Wildfire-prevention goats in high demand as U.S. West endures historic heat and drought
Record ID:
1623805
Wildfire-prevention goats in high demand as U.S. West endures historic heat and drought
- Title: Wildfire-prevention goats in high demand as U.S. West endures historic heat and drought
- Date: 28th June 2021
- Summary: IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (JUNE 24, 2021) (REUTERS) GOAT CLOSE TO THE CAMERA LENS HERD OF GOATS VARIOUS DRONE SHOTS OF GOATS ON RUNNING ON HILLS (MUTE) JOHNNY GONZALES, FIELD OPERATIONS MANAGER ENVIRONMENTAL LAND MANAGEMENT, JUMPING A FENCE AND WALKING INTO HERD OF GOATS GOATS CHEWING (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOHNNY GONZALES, FIELD OPERATIONS MANAGER, ENVIRONMENTAL LAND MANAGEMENT, SAYING: "The popularity of goats has really increased over the years, people now equate goats to doing fire fuel breaks. The interest has sparked, you know cities and the counties in the state to look into the viability of it." VARIOUS OF GOATS EATING (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOHNNY GONZALES, FIELD OPERATIONS MANAGER, ENVIRONMENTAL LAND MANAGEMENT, SAYING: "It's a natural resource in the sense that the restoration and the habitat is here. Goats are very much like a fire without the flame of a fire. They can bring all the the critical elements of the plants that are here back to the soils and regenerate the native plants. So a natural resource in the sense that it's good for the land." GOATS ON HILL GOATS EATING (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOHNNY GONZALES, FIELD OPERATIONS MANAGER, ENVIRONMENTAL LAND MANAGEMENT, SAYING: "The goats take product like this dry mustard head and brush and they'll clear the dead and the duff, which is a fire problem, and they'll turn it into an open space like this. But then in the pellet, it's got another unique form that inside the pellet they've crushed it and modified it so much that it's just literally dried pieces and small, small particles of eaten vegetation." GOAT PELLET DROPPINGS VARIOUS OF GOATS EATING (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOHNNY GONZALES, FIELD OPERATIONS MANAGER, ENVIRONMENTAL LAND MANAGEMENT, SAYING: "And this area is a buffer. We're trying to take away the ember and the transfer of fire when a catastrophic fire actually does occur." TRACTOR FIELD MASTICATING GONZALES DRIVING A TRACTOR VARIOUS OF TRACTOR FIELD MASTICATING DRONE SHOT OF GOATS IN FIELD (MUTE) GOAT SCRATCHING ITS HEAD AGAINST DRY WEED (SOUNDBITE) (English) JOHNNY GONZALES, FIELD OPERATIONS MANAGER, ENVIRONMENTAL LAND MANAGEMENT, SAYING: "By treating these open spaces, this is one community, this is one hill that when the fires are going off in the back country and the winds are blowing into our facing, the embers come in. This won't light up. And that's how fires jump fire lines. That's how they go into communities." HERD OF GOATS WALKING DOWNHILL HERD OF GOATS, SEEN FROM WITHIN THE HERD
- Embargoed: 12th July 2021 19:18
- Keywords: California Environmental Land Management Irvine Johnny Gonzales drought fire mitigation goats wildfires
- Location: IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- City: IRVINE, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Disaster/Accidents,United States,Wildfires/Forest Fires
- Reuters ID: LVA001EJBD0SN
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: As historic heat waves and drought pummel the U.S. West, goats and goat herders are in high demand for fire abatement.
Using goats to clear flammable dead grass is not new, but as authorities and the public become more aware of the environmental benefits, the popularity and demand have grown, said Johnny Gonzales, Field Operations Manager, Environmental Land Management.
"The popularity of goats has really increased over the years; people now equate goats to doing fire fuel breaks. The interest has sparked, you know cities and the counties in the state to look into the viability of it," Gonzales told Reuters.
On the steep hills surrounded by homes in Irvine, California, on the outskirts of Los Angeles, a herd of approximately 200 goats can be seen munching and walking from the neighborhood streets.
"Goats are very much like a fire without the flame of a fire," said Gonzales. "They can bring all the critical elements of the plants that are here back to the soils and regenerate the native plants. So, a natural resource in the sense that it's good for the land."
Goats naturally remove invasive plants and their droppings fertilize the soil without reseeding, which prevents the area from reproducing.
Gonzales, 57, has been in the goat business for 23 years. He currently has 1,600 goats on the hills throughout the state of California. The cost for goats averages from $800 - $1,000 per acre.
Being a herder is not a simple task, It also involves abatement with tractors and by hand and getting to hard to reach areas, Gonzales said.
The aim of the goat clearing is to establish a natural fire-break, so that if a wildfire does occur, it will stop before reaching the nearby community.
"By treating these open spaces, this is one community, this is one hill that when the fires are going off in the back country and the winds are blowing into our facing, the embers come in. This won't light up. And that's how fires jump fire lines. That's how they go into communities," Gonzales said.
(Production: Alan Devall, Norma Galeana) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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