Pet project a pet peeve for some
Alpine won't take action against alpaca ranch
The rest, as they say, is history.
Now, eight years after getting their first alpaca, the Bergmans care for 26 of the animals on their ranch in Alpine.
"I raised seven children, and you would think I would want to do something different than this," said Jill Bergman. "But if you love animals, alpacas are wonderful."
While the Bergmans' alpaca ranch has become well-known in the tony Utah Valley community, a neighbor who wants to develop nearby asked city officials to look at whether people would want to buy homes next to fields full of alpacas.
Carl Pack, the neighboring property owner who plans to develop some of his land, was concerned about how the area would look for the houses that will be constructed.
"If you are going to have the alpacas, I guess you have to do what you have to do," Pack recently told the Alpine City Council, "but my hopes were that it would be a nice back yard and not see pens for animals. That is my concern — that it's not blending in with the development."
But with the ranch being in alignment with all of the city codes, including the number of animals that are allowed on the property, the council refused to take any action on the alpaca ranch. "I think it is important that we allow individuals the right to do what they want with their property — unless it puts a hardship on the neighbors," said Mayor Hunt Willoughby.
Bergman was happy with the support of the council of a city that she feels is becoming development-friendly.
"A lot of people moved to Alpine for the rural nature of it," said Bergman. "I know that is why we came here. But it is becoming less and less rural and more built up."
The Bergmans allow community groups to visit their ranch on a regular basis. They also do their annual shearing in June and invite the community to see the process that leads to a luxurious fabric.
"They are produced for their fleece, although the market for that in the U.S. is just developing," said Rebecca DeMasters, the Bergmans' daughter and ranch manager. "The fleece production has developed in South America, but it's real small here."
While the ranch is really just a personal hobby for the Bergmans, they have their fleece developed into material that makes soft, warm blankets, hats, sweaters and gloves. In association with a group of alpaca owners, they even sent alpaca socks to soldiers in Iraq, and have received great feedback.
"We want to get enough alpacas to get a fleece industry started in America," said Jill Bergman. "Right now it is just a cottage industry. But there are people talking now about really processing the fleece on a big scale."
In the meantime, Bergman will continue to attend shows across the country with her alpacas, including the National Alpaca Show, which will be in Sandy this May.
But most of all, Bergman is just happy to be at a time in her life where she can enjoy a hobby and friendship with the animals at her ranch.
"They all have names and they all have definite personalities," she said. "They are such sweet animals."
E-mail: ethomas@desnews.com
Recent comments
Jill Bergman said it best in this article. "She and her husband moved…
Pulling the fleece over your eye | March 17, 2008 at 11:33 p.m.
Where does it state in this article that Mr. Pack is a money hungry…
The final word | March 17, 2008 at 8:11 p.m.
So is the Alpaca ranch a hobbie or a business? Quite an expensive…
The rest of the story.... | March 17, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.
