The Raleigh News & Observer has the story:
BAKERSVILLE – Angora goats summering on the cool flanks of Jane Bald savor a movable feast of blackberry leaves and the occasional treats of wild angelica and blueberry bush.
The white, curly-haired creatures browse thick vegetation on the 5,820-foot peak in a demonstration project to restore Jane Bald and other grassy areas into shaggy pastures rather than dense thickets.Balds are treeless or nearly treeless mountains that can be found scattered about the Southern Appalachians, possible remnants of an era in which a much colder climate inhibited the growth of trees and promoted grasses. Conservation organizations, together with federal land managers, work to reverse the encroachment of woody plants to keep the balds in a historic natural state, and goats are the latest strategy for meeting that goal.
The 34 goats don’t have free run of the mountains. They’re confined by a portable electric fence that encloses about an acre. The corral keeps in the goats and keeps out predators such as black bears and coyotes (so far no attacks).
Watching over them is goatherd and botanist Jamey Donaldson, 39, who camps in a tent near his mohair munchers.
Every two weeks, when the goats have shorn the blackberries down to stalks, Donaldson pulls up the solar-powered fence and herds the animals to unbrowsed stands beside the Appalachian Trail near Roan Mountain.
“Once they strip the leaves, that’s when they start going for the grasses and sedges,” he said. “That’s when I move them.”
Donaldson’s project is sponsored by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and other conservation groups and agencies. The idea is to see whether the leaf-loving goats can help knock back the encroaching blackberry so grasses and sedges can reclaim their place in the sun.
Balds are home to bobwhite quail, bluebirds and rare animals and plants, including Gray’s lily.
Hikers by the droves trek the Roan Mountain balds on national forest land to soak up the panoramic views. Beginning at N.C. 261 and heading north for 12 miles, the Appalachian Trail follows a mosaic of grassy openings mixed with red spruce forest.