NOT FOUND: goats 1.jpgGoats and cattle have been enlisted to graze on 225 acres known as the West Nature Area at the former McClellan Air Force Base. Their marching orders: clear out invasive species so native plants can thrive.
Grazing is nothing new to the place, which spent many years as ranchland prior to its acquisition by the Air Force in the mid-1980s. Some of the land was used briefly for rice farming.
The area has numerous vernal pools: springtime wetlands known for multi-colored wildflower displays which dry out and disappear in summer. While it may sound strange to let animals tramp through what might be thought of as a delicate area, biologist Molly Enloe says it isn’t. “Historically, vernal pools are generally adapted to grazing,” Enloe says, citing a recent three-year study.
Enloe noted that pronghorn antelope and elk grazed the area before agriculture was initiated. “The absence of grazing can cause a buildup of dry grasses” she said, which dry out the pools prematurely, before the tiny invertebrates living there can complete their life cycles. Grazing also “promotes the growth of native species and helps try to control some of the invasive non-native species like starthistle and pepperweed.”
“They love thistles,” David Gutierrez of Pilot Creek Ranch said of the 67 goats he delivered to McClellan in mid-July. Shanon Kern, of Infinity Federal Services Group, supplied 10 cows as part of a joint venture with Gutierrez.
NOT FOUND: goats 2.jpg“Starthistle is a noxious weed. They (the goats) will eat the seed heads,” Kern said, “instead of spreading seeds like mowing does. It’s great to see the Air Force go this way, rather than using herbicides.”
The animals will dine at McClellan for 2-3 months. The contractors installed portable solar-powered electric fences to keep the animals where they’re supposed to be. “If you get a concentration of goats in a small area, they’ll pretty much clear everything,” Gutierrez said. That will make it easier to find and pick up scattered trash and debris at the sites, which Kern’s group has also contracted to do. A free by-product of the service is the fertilizer the animals leave behind.
The goats will be protected by shepherd guard dogs who’ve been raised with them. “They bond with the goats and think they’re part of their pack,” Gutierrez explained. On his ranch in Pilot Hill, the dogs guard against mountain lions and bears; at McClellan they’ll protect the goats from coyotes.
The area will be maintained as a nature area following transfer to McClellan Business Park.
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Image 0726: Goatherder David Gutierrez and one of his shepherd guard dogs are pictured surrounded by grazing goats In McClellan’s West Nature Area. The 67 goats are on loan from his ranch in Pilot Hill (El Dorado County.)
Image 0713: A hungry goat snacks on starthistle, an invasive species, at McClellan. Grazing goats are a way to control noxious weeds without herbicides or mowing, which can spread seeds.