Planning commission approves temporary pilot allowing goats at Oz Natural Area to control invasive plants

The City of Waupaca Planning Commission on July 2 approved a temporary pilot allowing intermittent goat grazing at the Oz Natural Area (a 34‑acre private environmental education property) to reduce invasive vegetation and limit herbicide use. The approval is limited to 2025 and includes conditions requiring a site plan, containment measures and a year‑end review before any future authorization.

Russ Buckowitz, co‑owner of the Oz Natural Area Center for Biodiversity Education, presented the proposal and framed it as an environmental‑education and public‑health measure. Buckowitz said invasive plants such as Japanese barberry and buckthorn have been linked by research to higher blacklegged tick populations and a higher prevalence of Lyme‑infected ticks. He argued that biologic control using goats can reduce reliance on herbicides and their potential risks to groundwater and human health in the Central Sands region. "I am here tonight with an urgent appeal to you on behalf of the public health of our community," Buckowitz said.

Buckowitz described the property’s long history of environmental education dating to the 1990s and said the Oz site had previously hosted youth programs and demonstration projects. He presented an operational plan that would keep goats primarily at a farm and use the Oz site intermittently for grazing. He described containment measures in the packet: a 100‑by‑100‑by‑5‑foot high woven‑wire fence for permanent enclosures, solar‑powered electro‑netting for temporary grazing, GPS‑backed fencing with solar collars as a backup, mobile housing (for example portable calf hutches) inside the permanent fenced area, and buffers from neighbors. Buckowitz said the herd would be managed to avoid odors and escapes.

Staff presented a six‑point temporary authorization for 2025 that originally proposed up to 10 total days in 2025, a maximum of 10 goats on site at one time, submission and approval of a site plan and temporary fence permit (including location of mobile housing), a requirement that goats be fully contained by a physical fence (geofencing allowed only as a supplement), a review at the end of 2025 to decide on future use, and that approval for 2025 would not guarantee future approvals.

Commissioners discussed whether 10 days would provide a meaningful demonstration. After discussion, commissioners agreed to modify the staff proposal and approved the pilot with these primary conditions for 2025: up to 30 total days of goat grazing in 2025 (not required to be consecutive but any run longer than 10 consecutive days would require a day off), no more than 10 goats on site at any time, submission and approval of a site plan that shows the temporary fencing and mobile housing location, physical fencing as the primary containment method (geofencing allowed only as backup), a planning‑commission review at the end of 2025 to determine whether to authorize continued use in future years, and the 2025 approval does not guarantee future authorization.

Commissioners and staff emphasized public‑safety and animal‑welfare considerations: goats must be kept sanitary and contained, enclosures must be sited to provide neighbor buffers (Buckowitz’s packet stated mobile housing and fences would be more than 100 feet from any residence and the permanent enclosure would be more than 140 feet from the nearest property line with dense vegetation between the fence and the property line), and operators must be on site when electro‑netting is deployed. The commission advised Buckowitz to submit a site plan through the city’s portal and meet with staff (Juliana Stoles) to finalize details before the first grazing event.

Commissioner Eric Olson moved to approve the temporary pilot with the revised conditions (30 days total, required site plan, containment and review). Dana Guskey seconded; the motion carried on a voice vote. The commission asked Buckowitz to document before‑and‑after photos and return after the 2025 grazing season for formal review.