Forest fires have always been a problem but as our climate continues to change, the problem has grown. Forest lands drying out faster each year sees an earlier start to fire season.
Three contributing factors to forest fires are:
- fuel loads
- topography
- weather
Nothing can be done about topography and weather but fuel loads can be reduced.
Clearing areas overgrown with weeds and brush to create wide fire breaks slow a fire down and gives the fire fighters a chance to get it out faster. The job of stripping wide swaths of ground to create these breaks is huge.
Sending in crews and equipment to remove the foliage is costly, noisy and hard on the environment. Many areas are difficult to get into with terrain that is all but impossible to move around on or needs equipment helicoptered in.
Using herbicides to kill off the foliage will contribute to the climate change that is causing the increase in the fire’s frequency and intensity.
How to Clear the Foliage In An Environmentally and Cost-Effective Way?
Goats.
Yep, those saucy little characters will happily munch at just about anything in their path. Well, not everything as they are actually herbivores. They will eat through grass, leaves, shrubs, stubble even toxic plants like poison ivy.
They are also very intelligent and able to be trained like dogs can be. Social animals they will work together to get up at and clear low branches and foliage. One will pull down the branch and others will eat off it.
Not every goat is suitable for this work. Some raised in captivity will simply wait for food to come to them. More independent goats that will graze for food are what is needed. Breeds like Boer, Kiko, LaMancha and Spanish are wel suited.
A goat can eat up to 10lbs of vegetation per day. A herd of 250 goats can reduce the available plant mass by about 75% in 30 days. A herd of 350 can denude an acre a day.
A herd of goats, some dogs to help control them and handlers can get into any area, including hard to reach areas.
The Demand Is There
Goats have been used in many areas of Europe for many years. In North America they have been being used since around 1991 and there is a growing demand for herds that can be rented out.
The last several years have seen some horrific wildfires sweep across wide areas of many places. Here in Canada last year the community of Lytton burned to the ground in British Columbia within days of registering the highest temperature on record.
Seems like a winning option to hire herds of goats to clear buffer areas around communities to provide some protection against fires. The goats are fed and looked after while they are doing their job.
Here’s a video about using the goats.
I could use some of those guys in part of my backyard.
NOTE: header images from Pixabay -- reworked by author
Shadowspub is a writer from Ontario, Canada. She writes on a variety of subjects as she pursues her passion for learning. She also writes on other platforms and enjoys creating books you use like journals, notebooks, coloring books etc.
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