BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Congressional Cemetery -- Goats

DC -- Congressional Cemetery -- Goats:

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Description of Pictures: Have you ever seen a green goat? Come to Historic Congressional Cemetery on Capitol Hill on Thursday, August 6th, and watch a herd of Browsing Green Goats in action. The goats will spend around two weeks at the cemetery helping to control invasive species that threaten this National Historic Landmark.
The non-profit Association for the Preservation of Historic Congressional Cemetery is bringing goats from Prosperity Acres in Sunderland, Maryland, to graze temporarily along the perimeter of the cemetery.
This innovative environmental project will clear the exterior fenced area of invasive species using nothing other than 30 dairy goats. The goats will graze 24 hours a day for around two weeks, eliminating vines, poison ivy, ground cover and even fallen debris, while also depositing slow-release nitrogen fertilizer. The use of goats eliminates the need for harmful herbicides and prevents the invasive species from killing large mature trees in the cemetery’s wooded area. If the vines are allowed to grow too thickly they can strangle the trees, which can fall onto the grounds and damage valuable historic headstones.
The goats will also benefit another group of cherished cemetery inhabitants – our honey bees. Clearing the invasive foreign vines out allows native plants more room to grow, and that will assist our busy little pollinators.
“This project combines natural and cultural resources, providing the perfect solution for us since we are located so close to the Anacostia River edge,” stated Paul K. Williams, President of Historic Congressional Cemetery, “We don’t want to utilize chemicals due to our riverside location and because of our membership only, off-leash dog walking program.”
Williams noted that this will be the second time the Cemetery has brought in a herd of goats to perform grounds-keeping duties. “We were amazed two years ago at the sensation these little guys caused, but when we saw the excellent job they had done, it made complete sense to bring them back again.”
The public is encouraged to visit this unique living project, Aug. 6-20. The livestock will be penned outside the burial areas in a 1.6 acre wooded area for approximately 14 days, but they will be easily visible to those walking in the cemetery, open dawn to dusk.
The above was from http://www.congressionalcemetery.org/event.asp?Id=534

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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. CONGG_150807_014.JPG: Congressional Cemetery's Not Kidding Around: Environmentally-Sensitive Invasive Plant Removal in a Historic Setting: Investigating the ever-present issue of invasive plant removal in a historic setting, the techniques of weed management, and the effects of these methods, the Association of the Preservation of Historic Congressional Cemetery combined forces to conceive an innovative strategy that took into consideration the environmental, historical, and societal needs of the site. The Overview: Approaches to invasive removal, such as the use of chemicals, mechanical equipment, and natural resources, were examined and compared in regard to impact on the Anacostia River watershed, the safety and well-being of visitors, employees, and the cemetery's K9 Corp dog walking community, in addition to the integrity of the historic monuments scattered throughout Congressional Cemetery's 206-year old cultural landscape. Viewed as an outdoor museum, the cemetery is the resting place of remarkable D.C. residents and persons of national significance, from the first decade of the nineteenth century to the present, and the setting for an impressive display of funerary iconography and architecture from an array of different cultures. With such significant resources, it became apparent that action was necessary to prevent the decaying, vine-covered trees from falling on these invaluable historic memorials. With the research collected, the association was able to arrive at an educated decision to employ fifty-eight "Eco-Goats" from Sustainable Resource Management, Inc. Although this method was routine in past centuries, it is not commonly selected for cemetery maintenance in present day. The goats, after grazing for eight days on invasive plants in the dense thicket along the southern perimeter of the site, were able to eradicate countless invasive species, including but not limited to Virginia creeper, poison ivy, and kudzu. Due to the goats systems' ability to break down the seeds' physical properties, the plant's ability to regenerate is significantly limited. Spanning a 1.6 acre section of land, the Eco-Goats devoured the majority of the vegetation to approximately six feet off of the ground while also providing fertilization. This creative and innovative solution efficiently produced the result desired and, in the process, also generated an influx of positive interest from the local community, city officials, social media, and press on the national and international level. By exploring commonly used methods and impacts, the association was able to remove problematic plants and vines, decrease their environmental impact, and protect the cemetery's historic resources, as well as educate the public about the harmful effects of herbicides on multiple levels. The goats made it possible to protect the Anacostia River, the people and canines roaming the site, and the historic stones standing proud, all of which are iconic features of Congressional Cemetery. This presentation illustrates Congressional Cemetery's process of determining the appropriate techniques for removal of invasive plant species on a historic, publicly-used site with the objectives of having little environmental impact, protecting valuable historic resources, and educating the public about the benefits of choosing a natural alternative.
Wikipedia Description: Congressional Cemetery
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Congressional Cemetery is an historic cemetery located at 1801 E Street, SE, in Washington, D.C., on the bank of the Anacostia River. It is the final resting place of hundreds of individuals who helped form the nation and the city of Washington in the early 1800s. Many members of United States Congress who died while Congress was in session are interred at Congressional. Other burials include the early land owners and speculators, the builders and architects of the great buildings of Washington, native American diplomats, mayors of Washington, and hundreds of Civil War veterans. Nineteenth-century Washington, D.C. families unaffiliated with the federal government have also had graves and tombs at the cemetery. The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 23, 1969.

