Prescribed Grazing for Weed & Brush Reduction
The natural grazing habits of goats and sheep quickly reduce acres of fire fuel, annual grasses, and other invasive species, making land safer and more pleasant to navigate. Furthermore, the animal’s digestive system destroys most ingested seeds, reducing unwanted propagation.
Whereas mowing tall grasses and brush leaves flammable material on the ground, the herd reduces fire fuel threat to tiny pellets. Grazing animals can handle steep and rugged terrain far more easily than a tractor. Their movements also allow for a gentle terracing of hillsides, which helps to slow water and erosion by providing horizontal paths for water to follow.
The herd will clear undergrowth and tree foliage four feet from the ground, which aids in preventing fire from reaching tree canopies.
The hooves of the grazing animals provide natural tillage, depositing organic matter into the surface layers of the earth, which increases soil carbon. In contrast, tractors disk up soil carbon which bonds to oxygen, generating atmospheric carbon dioxide. Sequestering carbon back into the soil also helps the land retain water during rainfalls, which prevents pooling and runoff. This also means increased resilience of the trees during dry seasons, since the ground is effectively working like a carbon “sponge.” Trees also receive nourishment from the organic matter supplied by the herd.
As one of the most economically-savvy approaches to land management, grazing animals are a win for both people and the environment!
First Spring Site Review
After a light rainy season in Ojai, CA, we visit a site where we performed targeted grazing and silviculture. Much of the land was hit hard by the Thomas Fire in 2017. When we first arrived in August of 2020, brush had piled up again and many surviving Oaks were scorched. We restored the Oak woodlands by tending the "wild" with humans and ruminants.
