Recently, the reserve obtained a grant from the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as CAL FIRE, to use goats to reduce the load of fuel and invasive plants. This pilot project aims to determine if these herbivores can reduce the risk of fire in the reserve.
Trevor Moore, a pre-fire engineer who helps organize and coordinate CAL FIRE grants in Los Angeles County, hopes this program will serve as a model for future initiatives.
“We would like to have a fuel reduction program that is effective and has a low environmental impact, so that we can show it to other communities as a good example to follow,” says Moore. “It could really help us protect life, property and the environment. »
AT WORK
The goat, which is one of the oldest domesticated animals, is a curious and adventurous eater with an iron stomach. They can eat plants that are poisonous to other types of livestock. They are also hardy and can climb steep slopes and terrain inaccessible to other animals.
Cope’s nearly 300 goats are deployed to various locations in Los Angeles and Orange County, primarily in the spring, to limit the growth and spread of invasive plants ahead of fire season. His company requires a minimum of 4 hectares and does not work on residential properties.
From the company’s operations center in South Central Los Angeles, where they are housed, the goats are transported to a work site, usually for about a month. Prior to their arrival, the site is surrounded by a temporary electric fence which is regularly moved to allow the goats to cover and gradually treat a very large area.
About 10 companies provide grazing goats in Southern California. In general, a hundred goats can graze half a hectare per day; commercial company rates generally range between $1,600 and $3,000 per hectare, or between €1,500 and €2,900. The town of Yorba Linda turned to Sage for a similar pilot projectat a cost of around 13,000 dollars (about 12,500 euros).
Many companies also follow the traditional practice of hiring a person, called a goatherd, to live nomadically with the goats.
To guard the goats and protect them from predators, such as coyotes and mountain lions, Cope trains dogs, such as Pyrenean mountain dogs et komondorstwo breeds that have been used for hundreds of years for livestock management.
Puente Hills goats graze under the protective gaze of two komondors. Anyone who gets too close to the electric fence is greeted by the barking of a 50-kilogram dog, which is why even mountain lions don’t want to approach the herd.
When the job is done, the goats are brought back to the operations center, where their hooves and coat are cleaned to prevent seeds of invasive plants from being accidentally carried to the next site.
PROTECT NATIVE PLANTS
Many native plants grow slowly, depend on specific environmental conditions, and are vulnerable to extreme conditions, such as prolonged droughts. But invasive plants often thrive in dry conditions and reproduce quickly. Climate change is therefore exacerbating their spread, explains Jutta C. Burger, director of the scientific program of the California Invasive Plant Councila nonprofit that seeks to protect California’s environment and economy from invasive plants.
“They outcompete other types of plants and can create monocultures. It can become a self-perpetuating cycle,” says Burger.
Burger acknowledges that goats can be effective in cleaning up areas affected by invasive plants and giving native species a chance to thrive. But she warns that goats also need to be carefully monitored and controlled.
“Goats are like brush cutters that make no difference; they gnaw all the vegetation they like,” she adds. “So if you have a habitat that you would like to keep, you will have to defend it or be very careful about how long you keep the goats on this site. »
ARE GOATS A REAL ASSET?
Studies investigating whether grazing by goats can reduce the severity or impact of wildfires are sparse, especially in California. But some research suggests they are beneficial.
In Arizona, some scientists have observed that land that is cleared of excess vegetation by goats act as firebreaks and can stop wildfires.
A recent study published in the journal Forest Ecology and Management revealed that in Australia, goats are particularly effective at reducing light fuel loads, i.e. flammable vegetation less than one centimeter in size, such as pine needles or grass. These light fuels are the most likely to form a continuous fire bed, so controlling and containing them is essential to limit the spread of wildfires.
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