CHICAGO — In a remote corner of O'Hare International Airport, far
from its high-profile modernization mega project, a decidedly more
low-tech initiative is being carried out by a barnyard band of goats,
sheep, llamas and wild burros.
The mission of the roughly two dozen animals: to mow the grass. And lots of it.
O'Hare is one of the largest airports in the world and
takes its environmental initiatives to serious and sometimes quirky
heights. It has acres of green roofs, including one atop an air traffic
control facility, to reduce storm water runoff and lower the urban heat
island effect of the airport's massive concrete expanse.
The airport has
even turned over a wooded patch of land to 1 million bees living in 28
beehives that produce honey sold in the terminals and help replenish
declining bee populations.
"Welcome to Project Herd!" said Rosemarie Andolino, head
of the Chicago Department of Aviation, announcing the new effort to a
group of journalists who got a look at the project Tuesday.
O'Hare is one of the largest airports in the world and
takes its environmental initiatives to serious and sometimes quirky
heights. It has acres of green roofs, including one atop an air traffic
control facility, to reduce storm water runoff and lower the urban heat
island effect of the airport's massive concrete expanse. The airport has
even turned over a wooded patch of land to 1 million bees living in 28
beehives that produce honey sold in the terminals and help replenish
declining bee populations.
"Welcome to Project Herd!" said Rosemarie Andolino, head
of the Chicago Department of Aviation, announcing the new effort to a
group of journalists who got a look at the project Tuesday
Behind her, the goats and their furry friends were
munching their way through a steep embankment overgrown with tall grass
and cattails on the far northeastern corner of the 8,000-acre airport.
Two bushy llamas bounded up to the top, chased by one of the herders
charged with looking after the animals.
Under the mid-afternoon sun, the animals happily grazed
or dozed, seemingly oblivious to the roar of jumbo jets taking off and
the jostling of the gaggle of news photographers and television
reporters, who outnumbered the animals.
One of the sheep had just given birth to a lamb. The little guy, named O'Hare, was nuzzling its mother when reporters arrived.
"He's doing great. He was suckling on mom," said Pinky
Janota, who donated some of the animals from her rescue shelter in
Beecher, Ill., south of Chicago, and helps manage them on site.
"Planes
flying overhead; he didn't flinch. Mom didn't move. Everybody's
content."
Other airports have similar programs, including at San
Francisco International, which uses a company called Goats R Us to clear
brush each spring in an effort to protect nearby homes from potential
fires. The other airports are in Atlanta and Seattle.
At O'Hare, the main goal is to rid the airport grounds of
habitat for birds and other wildlife that can present a serious hazard
to departing and landing aircraft. Many of those areas are beyond the
reach of traditional mowing equipment, which can't handle the steep
embankments or the rocky and loose soil.
Rabbits that hide in the grasses also draw birds of prey such as
red-tailed hawks. Deer and other animals wander into the area along the
region's many railroad tracks, which act as pathways for wildlife.
To scare away coyotes, there are the no-nonsense llamas and burros.
"The wild burros chase them and stomp them to death," Janota said.
So where does an airport find a herd of goats?
The Department of Aviation's want ad got a lively
response from interested herders and set off a bidding war. The
contract, which amounts to just under $20,000 for two years, went to
Central Commissary Holdings LLC, which was raising a small goat herd to
produce cheese for its Chicago restaurant, Butcher & the Burger.
It supplemented the herd with animals from Janota's organization, Settler's Pond Animal Shelter.
The project will lower the landscape maintenance costs
for things such as fuel and labor, and offer an alternative to using
toxic herbicides that can spill off into waterways.
But airline passengers needn't fear a high-speed
collision with a foraging critter. The herd will be kept far from active
areas of the airfield or behind fences.
Dedicated to the Rescue, Rehabilitation, Rehoming of Rottweilers. We are a Holistic Non Profit Rescue Sanctuary in Washington state. Welcome to our Blog, a safe, gentle place to share with, learn from and sound off on topics of interest to you and your animals, we are all related and come in a variety of shapes & sizes. Subjects interests are Animal Rights, herbs, respect of the natural world, indigenous populations and the truth. Let's see where our journey will lead us.
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