It was first established by private citizens in 1807 and later given over to Christ Church, which later gave it the name Washington Parish Burial Ground. By 1817 sites were set aside for government legislators and officials; this includes cenotaphs for many legislators buried elsewhere. The cenotaphs were designed by Benjamin Latrobe. The Latrobe design consists of a large square block with recessed panels set on a wider plinth and surmounted by a conical point. The design is considered a rare and possibly unique example of Visionary architecture in the United States, of the kind practiced by the 18th-century French visionary architects Etienne-Louis Boull�e and Claude Nicolas Ledoux.

The cemetery is still owned by Christ Church but is now managed by the Association for the Preservation of Historic Congressional Cemetery (APHCC). In recent years, Congressional has witnessed a great turn around in its situation. Where the grass was unmowed in 2000, the board now has established an endowment fund that will maintain the lawn in perpetuity. The Association hosts over 500 volunteers each year working on a wide variety of projects: from planting bulbs to resetting tombstones to pruning trees, doing research, and writing a newsletter.

The Association web site is by far the most expansive cemetery web site with over 25,000 obituaries, news clips back to the 1820s, then and now photographs, and transcripts of descriptions of early Washington. Various themed tours are in the works and some available on the web site highlighting many of the everyday patriots that helped form the Nation and its capital city. [www.congressionalcemetery.org]

The cemetery celebrated its bicentennial in 2007 with a Heritage Festival on May 19, 2007 on the grounds of the cemetery. The Festival included marching bands (honoring John Philip Sousa), Civil War re-enactors, stone conservation demonstrations, several themed tours, landscape and watershed management demonstrations, stone rubbings and other activities.

Congressional Cemetery is also known for allowing members of the APHCC to walk dogs off-leash on the cemetery grounds. In addition to their annual dues, K-9 Corps members pay an additional fee for the privilege of walking their dog in one of Washington, DC's great open spaces. K-9 Corps members provide about one-third of Congressional Cemetery's operating income. Dog walkers follow a set of rules and regulations and provide valuable volunteer time to restore and beautify this historic place. The K-9 Corps maintains a web presence at [www.cemeterydogs.org]

The K-9 Corps program is near-universally recognized as providing the impetus for the revitalization of Congressional Cemetery, which had fallen into tremendous disrepair and neglect prior to the program's creation. In 2008, the Association will restrict K-9 membership, and is placing restrictions on the dogwalkers, now that the cemetery is on the upswing.

Notable interments:

* Joseph Anderson, Comptroller of the U.S. Treasury
* William Lee Ball, War of 1812 soldier, U.S. Congressman
* Theodorick Bland, U.S. Congressman
* Thomas Blount, Revolutionary War soldier, U.S. Congressman
* Mathew Brady, photographer
* William A. Burwell, U.S. Congressman, Thomas Jefferson's private secretary
* Joseph Goldsborough Bruff, architect, U.S. Army Captain, topographer
* John W. Carrington former Fire Chief of Washington, D.C.
* John Dawson, U.S. Congressman
* Owen Thomas Edgar, last surviving Mexican-American War veteran
* Mary Fuller, silent film actress
* John Gaillard, U.S. Senator
* Elbridge Gerry, U.S. Vice President and the only signer of the Declaration of Independence buried in Washington, D.C.
* James Gillespie, Revolutionary War soldier, U.S. Congressman
* William Montrose Graham, Jr., Major General in the U.S. Army during the Spanish-American War
* George Hadfield, architect
* Archibald Henderson, the longest serving Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps
* David Herold, conspirator of the Abraham Lincoln assassination
* J. Edgar Hoover, FBI Director
* Robertson Howard, attorney, editor for West Publishing, and founder of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity
* Samuel Humphreys, Chief Constructor of the Navy
* Adelaide Johnson, sculptor, social reformer
* Charles West Kendall, U.S. Congressman
* Horatio King, U.S. Postmaster General
* Joseph Lovell, Surgeon General of the U.S. Army
* Alexander Macomb, Jr., Revolutionary War officer
* Leonard Matlovich, gay-rights activist and Air Force veteran
* Robert Mills, architect
* James Noble, U.S. Senator
* William Pinkney, Attorney General, statesman, diplomat
* Push-Ma-Ha-Ta, Native American (Choctaw) Chief
* Edith Nourse Rogers, reformer, U.S. Congresswoman
* Alexander Smyth, lawyer, soldier, U.S. Congressman
* John Philip Sousa, composer
* Richard Stanford, U.S. Congressman
* William Taylor, U.S. Congressman
* William Thornton, architect
* Thomas Tingey, U.S. Navy officer
* Clyde Tolson, associate director of the FBI
* Joseph Gilbert Totten, military officer, regent of the Smithsonian Institution
* Uriah Tracy, U.S. Congressman: subsequently U.S. Senator
* William Upham, U.S. Senator
* Abel P. Upshur, lawyer, U.S. Secretary of the Navy, U.S. Secretary of State
* Charles H. Upton, U.S. Congressman, consul to Switzerland
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