We'll be honest, Maclellan Island is an overgrown mess. It's hard to manage invasive species like English Ivy, but it's even harder when those plants are on an island and your organization doesn't own a boat. For years we've relied on kind souls (shoutout to Randy Whorton from Wild Trails!) and volunteers to help us pull up the pesky plants, but with an island that is 20+ acres, it just isn't sustainable and it doesn't work long-term.
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We tried to do a prescribed burn on Maclellan Island and it didn't take off like we had hoped. You can read more about that here--https://newschannel9.com/news/local/burning-questions-why-did-the-controlled-burn-on-maclellan-island-fizzle-out-invasive-species-ecological-nature-preserve-chattanooga#
Here's the new plan. We're going to use the natural grazing tendencies of goats to clear out the English Ivy, the Mungo Grass, the Poison Ivy, and all the other pesky plants. Will they end up eating some native plants? Probably. But those native species don't stand a chance if we don't remove the things choking them out. It's not a permanent solution, but it will allow us to more easily manage the land in the future. This is just the first step in an extensive land management plan for Maclellan Island. |
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Ways to Visit the Goats
Want a hands-on experience? As part of our ongoing fundraiser, donors who contribute at a certain tier can come with us to Maclellan Island, go inside the goat enclosure, interact with the goats and feed them treats. You can donate here.
Volunteer to check on the goats! After completing a training, folks can choose days to paddle out to Maclellan Island on their own watercraft or borrow one for an hour from our good friends at L2 Outside. Once on the island, we have a couple things we ask you to do. If you have questions or would like to attend one of our volunteer trainings click here.
Ways to Donate
Beyond our goat fundraising campaign and awesome prizes, we've also created some "Goat Island" t-shirts to commemorate this fun event. Click the pictures below to shop.
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