Goats Under Power Lines: Grazing Utility Corridors and Easements

Electric, gas and rail companies have to keep vegetation down along thousands of miles of right-of-way. A railroad has hired goats to eat kudzu along its tracks. A gas utility is among the institutions that have used grazing. The corridors are long and narrow, the ground is often rough, and the plants underneath are the kind goats like: brush, vines and weeds.

What goats can do in a corridor

• Keep low brush and weeds down. The plants closest to the ground are the ones a herd can reach.
• Work ground that machines struggle with, such as slopes, wet spots and rocky stretches.
• Reduce the need for herbicide, which some utilities and neighbors want to avoid.

For a look at one case, see the railroad that hired goats to eat kudzu.

What they cannot do

• Remove trees. Tree work near power lines is a specialized job for qualified crews. Goats do not do it.
• Work around energized equipment without coordination. The fence, the herder and the schedule have to be arranged with the utility.
• Replace inspection and compliance work. Utilities have to meet vegetation rules, and grazing is one tool among several.

If an easement crosses your land

If a power line, pipeline or other easement crosses your property, you may own the land but the utility has rights over a strip of it. Before you graze it:

1. Read the easement or ask for a copy. It may say what you can and cannot do in the strip.
2. Call the utility. Tell them what you plan and ask whether they have conditions. Do not assume silence is permission.
3. Ask about access. Utility crews need to reach their equipment, so gates and temporary fence should not block them.
4. Plan the fence. A good herder will set it to leave a gap or a gate at access points.
5. Mark underground lines. If a pipeline or buried cable crosses the area, make sure the herder knows. See what to flag before the goats arrive.

Fire and power lines

Wildfires ignited by power equipment have changed how utilities think about vegetation, and landowners hear more about it too. If a utility sends you a notice about vegetation on your land, treat it as you would a weed abatement notice: read it, note the deadline, and call. See what to do before the deadline.