Grazing goats have been credited with stopping the spread of wildfires, including the one north of Los Angeles recently that threatened the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. Fort Ord National Monument has been using these goats for years to reduce the threat of fire.
Ronald Aquino works with "Goats R Us." As hikers trek through Fort Ord, Aquino calls out to the hundreds of goats that he cares for around the clock.
These gentle animals are in charge of gnawing through approximately 2,500 acres of grasslands on the former Army base to create fire breaks.
Botanist Bruce Delgado is with the Bureau of Land Management, which manages Fort Ord. He says when it comes to fire prevention, they’ve had great success with these grazers.
“Where they have grazed there's practically zero chance of a fire because there's no fuel left to carry a fire,” said Delgado.
Delgado says they’re also important to the health of native vegetation.
“The number two goal is to promote biodiversity, native plants, by removing the non-native plants and to promote the growth of coastal grassland, which is a sensitive habitat,” Delgado said.
The herd munches through two acres everyday. They’ll live on Fort Ord until about April. Then, they’ll move on to other customers. And if they are too old, they are moved into retirement.
The BLM is currently conducting field experiments and studying the success of these goats. They’ll use the results to better manage them in years to come.
About 2,000 goats are currently grazing on the Fort Ord National Monument. Some arrived just this week.
