Grazing as a wildfire prevention tool is one of the most eco-friendly ways to clear dry brush and remove invasive plants.
The city of Los Angeles is deploying a herd of 500 goats to clear overgrown vegetation in the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve, an area that will also be used as training facilities for the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics.
According to a Smart CIties Dive article by Robyn Griggs Lawrence, the goat grazing pilot program is meant to stop invasive plants without pesticides and reduce wildfire risk from dry brush.
According to Lawrence, “Los Angeles joins a host of other California cities, including San Diego, Oakland and West Sacramento, that have brought in goats to chew through weeds that pose fire risk.”
A 2014 review of goat grazing as a wildfire prevention tool called it “probably the most ecologically sound technique for creating discontinuities in fuels, mainly at the shrubby layer, and disrupting fuel ladders.”
Read the full story: Before the world arrives for the LA28 Olympics, the goats are going to work
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