General Discussion

Bayard

(22,057 posts) Tue Jan 22, 2019, 12:47 PM Jan 2019

California Town Launches 'Goat Fund Me' Campaign to Prevent Wildfires

https://www.care2.com/causes/california-town-launches-goat-fund-me-campaign-to-prevent-wildfires.html

After the Camp Fire—the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California’s history—burned over 153,000 acres and took at least 88 lives in November, the little Northern California town of Nevada City (population: 3,136) came up with a plan. To clear 450 acres of fire-prone, city-owned vegetation, the city would rent goats to eat it. This fire safety measure is not at all unusual. There’s a term for it: “prescriptive grazing”.

But there was one major problem: nearby ranchers had already rented out all their grazing goats for most of 2019. Goats were only available this winter, and there wouldn’t be time for Nevada City to receive a grant to pay for them.

“No one is going to save us. FEMA is not coming in, right? The cavalry is not coming in,” Vice Mayor Reinette Senum said. “It’s us or it’s nobody and this town knows that. We’ve seen the cautionary tale of Paradise. We don’t want that.”

As a way to cover the cost in the interim, Senum launched a “Goat Fund Me” online campaign last month. Six weeks after the campaign started, it had raised over $16,000 of its $30,000 goal.

Sure beats trying to rake it. We're getting ready to fence in a stretch of our woods for goats and donkeys to clear out the underbrush.

13 replies

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Highlight:

California Town Launches 'Goat Fund Me' Campaign to Prevent Wildfires (Original Post) Bayard Jan 2019 OP

what are the unintended consequences? Hermit-The-Prog Jan 2019 #1

Only when they run out of better stuff to eat. nt Phoenix61 Jan 2019 #2

They move them to another area where they're needed Raine Jan 2019 #11

They can have the little ones Bayard Jan 2019 #3

let me put it another way Hermit-The-Prog Jan 2019 #4

What normally keeps the undergrowth in check afaik is periodic blazing, not grazing... Hekate Jan 2019 #8

thanks Hermit-The-Prog Jan 2019 #9

Our three little goats and two mini-donkeys Bayard Jan 2019 #10

Don't let any unneutered goats escape into the wild. nt eppur_se_muova Jan 2019 #5

They're being used in shanti Jan 2019 #6

As I adore goats I've already given. akraven Jan 2019 #7

Do they have enough rakes for the goats? lunatica Jan 2019 #12

! montana_hazeleyes Jan 2019 #13

Hermit-The-Prog

(33,321 posts)

1. what are the unintended consequences?

Reply to Bayard (Original post)

Tue Jan 22, 2019, 01:03 PM

Jan 2019

Goats kill a lot of trees.

Phoenix61

(17,000 posts)

2. Only when they run out of better stuff to eat. nt

Reply to Hermit-The-Prog (Reply #1)

Tue Jan 22, 2019, 01:53 PM

Jan 2019

Raine

(30,540 posts)

11. They move them to another area where they're needed

Reply to Phoenix61 (Reply #2)

Wed Jan 23, 2019, 03:16 AM

Jan 2019

to clear brush.

Bayard

(22,057 posts)

3. They can have the little ones

Reply to Hermit-The-Prog (Reply #1)

Tue Jan 22, 2019, 02:05 PM

Jan 2019

Our woods are so thick, the little trees can't grow. There's tons of blackberries they'll get rid of--a very good thing.

Hermit-The-Prog

(33,321 posts)

4. let me put it another way

Reply to Bayard (Reply #3)

Tue Jan 22, 2019, 02:13 PM

Jan 2019

What are the goats taking the place of?

What would normally keep undergrowth in check in that 450 acres, in the absence of our interference?

A small example of unintended circumstances -- ranchers nearly wiped out prairie dogs at one time, and it nearly wiped out the prairie they were trying to save.

http://gprc.org/research/prairie-dogs-the-truth/

Hekate

(90,642 posts)

8. What normally keeps the undergrowth in check afaik is periodic blazing, not grazing...

Reply to Hermit-The-Prog (Reply #4)

Tue Jan 22, 2019, 03:08 PM

Jan 2019

Fire is an integral part of the California ecology, and there are seeds that will not germinate unless they have passed through fire. I don't know about passing through goats, but it's worth a try, given how intensively we have populated this state and the nature of the urban-wildland interface.

Native Americans who lived in these parts for 10,000 years knew all about fire. What's new is us newcomers and our habits.

Anyhow, as to native seeds -- the fire has to be at the right season, iirc. If the seeds contain too much moisture, they just steam to death inside.

And regrowth in some of the burn areas has become an issue. There's too little rain and not enough time before the next burn for the land to recover, in some places.

Give goats a chance. Also alpacas -- my gardener told me that alpacas and their herders have been shipped in from Peru to clear hillsides in some areas.

Hermit-The-Prog

(33,321 posts)

9. thanks

Reply to Hekate (Reply #8)

Tue Jan 22, 2019, 03:17 PM

Jan 2019

I don't know of unintended circumstances, that's why I was asking. I do know about fires -- remember when Yellowstone burned.

Goats are used here to help clear areas, but that's just where the land owner doesn't care about the trees (especially saplings) that are in the area.

Bayard

(22,057 posts)

10. Our three little goats and two mini-donkeys

Reply to Hermit-The-Prog (Reply #4)

Wed Jan 23, 2019, 01:45 AM

Jan 2019

Will be taking the place of weeks of hard manual labor by their humans. And it gives them something to do.

eppur_se_muova

(36,258 posts)

5. Don't let any unneutered goats escape into the wild. nt

Reply to Bayard (Original post)

Tue Jan 22, 2019, 02:24 PM

Jan 2019

shanti

(21,675 posts)

6. They're being used in

Reply to Bayard (Original post)

Tue Jan 22, 2019, 02:48 PM

Jan 2019

Sacramento County too, especially down by the river(s). It's not only for fire control though. This story tells about using them for flood control. We have tons of blackberry bushes in this county and goats love them.

https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article211922594.html