Earlier this week, the weed control team of BAAH'D Plant Management and Reclamation packed up and headed out after another job well done at the Wildcat Hills Gas Extraction Plant of Canlin Energy Corporation.

For two weeks, owner Jeannette Hill, Dan Vandenberg, and their 700 goats trimmed vegetation from the four-acre hillside by the gas extraction plant, then went on to do weed control in the below meadow.

It's the second year BAAH'D has undertaken plant control at the operation, and Jeannette Hall, owner BAAH'D Plant Management and Reclamation, says it's getting results. 

"Our main priority was that hill for the fire control, and we've been able to show how effective the goats are because it was almost impossible," says Hall. "That hill was so steep. You couldn't mow it, you couldn't weed wack it, they had burned it, but when you burn you actually create a lot of fertilizer for the plants, and the plants came back thicker and lusher than before."

"We've been able to show that the goats are doing a really great job with the fire management, and they've now transitioned into a bit of weed control as well, especially by the river here, because you don't want to spray in tributary areas."

These aren't just any goats. They're of breeds proven to be best for the job. The herd includes goats as old as 20 years old, a much longer lifespan than typical goats, who help groom the young charges.

She receives calls every year from people asking why their goats aren't eating the weeds.

"If their mom didn't teach them to eat it, they're not going to eat it."

"Goats are naturally top-down browsers. So they'll eat the top of the plant and as you put more and more pressure then she'll strip the entire plant down. So we really want to get rid of the seed and the flowers."

That includes thistle and toadflax.

They're healthy, easygoing, quite sociable, and definitely dedicated to their work.

"There's no fencing out here, so a girl chasing 700 goats through the thick bush is pretty incredible, I think. They all do a really good job of sticking together, knowing the routine, knowing where I don't want them, and I do want them..."

She's interrupted by Nibs, just one of the goats who come by for a visit along the way. Four hundred of them have names, and you can't help but believe she remembers every single one of them.

"People test me all the time," she chuckles. "I get photos from years ago, from people asking, 'OK, who's this goat?'"

The goats are also popular with nearby albatross, hawks, and falcons, because of the field mice they bring to the surface.

"They all hang out with the goats and pick off the mice in the field."

There are two "surprise" newborns among the herd, but typically birthing occurs around Christmas.

"We do that because they're just too small to keep up in the fields. We do 30 sites in a year, so we're just constantly moving, and they have to be able to keep up with the herd."

Using goats is more cost-effective on larger sites because the fixed costs remain the same whether it's a one-acre or 100-acre site.

Each site is different and knowing how to use the goats is the expertise she provides from her 15 years of experience in the environmental consulting industry.

"Goats aren't going to magically kiss the ground and just make the weeds stop."

Among the factors considered is whether more trampling is required and whether heavy grazing or layered grazing should occur. If more fertilizer is required, the goats are encouraged to lay in certain areas.

This is BAAH'D's seventh year of working with the goats, and they've developed an extensive client list. The goat battalion has been released upon sites in Fort Saskatchewan, Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer area, Chestermere, Lacombe, Parkland County, Spruce Grove, and used for projects of the Nature Conservatory of Canada and Ducks Unlimited.