Greetings Santaluz Community!
We are excited that our 2026 grazing season is upon us! This year we will be grazing our usual route in reverse due to our new unexpected crop of lambs on board the crew. Please see the map below to reference the route. As of May 16th we will start the main herd off San Dieguito Road and Montien in area 9. We’ll be starting there and moving backwards towards area 1, with our in-tact males grazing separate from the main herd in area 3 through out that journey.
For those of you that are new to us, we are a group of young nomadic shepherds, the Good Shepherds, an unincorporated regenerative land management group that serve for ecological fire abatement and land regeneration. We currently are shepherding 400 goats and sheep plus a new flush of lambs, who eat the flashy fire fuels and trim back some of the brush management zones for the Santaluz Community. The herd is protected by livestock guardian dogs, shepherded by border collies, and guided by a team of dedicated shepherds servicing the land. Prescribed Herbivory, what we do, is one of five wildfire risk reduction vegetation management practices recognized by the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, as critical to addressing the wildfire crisis in the Wild Urban Interface, where you live. When done right, this practice can improve the soil, reduce erosion events and enhance the native ecology while minimizing flashy fuels.
There are many elements that go into this, including a team of shepherds dedicated to living on-site and being available 24/7 to tend to the live beings and their various needs, therefore we have become neighbors. We love community and aim to maintain good relations. To be viable and successful in covering the acreage and protecting property we ask for your cooperation. Please take some time to thoroughly read the important information below.
For homeowners along the brush management zones we will be servicing:
For all (including renters, homeowners and your guests):
Additional Notes:
We are here in hopes that fire crews won’t have to be in the future, and that if they do, they will have a lower flame height to be of less risk to the fire fighting crews and a better chance at saving property and lives. We do our best to mitigate any minor issues while striving to reduce loss of property and life from wildfire.
About Prescribed Grazing:
In the case of an emergency please call us at 858-522-0402 to reach us 24/7.
All other inquiries can be made by e-mail: [email protected]
For more information visit www.goodshepherds.earth and for a more candid lens into our work and lifestyle, feel free to follow and tag us on Instagram: @wearegoodshepherds
We are happy and honored to be here serving the land and community in these ways. We look forward to a smooth and successful grazing!
Sincerely,
Your Good Shepherds
For those of you that are new to us, we are a group of young nomadic shepherds, the Good Shepherds, an unincorporated regenerative land management group that serve for ecological fire abatement and land regeneration. We currently are shepherding 400 goats and sheep plus a new flush of lambs, who eat the flashy fire fuels and trim back some of the brush management zones for the Santaluz Community. The herd is protected by livestock guardian dogs, shepherded by border collies, and guided by a team of dedicated shepherds servicing the land. Prescribed Herbivory, what we do, is one of five wildfire risk reduction vegetation management practices recognized by the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, as critical to addressing the wildfire crisis in the Wild Urban Interface, where you live. When done right, this practice can improve the soil, reduce erosion events and enhance the native ecology while minimizing flashy fuels.
There are many elements that go into this, including a team of shepherds dedicated to living on-site and being available 24/7 to tend to the live beings and their various needs, therefore we have become neighbors. We love community and aim to maintain good relations. To be viable and successful in covering the acreage and protecting property we ask for your cooperation. Please take some time to thoroughly read the important information below.
For homeowners along the brush management zones we will be servicing:
- Although we try to take into account potential temptations to the herd, and will often fence off already fenced in yards, sometimes yards or plants poking through a fence get overlooked as we are going around hundreds of homes. We ask for your help, to make sure your landscaping is cleared from the fence, including trimming over hanging trees up at least 6 feet to avoid the herd eating your plants/trees and pushing against snake fences. If this is not possible let us know by e-mailing us at [email protected] with BACKYARD FENCE as the caption. Be sure to include your address so we can take appropriate precautions.
- Consider reinforcing your snake fencing. Zip ties become brittle in the sun after a short period of time. Metal wires do rust, but usually hold longer. Bolts seem to work best to make sure fences stay in place when the animals are out grazing behind homes. Often times we’ve come across ties that are already broken, making the fence insecure. Your awareness and assistance with having your fence secure is monumental.
- If the herd is eating unwanted plants, has gotten into your yard, or if there is an emergency concern, please call us immediately at 858-522-0402. While you await our arrival you can direct them away by clapping loudly, making some noise, and/or walking towards them with arms wide open
- Requests for us to fix snake fences or eaten plants are understandable, however we have limited capacity to address them. While we are happy to clean up an area where the animals may have gone out of their fence lines, we do not have the capacity to replace damaged property. This makes your preventative and present participation in this project incredibly valuable and appreciated!
For all (including renters, homeowners and your guests):
- Please call us at 858-522-0402 if you see animals outside of the electric netting or if you see that the fence is down.
- Please do not touch or tamper with the electric netting. The amperage is low, so it’s not dangerous, but the voltage produces a memorable experience. This is to keep our herd in the right places and help deter would-be predators.
