Greetings neighbors at Auberge:
You may have seen us out your back windows or along the trails east of your neighborhood, into the open space. That area has largely been neglected, and during our years of service with neighboring communities, we took notice and decided to take action.
Our animals eat dried grasses, artichoke, tumbleweed, and many other plants. While foraging, they trample a lot of standing dead plant material that could otherwise fuel a hot fire. Their movement across the land also creates space between plant species and disrupts the seeds of fast-burning grassy pioneer plants.
Our sheep and goats eat an average of 4% of their body weight per day. In the last two weeks, they've eaten down an estimated 15,000 lbs of potentially flammable material just east of your community. This is of special concern during the dry, warm Santa Ana winds of fall. Several Auberge residents reached out to ask if we were going to continue into the remainder of the Auberge East zone. Although we had not planned to continue, we fit it into our schedule, and are covering the costs ourselves to help keep everyone safer.
In addition, over the past four years we've been stewarding another 60+ acres directly to the east, and over 400 acres annually for Del Sur. We remain committed to balancing ecologically minded land stewardship with fire hazard abatement.
If you'd like to see us continue, please consider supporting our brush management services. We always go the extra mile where we can, and having contiguous land and work helps us stay in the area. Serving the wildland-urban-interface takes consistent management and ongoing costs for animals, equipment, and the shepherds who make it all possible. Please browse our website for more information.
Wishing you all the best!
Auberge East 2 and Auberge East 1 were grazed in the past two weeks for a total of around 40 acres. The green areas are grazed in addition to the Del Sur brush management.
