Deer are not interested in goldenrod, though as I've posted repeatedly on forums throughout gardenweb, if deer have the run of a property, they will taste new plants that appear, even if the plants are normally deer resistant.

Solidago rigida prefers full sun and dry to medium soil. It is very drought tolerant. The New England Wild Flower Society guide recommends planting 2 feet apart.

I am not familiar with Solidago rigida, but I am familiar with lots of other species of Solidago. In general, Goldenrods bloom for a month or two in late summer or fall. The rest of the year they are typically rather plain-looking plants, without distinctive color or form (there are a few exceptions to all of these generalizations). In bloom, 1000 square feet of any goldenrod would be very showy, and would attract lots of pollinators like butterflies, bees, and lots of the native bees and flies that pollinate. After blooming, the plants will set seeds that attract seed eating birds. At my house Goldfinches and American tree Sparrows are the birds that most frequently feed on Goldenrod seeds. Through the winter the plants will be brown, but the dried flower heads look nice, to me at least. Some Goldenrods have a few evergreen leaves at the base all winter long, others do not.

If the recommendation is to place plants 2 feet apart, that translates to 4 square feet per plant, or about 250 plants for 1000 square feet. I would plant them without any fertilizer, and mulch between plants with an organic mulch to suppress weeds. Once the plants become established I think they will fill in the space between them and control weeds pretty well. I suggest that the plot should be mowed each February or March to remove dead stems and control shrubby weeds.

Thanks for all of your replies!!! I look forward to helping with the garden at work. We're going to plant some other native perennials as well in the bed with the goldenrod.