Are goats magic?

I just saw a video on CNN.com about using goats to clear brush in California as a means of suppressing vegetation that dries and turns to tinder making perfect fuel for a fire.  Apparently, the areas grazed by goats make a perfect defensive fire line, past which fire does not spread.  Even better, apparently the goats eagerly, almost preferentially, graze on invasive plants, and when a goat eats the seed, their digestive system deactivates the seed, preventing the invasive from spreading again.

Could there be a more Permie way to help defend against forest fires?

Eric

Yes, this sounds like the perfect permie approach to on keeping their homes fire-safe and preventing forest fires.

This also sounds like perfect permie business idea.

This article from the Washington Posts suggests that using goats has been done since 2014:

West Sacramento has used goat herds since 2014 to clear out tall weeds and low-hanging vegetation as a fire prevention measure, taking a page from other places around the world that use the environmentally friendly and adorable approach to weeding

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/06/21/goats-hire-wildfire-prevention-california/

Here is an interesting article about wildfire-fighting goats in California:

But new state labor regulations are making it more expensive to provide goat-grazing services, and herding companies say the rules threaten to put them out of business. The changes could raise the monthly salary of herders from about $3,730 to $14,000, according to the California Farm Bureau.

https://fortune.com/2023/05/30/wildfire-goats-california-affected-new-labor-laws/

I had neighbors that needed to clear the underbrush in the woods near their house.  The area needing clearing was heavily infested with wild raspberry and blackberry, making a sharp, thorny mess that barely produced fruit as the plants were shaded.  The ground was steep, making manual clearing possible only by going in with heavy-duty trimmers or machetes.  And either of those options is sub-optimal as the brush could get cut near the root base, but there would still be long canes full of thorns.  They opted to go with rented goats.

When I saw how completely the woods had been cleared I was stunned.  Honestly, the forest floor was beautiful--I had never actually seen it before.  And the whole area cleared by goats was completely cleared of all shrubby/thorny vegetation.

Go Goats!

Yes, they are magic.

I was going to write something about how goats can teleport as well as eat underbrush, but Jordan's picture is worth 1000 words!