PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The Hoffler Creek Wildlife Preserve in Portsmouth, Virginia, has decided to try “goatscaping.”

Staff at the preserve has hired a landscape company called RVA Goats, which is based in Richmond. A team of about 80 goats and sheep are helping to control the invasive wisteria that has taken over a couple of acres of the property.

“So, the English ivy on the ground, the sheep are very effective at getting that, and then the goats are good at climbing and getting at some of these vines,” explained Kristi Orcutt, owner of RVA Goats.

Executive Director of Hoffler Creek Wildlife Preserve Ashley Morgan says this is the first time they’ve done this.

“About a year ago, we discovered that the vines in this area had really invaded the forest and taken down the canopy,” said Morgan.

She said they invited experts from the state forestry department and also city landscapers to look at the problem.

“Doing nothing is not an option because the invasive wisteria will continue to spread and continue to take down the native trees,” Morgan added.

Hoffler Creek Wildlife Preserve was established in 1997 and is a 142-acre urban wildlife preserve.

The owner of RVA Goats says her company is keeping busy, often hired by homeowners and business owners.

“We also get hired by cemeteries, especially African American cemeteries that are historically under-funded and under-managed,” described Orcutt. “I’ll send the goats in and within a week, I’m seeing these beautiful works of art, these stone markers.”

The University of Richmond is one of their next jobs, stated Orcutt. She added that the goats and sheep are used to clear streambeds and also to model and demonstrate sustainability for their ecology students.

Hoffler Creek Wildlife Preserve plans to use the goats and sheep through the end of the week. Morgan said the cost was covered by a grant through the Rotary Club of Portsmouth and the Southeast Virginia Community Foundation.

They hope to gain more human volunteers to help until they can rent out the goats again in spring.

This story was originally published by Angela Bohon at WTKR.

Police agencies across the Tri-State are looking for men who they said have been targeting elderly people in several recent thefts – some of those victims were chosen while visiting loved ones at a local cemetery.

The Montgomery Police Department are telling people across the area to be on alert after a string of thefts at cemeteries and parks across the region.

Multiple thefts happened at Gate of Heaven Cemetery on Montgomery Road in June and July. The suspects targeted elderly victims – one who said more than $10,000 in charges to her credit card appeared after someone stole a purse out of her car.

“I think it’s scary and sad that someone’s going to visit a relative in the cemetery and they would have to worry about that,” Symmes Township resident Alison Moss said.

According to police reports, witnesses saw a man drive around Gate of Heaven Cemetery before getting out of his car, crouching down and tip-toeing toward one of the victims’ cars. After stealing a purse, he made eye contact with cemetery workers, got into his car and sped away.

“That is a little scary to hear that that’s happening, because there are certain times of day when there are not as many people here,” Moss said. “So, yeah, definitely puts me on high alert.”

Montgomery police said the suspects are taking stolen credit cards to grocery stores and buying large amounts of gift cards. So far, they have used the cards at the Kroger on Montgomery Road in Symmes Township and the Meijer in Loveland. Surveillance footage at some of the stores has helped police get photos of the people they said are responsible.

The investigation also includes thefts from cemeteries and parks in West Chester, Evendale, Blue Ash and Fort Thomas, Kentucky.

One of the men has a Bentley tattoo on the back of his neck. The men are thought to drive a black Nissan Pathfinder

Courtesy, Montgomery Police Department

“It’s good, I guess, that the community knows so people can start paying more attention to that and hopefully they’ll catch the people who are doing it,” Moss said.

Anyone with information regarding these crimes should contact the Montgomery Police Department at (513) 985-1600.