Reno Fire Department And Partners Utilize Goats For Wildfire Prevention

Press release from the City of Reno:

May 18, 2021

The Reno Fire Department (RFD), NV Energy, and the Nevada Division of Forestry have partnered to reduce the risk of wildfire in Reno’s lower Rosewood Canyon through targeted goat grazing. As part of Wildfire Awareness Month, media is invited to learn more about the project on Thursday, May 20, 2021 at 12 p.m.

Starting today, goats from High Desert Graziers in Smith Valley, Nevada will be grazing on approximately 30 acres of City-owned property in the area of Cashill Boulevard, Patidar Drive, Solari Drive and Olympic Circle in southwest Reno.

Targeted grazing mitigates wildfire risk by removing flammable vegetation, thus reducing the amount of fuels available to burn during a wildfire, and accomplishes the objective in a sustainable manner. This type of treatment also reduces ignition risk as compared to the use of heavy equipment to complete vegetation management during fire season.

Goats graze on native grasses and shrubs including sagebrush, bitterbrush (the goat’s favorite) and manzanita, as well as non-native grasses and weeds such as cheatgrass. Cheatgrass, a non-native grass introduced from Asia, is easily ignited and can carry fire into rangelands and forests, contributing to rapid spread of wildfires.

The City of Reno and partners would like to advise the public that there will be electric fencing in the area; please avoid the fencing. Electric fencing is standard in these types of operations and does not pose a risk to the goats or other wildlife that come into contact with it.

Those residents living along Solari Drive, Olympic Circle, and Patida Drive, and people recreating near the grazing goats, are asked to:

• keep dogs on a leash or at home to avoid potential conflicts
• please maintain a distance from the goats
• do not produce loud noises

There will be guard dogs accompanying the goats to offer protection from predators.

“This is just the beginning of Reno’s larger plan to rid the Rosewood Canyon of dangerous overgrown and dead vegetation and provide defensible space between green natural native vegetation and structures,” said Reno Fire Marshal Tray Palmer. “By the end of the year we hope to bring in other hand crews and equipment to finish the mitigation treatment in the north and south canyons as well.”

The goats used in this project are Spanish Goats and are between the ages of one and three. This type of Spanish goat, from the Kensing lineage, are bred to consume all types of vegetation in open and varied terrain. As such, this type of grazing has no known negative impacts on the goats.

"Every year, the Nevada Division of Forestry looks forward to working with our partners to implement the livestock grazing program to help create fire-resilient communities and landscapes for Nevada," said Kacey KC, State Forester and Firewarden for the Nevada Division of Forestry. "Bringing in goats and sheep to graze on dry vegetation throughout Nevada is an environmentally friendly and effective way to successfully reduce the risk of wildfires, and I thank our partners for their ongoing collaboration and support."

“This is just one of the many wildfire mitigation efforts that NV Energy is using across its service territory to prevent wildfires, and is part of NV Energy’s overall Natural Disaster Protection Plan,” said Mark Regan, Wildfire Mitigation Specialist for NV Energy. “These goats will clear the vegetation under and around our power lines in rugged terrain that would be challenging for crews to navigate, and eliminates the need for crews to use machinery to clear brush during wildfire season.”

This project is made possible by funding assistance from Senate Bill 508, a bill that makes allocations to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for wildfire prevention, restoration and long-term planning. The Rosewood Canyon Hazardous Fuels Mitigation Plan is also funded by the 2019 State Fire Assistance Wildland Urban Interface Grant.

Starting next week, NV Energy will have hand crews and heavy equipment clearing under the power poles along the east rim of the canyon.

For more information, contact RFD's Division of Fire Prevention at 775-334-2300.

This press release was produced by the City of Reno. The views expressed are the author's own.