Goats chow down on vegetation in Louisville open space, reduce wildfire risk
Some very hard-working goats are busy chomping down vegetation in an open space area in Louisville this week. The herd consists of approximately 700 animals, and the goal of their "targeted grazing" is partly to reduce the possibility of wildfire.
Louisville was hit hard by the Marshall Fire at the end of 2021. That fast moving and wind-aided wildfire tore across several open space areas, including Davidson Mesa Open Space. A cattle team worked there earlier this month and over the weekend the goats arrived at the city's North Open Space area for a new feeding session.
City officials say the goal of the grazing is as follows:
- Reduce the presence of invasive plants
- Lower the intensity of potential future wildfires
- Improve soil health through the deposition of organic matter
The goats will be hard at work through the weekend and people can come to the open space to see them but won't be able to pet them because an electric fence keeps the herd within a controlled area. Dogs are required to be on leashes near the goats.
Last fall CBS News Colorado reported on a different team of goats that were working to clear out weeds and scrub oak in Castle Pines. A South Metro Fire Rescue spokesperson said goat grazing in wildfire-prone spaces provides the "ability of fuels being managed and cut down to a lower level, so fire is more of a creeping behavior in that fuel. ... It makes it easier for firefighters to be able to approach a fire, and potentially be able to extinguish it safely and more in a direct fashion."
