A national lab goes chemical-free
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), a Department of Energy facility in Tennessee, adopted goats as an alternative to herbicides for managing vegetation on parts of its sprawling site. The Department of Energy documented the effort as a sustainability success story.
For a large research campus with extensive grounds and environmental oversight, grazing offers a way to control vegetation without chemical runoff concerns.
Part of a bigger pattern
ORNL joins a growing list of federal and scientific institutions — from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab to the National Park Service — choosing managed grazing for practical, environmental, and cost reasons.
When national laboratories adopt a vegetation-management method, it’s a strong signal the approach is both effective and defensible.