Goats in Bommer Canyon If you happened to be passing by Bommer Meadow in the month of May, you might have noticed something unexpected – a herd of goats! The goats were assisting with the beginning stages of a multi-year restoration project being conducted by the Irvine Ranch Conservancy in partnership with the City of Irvine in Bommer Meadow, which was historically part of a working cattle camp. Livestock grazing and the introduction of non-native plants and weeds degraded the natural habitat over time, reducing available food, water and shelter for native plants and wildlife. Invasive plants do not provide the resources necessary to support healthy native wildlife populations, and they also increase wildfire risk, so it is crucial to restore degraded areas with native vegetation to provide wildlife with a functioning habitat and to reduce wildfire.
Harnessing goats’ natural grazing prowess for this project is an experiment. IRC hopes to find out how effective goats are at preparing a site for restoration compared with other techniques. This information will help IRC maximize the effectiveness of their restoration work in Bommer Canyon.
Contrary to popular belief, goats do not selectively eat non-native plants. They eat everything! This creates a challenge but also an opportunity. Because goats generally strip an area of vegetation, they are good to use in places where complete removal of all above-ground plant material is the goal, as in the beginning phase of this restoration project.
Another challenge when using goats for site preparation is that they can easily over-graze an area if they aren’t carefully and actively managed, threatening natural plant communities and causing erosion. That’s why these goats were carefully managed and cared for by a human handler, as well as protected by dogs. Although these animals may like what they do, they were there to work, which is why people were encouraged only to admire the goats from a distance and not come close. IRC took other steps, such as utilizing a movable fence, to reduce risk to surrounding habitat and to maximize the goats’ effectiveness in preparing the site for restoration.
Although the site may look cleared, the soil is still full of invasive seeds. It may take several years of grazing before the area is ready for the next phase of restoration, so there is a good chance you will see the goats again next year. The project in Bommer Meadow will ultimately lead to a healthier, more interconnected, fire-resilient ecosystem capable of supporting more wildlife.
Contrary to popular belief, goats do not selectively eat non-native plants. They eat everything! This creates a challenge but also an opportunity. Because goats generally strip an area of vegetation, they are good to use in places where complete removal of all above-ground plant material is the goal, as in the beginning phase of this restoration project.
Another challenge when using goats for site preparation is that they can easily over-graze an area if they aren’t carefully and actively managed, threatening natural plant communities and causing erosion. That’s why these goats were carefully managed and cared for by a human handler, as well as protected by dogs. Although these animals may like what they do, they were there to work, which is why people were encouraged only to admire the goats from a distance and not come close. IRC took other steps, such as utilizing a movable fence, to reduce risk to surrounding habitat and to maximize the goats’ effectiveness in preparing the site for restoration.
Although the site may look cleared, the soil is still full of invasive seeds. It may take several years of grazing before the area is ready for the next phase of restoration, so there is a good chance you will see the goats again next year. The project in Bommer Meadow will ultimately lead to a healthier, more interconnected, fire-resilient ecosystem capable of supporting more wildlife.
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