- Please stay a distance back if you have a pacemaker, electronic implants, are riding an e-bike or with any electronics to keep you and your property safe.
- There are places where the fence must cross through trails on the property. Please do not attempt to go over the fence by foot or bike. If you cannot pass, please turn around and find another route throughout the duration of time we are in the area.
- Please do not feed any of the animals. Changes to the ruminants’ diets can affect their ability to digest the food and can consequently make them ill. It can also cause them to break through the fence and cause an issue.
- Please avoid bringing your K-9 pets close to the paddocks. We have working dogs that are meant to keep predators away. Domestic dogs are seen as predators, even small ones.
- Our main livestock guardian dogs are Bear, a big, white Great Pyrenees, and Darling, a white and tan, mixed Anatolian shepherd. Sometimes Luna, a white Anatolian Great Pyrenees mix is also with the herd. They may occasionally find their way out of designated paddocks. If you discover any of the dogs outside their area please call us immediately at 858-522-0402. They are generally nice to humans and can often be leashed or contained until we arrive to retrieve them.
- Please refrain from feeding the dogs treats or giving them water, as this can encourage them to adventure out and/or stay glued near certain backyards when they are meant be roaming the entire fenced in area. They are well feed and have plenty of access to water in their paddocks. We know as dog lovers that it can be tempting to want to keep them close to you, but please think of the whole and refrain from bonding with them via treats. They are a part of our Meet & Greet gatherings so keep your eye out for information on that if you’d like to enter the paddock and interact directly with them.
Additional Notes:
- Please speak directly to the SMA Management about additional land clearing on the current site, we cannot answer requests to do so.
- Please respect the efforts and the space of the shepherds. Due to the 24/7 needs that arise from tending to the herd we are camped out nearby on approved sites for the duration of the project. We are doing our best to attend to matters while staying healthy with the elemental exposure and exertion we face every day.
- Please consider the value of having grazing as a critical fire abatement service. We sincerely apologize for any negative impacts you may experience from our presence. We aim to bring more joy and leave the land and community better off.
We are here in hopes that fire crews won’t have to be in the future, and that if they do, they will have a lower flame height to be of less risk to the fire fighting crews and a better chance at saving property and lives. We do our best to mitigate any minor issues while striving to reduce loss of property and life from wildfire.
About Prescribed Grazing:
- Around California this abatement technique is being cited as an effort to have homeowner insurance premiums lowered— consider writing to your insurance providers about the prevention methods.
- CalFire, the Board of Forestry, as well as many other relevant organizations have seen the research and implementation of prescribed grazing. California’s government and local leaders have begun to promote it as a way to effectively ecologically manage high severity fire zones.
- You’ll see our herd will leave matter and avoid certain plants that aren’t palatable during certain times of the year. Our natural environment needs the vegetation to have a healthy ecosystem, that in turn can hold more water in the soil, preventing erosion and fostering healthier fire resistant plants, while providing healthy habitat for animals. What does happen is that most of the vegetation is thinned out and trampled to a point that it won’t have enough contiguous plant matter to keep a hot fire going. The goats browse, sometimes you may see them climbing, and the sheep mow. Without herd ruminants, or mechanical removal, fire will eventually come to cycle the plant matter back into the soil. In place of having intense wildfires we can manage the brush and grasses with careful management of our flerd (flock and herd).
- Nature’s recyclers: Sheep and goats have 4 stomach chambers in which they can take plant matter and turn it into pelletized compost that can go directly back to feeding the soil. If you cut and remove plants it disrupts the natural cycle, and will start to produce drier and more brittle harsh plants, turning lush matter to fire tinder and leading to desertification. As part of our big picture ecological regeneration goals, we seek to have succession from desert to forest. Sheep and goats close the loop. Their action removes hazards and recycles them, putting a natural pressure on the land, while adding to habitat health.
- We have treated over 100 acres in Santaluz Community alone. On average each member of the herd consumes 4% of its body weight each day making the combined effort of consumption 1,200-1,400 lbs. per day. Over the 130 days we were here last season we estimate our herd (then 300+ ruminants) consumed an approximate 156,000 lbs. of would-be fire fuel and turned it into pelletized compost.
- We worked to found the San Diego Prescribed Grazing Taskforce which is currently working to expand this work into the Black Mountain Open Spaces that abut the Santaluz Community as well as neighboring communities.
In the case of an emergency please call us at 858-522-0402 to reach us 24/7.
All other inquiries can be made by e-mail: [email protected]
For more information visit www.goodshepherds.earth and for a more candid lens into our work and lifestyle, feel free to follow and tag us on Instagram: @wearegoodshepherds
We are happy and honored to be here serving the land and community in these ways. We look forward to a smooth and successful grazing!
Sincerely,
Your Good Shepherds
Grazing Areas for Spring/Summer 2026
