Greetings,

 

In an effort to reduce wildfire risk from the grass meadow on the south side of Gold Hill the Gold Hill Town Meeting, Fire District and Boulder Watershed Collective have partnered with Homestead Ranch to pilot goat grazing in the meadow.  The goat fencing will be set up this Tuesday, August 13^th and the goats will arrive on Wednesday, August 14th.  The goats will be enclosed with electric fencing and will have guard dog chained up to protect the goats.  

 

There goats will be grazing a 300ft buffer along the meadow, which is the recommended distance for a fuel break to reduce wildfire risk and structure ignition from embers which could blow from burning grasses. If the town and residents determine goat grazing to be an effective method of managing fuels, grazing could occur in future years.  If the town and residents do not feel that the goats are good method of wildfire risk reduction to use in Gold Hill, they can be removed from the site.  We welcome your questions, concerns and feedback.  Please contact Maya at Boulder Watershed Collective (maya@nullboulderwatershedcollective.org) or talk with Marcus, Dan or Boyd.

 

It is estimated that the grazing will take 2-3 weeks.  The goats will remain on site for the entirety of that time.

 

In addition to wildfire risk reduction grazing can improve soil health by cycling carbon and other nutrients back into the soil while also reducing water runoff and sediment erosion. Goat manure adds nutrients to the soil and can decrease noxious weeds, over time, to help to improve biodiversity. Instead of concentrating nutrients in one large manure pat like cattle, goats spread pellets of manure throughout the landscape, resulting in a broader impact.

 

Thanks,

Maya