BigDog (Great Pyrenees) guards the herd of goats on the Roan Mountain Highlands near the Appalachian Trail which runs along the Tennessee / North Carolina border. The mountains of North Carolina are in the background.

The goats spend the summer on the mountain balds at 5700-5800’ in elevation as part of the Baa-tany Goat project. The 10-year project began in 2008 in an attempt to restore the Grassy and Alder Balds using goats as an experimental management tool.