WASHINGTON – It was a tall order, but apparently a tasty one. Charged with clearing 1.5 acres near the Historic Congressional Cemetery, five-dozen goats got the job done.

Full of downed logs, ivy and ditches, the land south of the cemetery’s East End was difficult to walk through. In eight days, Brian Knox’s Eco-Goats cleared the brush.

“It’s funny, everything from about 6-feet down is cleared — everything they can reach,” says Lauren Malloy, program director for the cemetery.

There are a few stray plants that didn’t suit the goats’ palettes, she says. But for the most part, the land is effectively cleared.

The cemetery considered bringing in a landscaping crew to clear the brush, but Malloy says they were looking for an environmentally friendly solution and found Eco-Goats.

The decision saved the cemetery between $5,000 and $6,000, says Paul Williams, president of the Association for the Preservation of Historic Congressional Cemetery.

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