Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Applegater. (Jacksonville, OR) 2008-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2011)
16 Winter 2011 Applegater We got your goat! BY ROBERT CASSERLY Is your property value going to “hell in a hand basket” because star thistle and poi- son oak are ignoring your no trespassing signs? Has the fire department warned you about clearing out the dense vegetation on your farm before a little grass fire becomes a big brush fire and then a full-blown forest fire? Do you waste time and effort mow- ing hillsides, ditches, and fence lines that could be easily kept nice and tidy by a pair of nimble herbivores? If you answered yes to any of the above, before you go out and buy a gas-powered weed whacker that disturbs the peace and pollutes the air, consider adopting a grass-powered engine that works quietly and gently fertilizes the soil. Goats are one of the oldest species of domesticated animals, and rightly so, because they are one of the most useful and wonderful animals you’ll ever get to know. At any given time, visitors to Sanctuary One are likely to meet over a dozen goats representing several breeds. All our goats were transferred to us by animal-welfare agencies from up and down the West Coast. The more goats we adopt to homes where they will be treated with kindness as payment for working on landscaping projects 365 days a year, the more goats we can intake from overcrowded sanctuaries that desperately need us to take a few nannies and wethers off their hands. Our care farm’s current cast of goats includes Freddy and Friday, two super-smart dwarf mixes who put the “capra” in “capricious.” Then there’s Orville and Wilbur, two giant Nubians who specialize in standing up on their back legs to take care of those low-hanging tree branches the fire department doesn’t like. Sweet Red and Mahogany are two Swiss Alpine nannies with beautiful reddish-brown fur accented with a black dorsal stripe. Winkin’ and Blinkin’ are petite Boer goats with natural disease resistance and an affinity for hot, dry environments like Applegate Valley farms with lots of southern exposure. Helga and Bambi are all-white Saanen goats who are so calm and mild mannered that some goat rescuers refer to them as living marshmallows. Note how all our goats are listed in pairs. We’ve observed that goats like to use the buddy system. Thus we encourage adopters to keep bonded pairs together so that they don’t become distressed at losing their chosen companion. Goats are highly social and intelligent animals and as such deserve our consideration for their emotional well-being, not just their physical health. Folks who want a couple of farm animals that are safe for kids and grandkids to become friends with should definitely consider goats. School groups of all ages visit our care farm to learn about the humane treatment of animals, and the goats are always a big hit. You can throw a dozen goats and a dozen fifth graders in the same pen together and they’ll all be friends in no time. Caring for goats is pretty simple compared to raising big farm animals like horses or cows, but it’s still a considerable amount of work and expense. They need a veterinarian to examine them at least once a year; they need vaccinations, deworming, a salt lick, and regular hoof trimming; a warm and dry place to sleep at night, something that’s coyote- and cougar- proof; access to fresh, clean water, pollution-free vegetation to browse and, in the winter, an occasional flake of hay. And most important of all, they need a caretaker who will give them lots of TLC. Goats thrive on human attention—the more you give them, the happier and tamer they’ll be. All of our goats have been rescued from terrible situations of abuse or neglect, so kindness is especially critical to their health and well being. A couple of things NOT to do when adopting goats are to breed or milk them. If you want some fresh goat milk, save yourself the time and trouble and buy it from Siskiyou Crest Goat Dairy up on Sterling Creek Road. And a word of caution to any wannabe goat breeders – billy goats smell terrible, act randy all the time, and are more aggressive around other animals and people. On the other hand, wethers (neutered male goats) have no smell and mind their manners. No reputable animal-welfare group will adopt out a dog, cat, horse, goat, etc. to a home where they’ll be bred, and Sanctuary One is no exception. For more information on how to adopt a pair of the Sanctuary’s weed and brush removal experts, visit us on the Web at www.SanctuaryOne.org or call 541-899-8627. Robert Casserly • 541-899-8627 OPINION Siskiyou Crest Monument BY DIANN CODY “Please send in a few dollars to support the APPLEGATER NEWSPAPER, I love to read it, chew it and it was my favorite paper for potty training.” Barney McGee Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands (KS Wilds) has proposed to President Obama that large parts of South- ern Oregon and Northern California be included in the Siskiyou Crest Monument. This proposal has ap- proximately 1400 homes and private properties inside its boundaries. It has apparently already been sent to Washington and is waiting approval. As property own- ers, we are concerned. We did not purchase our property to end up living inside a monument. Did you? If you live in Josephine or Jackson Counties, do you realize that your home and property may be inside its boundaries? Do you realize what the implications of this proposal mean to you? What will it do to your property value, and where is your resale market going to be when restrictions will be placed on the type of permissible activities? Will future restrictions stop the use of your wood stove because of the smoke? What will this do to hunting, fishing, farming, ranching, logging, mining etc? What happens to our ditch system in the Applegate, much of which even pre-dates the establish- ment of the Forest Service? These are just some of the questions that you should be asking yourself. National Monument designations have been de- clared by executive power elsewhere and history shows local communities are severely impacted while proposed benefits usually fail to fully materialize. Contact your elected officials and let them know how you feel. Call and email Peter DeFazio, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley. According to Ron Wyden there will be public hearings on this matter. Don’t count on it. A group of local property owners is being formed. If you want to be kept informed, or if you can help us, please contact me at dcody194@ hotmail.com Diann Cody • 541-846-0901
