Hampstead Bypass Project and Goats Keep Endangered Bog Turtles and Their Habitat Safe          
          
(May 22, 2009) - Amid the meadows and bogs that surround the $85 million Hampstead Bypass, there exists a major dilemma – how to mow the turf but protect the threatened Bog Turtle and not allow the grass to grow uncontrollably. The gears in innovative minds have been turning seeking solutions to this problem.          
          
The Maryland Department of Transportation’s State Highway Administration (SHA) has come up with an unusual idea –using goats as lawn mowers! Last weekend, SHA enlisted a herd of 40 goats from a local farmer to begin a conservation grazing project on approximately eight acres of meadows and bogs in Hampstead, Carroll County.          
          
“Avoiding and minimizing environmental impacts is a challenging part of highway maintenance and construction,” said Neil J. Pedersen, SHA Administrator. “Using goats to maintain turf in an environmentally sensitive area is not only an innovative idea, it clearly demonstrates our vision of a greener highway system.”          
          
Using traditional mowing methods could have led to a major disruption of the bog turtle habitat and could injure or kill the turtles. SHA investigated the use of cattle to maintain turf, but the weight of cattle could pose a hazard to the four-inch Bog turtle. Goats are lighter weighted animals and pose no significant hazard to the Bog Turtle or their habitat along the Bypass. Additionally, SHA installed special Bog Turtle fencing toward the northern end of the bypass to deter the turtles from crossing the roadway.          
          
SHA is using goat grazing as a two-year, $10,000 pilot, which will be evaluated after one year to measure the success of the project and to determine if the project should be expanded to other environmentally sensitive regions across the state. The cost of the goats includes delivery to and from the project, supplemental feed and routine veterinary care. The goats will graze the fields from mid-May until the beginning of September, which is the end of the mowing season.           
          
In sync with the natural environment, reducing traditional mowing supports Governor Martin O’Malley’s Smart, Green and Growing initiative. Bog Turtles can live up to 30 years, have dark bodies with bright yellow, orange or red blotches on their heads and live in calcium-rich wetlands, wet meadows and bogs. Bog Turtles are listed as threatened by the Federal Endangered Species Act.          
          
SHA started construction on the MD 30 Relocated (Hampstead Bypass) project summer 2006 and is anticipated to be completed this summer, weather permitting. Citizens who have questions about traffic operations along the Hampstead Bypass or other State numbered routes in Carroll County may call SHA’s District 7 Office at 301-624-8100 or toll free at 1-800-635-5119.          
          
Introduced by Governor Martin O’Malley in October 2008, Maryland’s Smart, Green & Growing initiative was created to strengthen the state’s leadership role in fostering smarter, more sustainable growth and inspire action among all Marylanders to achieve a more sustainable future. The Initiative brings together state agencies, local governments, businesses and citizens to create more livable communities, improve transportation options, reduce the state’s carbon footprint, support resource based industry, invest in green technologies, preserve valuable resource lands and restore the health of the Chesapeake Bay.           
          
###