High Line Canal Conservancy cleans up unwanted weeds to protect Colorado trails: "Down with the goat heads!"

You've probably seen them before. Goat heads (or puncture vines) are a noxious, non-native weed here in Colorado. Their aggressive nature often replaces native vegetation and is a major inconvenience to trail users, especially cyclists.

"It's everyone's least favorite weed because it's very spiky and pokey," explained Samantha Wilbur, the program coordinator for the High Line Canal Conservancy.

Goat heads have hard spiny burs about a half-inch wide that develop after flowering. The burs contain seeds and can puncture bike tires, human skin and paws.

Which is why Greg Skomp, or "Goat Head Greg" has made it his mission to remove goat heads – and other invasive weeds – from Colorado roads and trails.

"I just got to the point where I couldn't ride by them and not do something about them," he said. 

Skomp began volunteering in the summer of 2022 to remove goat heads from the canal. He removed over 250 pounds of goat heads from the canal alone and has ventured to other local trails to collect more than 427 pounds of the weed in total.

Skomp considers himself an expert goat head remover and has led volunteers along the canal for further goat head removal.

"My dream... is a ride with no goat heads. It's hard to get every one of them, but for now this is going to be an ongoing effort," he said. 

To learn more about goat head removal or to volunteer you can visit: https://bit.ly/3XFAylR