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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

