Goats helping keep invasive plants in check in forest area

— Invasive plants can turn a grassy habitat for turkeys and quail into an overgrown thicket, so officials with the Mark Twain National Forest have turned to a decidedly low-tech way to manage them — goats. Brian Davidson, who manages the botany and invasive species program at the forest, told KCUR that plants such as blackberries and kudzu compete for nutrients with grassy habitat. But removing the invasive plants can be expensive and even harmful to the environment in the forest, which covers three million acres across southern Missouri. “So we’ll try using goats in there to try and maintain that structure.” Loren Steele said the goats seem to enjoy their work.