Here's why ewe saw from the rides at Bay Beach that sheep were grazing on Renard Island

GREEN BAY - The Port of Green Bay on Thursday welcomed a new workforce to Renard Island to chew through a tough job.

The work on the 55-acre Renard Island will take awhile but fortunately the sheep brought in by Wooly Green Grazers, an Appleton-area vegetation management company, have an appetite for this kind of work.

The Port of Green Bay has managed and maintained Renard Island since Brown County took ownership of the kidney-shaped island just off the Green Bay shoreline and visible from Bay Beach Amusement Park. The task includes cutting back the vegetation growing all over the human-made island.

For years, the port hired crews to mechanically mow the unruly vegetation and invasive species, but the terrain is hole-filled and tended to break equipment. Port officials decided to try a different approach this year: They put out bids for goats or sheep to tackle the task and hired Wooly Green Grazers for a little more than $10,000, said Mark Walter, the Port of Green Bay's business development manager.

“In addition to being a cost-effective and environmentally friendly maintenance method, we’re looking forward to the added benefits of invasive species control and soil fertilization," Walter said. "We’re really looking forward to seeing how this pilot progresses.”

What is Renard Island?

Humans created Renard Island in 1977 as a place to store material dredged from Green Bay. The 55-acre island was capped with a 10- to 30-foot layer of clean soil from 2011 to 2014. The property in 2018 was given to Brown County for future recreational use and development.

The county in 2019 adopted the Renard Island Master Plan to guide recreational development of the island that envisions a mix of uses that includes amenities like a boardwalk, concessions, vehicle parking, a zip line, observation tower and boat slips on the south side of the island. The plan called for more passive amenities on the north end of the island where people could find scenic overlooks, a beach, a fishing pier or vistas of the bay of Green Bay.

In 2019, the port also put out a call for "champions" to lead the effort and marshal the money necessary to pay for the expansive development plan. Walter said the port hopes the sheep also can revive a little interest in the plans and the drive to find money for them.

"It's a vision for the future, but it'll take awhile," Walter said.

The sheep will take more than a month to graze the entire island

During the growing season, Wooly Green Grazers' flock of more than 30 Olde English "Babydoll" Southdown sheep will split up into three groups and set out to make a meal of Renard Island's vegetation. It'll take about 35 days for the sheep to complete the whole island. They'll repeat the cycle into October.

Roxie and Daniel Emunson, who launched Wooly Green in 2020, said the sheep generally eat the tasty plants — their dessert, if you will — first before returning for the less-appealing but still edible vegetation.

The couple started the business in North Carolina after they saw sheep grazing on fields of solar panels. They moved to Outagamie County in 2022 but found there weren't many solar fields in northeastern Wisconsin yet. In the interim, they contract with companies to graze 5- to 10-acre industrial sites.

Roxie Emunson said they live by the motto "raise 'em to graze 'em" and said it's much more pleasing to the senses to have sheep handle the job than noisy mowers.

"They're easy to look at and there's a calming element to it," Emunson said. "And it's environmentally friendly."

Sheep will help combat invasive plant species, help prepare the island for future recreational use

Grazing offers the county many benefits to mowing: It's cheaper, it's more sustainable, it's more environmentally friendly, and it will keep the island in good shape for developing those future recreational uses.

The environmental benefits start with the reduction of weeds and invasive species on the island, Walter said. Where mowers would just chop vegetation up and leave it behind, seeds and all, the sheep eat the whole plants and sterilize the seeds during digestion. Sheep waste also will help enrich the soil and create better, more beneficial cover vegetation on the island.

"It's just a better way of working on this island," Walter said.

Why is it called Renard Island?

The island honors Clarence Renard, who served as a member of the Brown County Harbor Commission for 22 years.

No, you can't go hang with the sheep. They're working.

Renard Island is not open to the public. No trespassing is allowed. The island is monitored and the Emunsons keep watch over their flock, too.

There are "Caution: Sheep at Work" and "No Trespassing" signs up at the gate that blocks access just to remind you. Wooly Green Grazers and port officials ask that you stay out for your safety, and the sheep's safety.

"They're doing a job. We don't want people coming out to disturb them," Walter said.

Better opportunities to see the sheep include Bay Beach rides like the Big Wheel and Zippin Pippin, or an Appleton area conservancy

Thursday's media meet-and-greet with the sheep was partly timed to Bay Beach's schedule. The amusement park is now open seven days a week, and Walter expects Bay Beach visitors to wonder about what Wooly Grazers' flock is doing out there.

Wooly Green Grazers also has a contract with the Casaloma Conservancy in the Appleton area and Roxie Emunson said that's much more conducive to getting a look at the flock.

Contact Jeff Bollier at (920) 431-8387 or jbollier@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JeffBollier.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Honest graze work: Sheep hired to chew into Renard Island vegetation