Four-Legged Employees Return to Vermont Ski Resort for Trail Maintenance

The goats and sheep are back.

At Jay Peak, Vermont, a crew of hooved assistants has returned to the slopes this summer, munching on plants like poison ivy and sumac. Known as the Chew Crew, they’re tasked with “managing” (snacking on, really) vegetation on alpine and nordic slopes, and were first recruited by Jay Peak from Cloud Brook Farm last fall.

“[The] pilot showed us this could be more than just a fun idea,” said Andy Stenger, director of mountain and base area operations, in a release. He added that the herd “did exactly what we hoped they would,” reaching places that are difficult and time-consuming for human crews to maintain.

Traditionally, like other mountains, Jay Peak relied on gas-powered trimmers to treat its roughly 340 acres of ski trails and glades. The goats and sheep, the resort said, proved to be a lower-impact option and, this summer, will tackle part of Jay Peak’s annual trail maintenance.

Each animal wears a GPS-enabled radio collar connected to a cellular geofencing system that keeps the herd within designated grazing areas. They’ll move approximately every two days, accompanied by a livestock guardian dog that remains with them overnight.

Last season, the goats and sheep covered about 15 acres, replaced an estimated 240 hours of gas-powered trimming, and reduced Jay Peak’s carbon footprint by approximately 288 pounds of CO₂, according to the resort. 

The effort earned a nod from the National Ski Areas Association, which gave Jay Peak a Golden Eagle, an accolade awarded to mountains for their environmental performance.

Beyond those benefits, the goats and sheep, perhaps unsurprisingly, have proved popular among Jay Peak’s visitors.

“We also didn’t fully anticipate how much people would embrace the project,” said Stenger. “Guests asked where the goats were, families hiked out to watch them work, and it became another reason to get outside and experience the mountain.”

If you’re keen on meeting the Chew Crew, they’ll take a break on October 17 at Jay Peak’s Annual Bean & Brew Festival for a meet-and-greet. 

It may sound far-fetched, but livestock weed mitigation isn’t just an established practice at Jay Peak. Earlier this summer, Boulder, Colorado, welcomed around 300 goats to Harlow Platts Community Park, where they took on invasive and noxious weeds. 

That herd had another great name: the Goat Bros.

Related: Meet Lizzy Schofield, Arapahoe Basin’s First-Ever Female Ski Patrol Director