The New York City Department of Environmental Protection has started a pilot program to maintain the grass along its water supply properties upstate. The program required new employees — but probably not the kind you’re picturing.
The new employees literally are on the ground — some 14 sheep whose job is to do what comes naturally: graze. The DEP’s 92-mile Catskill Aqueduct brings water from the Ashokan Reservoir to New York City. And about 55 miles of it is above ground.
“One of the largest maintenance projects we have every year is mowing that Aqueduct. It takes about four months to mow the aqueduct.”
That’s DEP spokesman Adam Bosch, who describes the rotational grazing pilot program that is being carried out in a remote area.
“So we decided to do a trial program in a 50-acre grassy field just downstream of Neversink Dam in Sullivan County, near Neversink Reservoir,” Bosch says. “And at that site we decided to use sheep instead of goats and because sheep tend to eat grass better and goats tend to like woody debris, woody vegetation a little bit more. So we had reached out to a farmer in Sullivan County in Long Eddy, out on the western end of Sullivan County, who had sheep that were used for rotational grazing. And he brought those sheep in last week and they’ve been grazing down there in the field ever since, and they’ll continue to graze through October.”
That farmer is Travis O’Dell, who runs Rotational Land Management.
“The sheep are eating the grass which they are contracted to do, and all is well,” O’Dell says.
O’Dell says this is his first foray into rotational grazing outside his own farm.
“Well, I certainly hope they can successfully graze the entire area,” O’Dell says. “I may be supplying more and may also include some goats depending on how the sheep adapt to the forage there.”
Wait, goats?
“Pastures are diverse ecosystems. Sometimes they just, people call it grass but there’s many varieties of grass and legumes,” says O’Dell. “And there’s some Queen Anne’s lace and some fescue that I’m not sure how the sheep are going to take to in this area, and if they’re not grazing it, I think we can incorporate a few goats.”
In fact, goats are the animal of choice in other locations. For example, the New York State Bridge Authority for the second year in a row employed a herd of goats from Rhinebeck to clear weeds and such from under Walkway Over the Hudson. As for the DEP’s expanding its program, the pilot program needs to be successful.
“We’ll look for evidence that the sheep are maintaining the grass evenly,” says Bosch. “Certainly we’re going to look to make sure that their hooves aren’t causing any sort of damage, significant damage to the ground. That’s something we would look for to expand it to areas that may be a little more sensitive. We’re not particularly concerned about that field which is why we’re doing the trial there. But, in other places, rutting and things like that would be something we would probably want to avoid.”
So far, so good. The Icelandic sheep will return for the full growing season next year, April through October, per a $17,500 contract. Bosch says the cost for rotational grazing is comparable to mowing with manpower. He says there are other cost savings.
“The City has many goals, one of which is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and chemicals that are used to maintain weeds and things like that,” Bosch says. “And certainly using this method, which is sort of ‘what’s old is new again’ helps us meet those goals. And, in addition, the manpower that we would use mowing that area we can then use that manpower to do other projects.”
The sheep will graze within an about 1,000-square foot movable fence that includes a portable shelter for shade and storm protection. Bosch says the idea grew from an employee suggestion. The sheep are grazing in an area not open to the public, but can be seen from a kiosk on Route 55.
