Historically, grazing animals helped shape Houston’s ecosystems by periodically clearing vegetation and redistributing soil nutrients by churning up dirt and dropping manure. Urban development pushed large grazers like bison and deer away, allowing dense thickets to grow and reducing the diversity of plants and animals.

The Arboretum is too small and centrally located to maintain a reintroduced population of grazers, but we can partner with private ranchers to temporarily introduce goats. Since 2020, the Arboretum has worked with Rent-A-Ruminant Texas on a yearly basis to bring goats to the site. This first-of-its-kind concept in the middle of urban Houston has provided a new and engaging way of managing overgrown landscapes, and the Conservation staff are monitoring results to develop improvements to the technique.