan
Tompkins-Stange, assistant
professor of public policy, as
recipients of the Henry Rus-
sell Award, the University’s
highest honor for faculty in
the early to middle stages of
their career.
To replace current U-M
Flint
chancellor
Susan
Borrego, Schlissel recom-
mended chancellor Debasish
Dutta, the former chancellor
of Rutgers University. The
board unanimously appoint-
ed Dutta, whose five-year
term begins on Aug. 1.
Later in the meeting, Pro-
vost Martin Philbert rec-
ommended Anne Curzan,
professor of English lan-
guage and literature, as the
new LSA dean. Appointed by
an unanimous vote, her term
will begin Sep. 1.
“As a faculty member, she
exemplifies the University’s
commitment to research,
teaching
and
service
to
higher education and to the
broader
public,”
Philbert
said.
Much of the meeting
centered around approving
budget proposals — all of
which were approved — for
the 2020 fiscal year, which
begins July 1.
Schlissel began the budget
presentation by emphasizing
an additional $23 million
in funding for need-based
financial aid, which Schlis-
sel said will “offset” a 1.9
percent increase for in-state
undergraduate tuition. He
noted this in-state tuition
increase is the smallest in six
years.
With the 11.2 percent
increase in financial aid
funding,
Schlissel
said
tuition rates this next year
will not increase for most in-
state undergraduates with
need-based aid packages.
‘U’ Regents approve
new budget, tuition
Ten goats live at park full-time to help with brush
management, aid in prevention of invasive species
New LSA dean appointed at meeting Thursday
Courtesy of Olivia Scott
Read more at michigandaily.com
Goatscaping added
at Gallup Park island
CLAIRE HAO
Summer News Editor
OLIVIA SCOTT
Daily Staff Reporter
DANYEL THARAKAN/Daily