Aggressive goats force trail closure

The United States Forest Service has temporarily, but indefinitely, closed the Scotchman Peak Trail in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest due to aggressive goat activity on the mountain.

The trail, which leads to the summit of Bonner County’s tallest mountain, had been considered for closure earlier in the summer, but plans to close due to goat activity were sidelined when fire season hit and several trails and roads, including the Scotchman Peak Trail, were closed due to fire danger.

The problem stems from park and trail visitors who feed the goats in order to lure them in to either pet or photograph them. The animals learn to view humans as a food source and behave aggressively in order to coax food from other humans they encounter.

Sandy Compton, program coordinator for Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness, agrees with the decision but blames the humans, not the goats, for the behavior issues.

“Aggressive isn’t a bad word,” he said. “But it’s also not the best word. Insistent is a better word. They’re just sure they’re going to be fed, like a dog. They’ll stare with those big eyes and they’ll nudge. It might seem aggressive, but they’re acting in a manner people have taught them to act.”

Compton said the issue stems back to an incident of July 11. He was on the mountain doing some preliminary scoping for a trail work project the following weekend when he encountered a man who had been bitten by a goat, causing him to need several stitches.

“The guy had been letting the goat lick the perspiration from his leg,” Compton said. “The goats want the salt. Then he decided he was done and tried to back away, the goat had other ideas and bit him.”

Compton relayed an earlier story, from 2010, he said, in which a hiker was killed in Olympia National Forest in Washington state by a goat. He said the goat began to toss his head around after the hiker refused to give up his sandwich. The animal’s horn pierced the man’s leg and severed his femoral artery. The man bled out before assistance could arrive. The goat, Compton said, was put down by authorities.

Compton said officials from the Forest Service as well as Idaho Fish and Game will be walking the trails and trying to scare the goats in order to help them unlearn the behavior. The closure should also provide time for the goats to find other sources of food and hopefully reduce their willingness to approach humans.

“Goats are interesting animals,” Compton said. “They’re smart and they’ve figured out that we have something they want. Our primary message to people is this: Don’t feed the goats. But some people just don’t listen and learn.”

The Forest Service has not set a date for the trail to reopen.