One of a 144 goat herd at Vahana Nature Rehabilitation home base in Kimberley last year. The voracious grazers are removing fire fuels of grass, leaves and tall brush as part of the City of Merritt's wildfire mitigation strategy.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Cailey Chase
July 10, 2022 - 7:00 AM
A herd of 144 goats are munching their way over the hillsides in Merritt for two weeks.
The voracious grazers are removing wildfire fuels like grass, leaves and tall brush as part of the City of Merritt's wildfire mitigation strategy.
Goat manager and owner at Vahana Nature Rehabilitation, Cailey Chase, and her staff brought the herd in from their home base of Kimberley on July 4.
“Team members went ahead of time to secure the site with temporary fencing while I followed with the herd in a cattle liner,” she said.
Chase said her goats are typically used to remove invasive plants in various areas of B.C. and Alberta, and this will be their first fuel mitigation job, but she said no matter what work they are doing, goats bring big environmental benefits.
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Goats have a positive impact on soils, remove the need for damaging herbicide use and are able to eat any kind of vegetation, including poison ivy.
“They literally eat everything but what is spectacular is because we are always with them we can focus them on the invasive weeds,” Chase said. "There are really important components of soil like micro-organisms and fungus. Herbicides kill the fungus, which dries out the soil and dries the humus that holds moisture, damaging soil health.”
Denise Daigle (left) and Gary Winkler of Vahana Nature Rehabilitation watching over a herd of goats doing wildfire mitigation in Merritt, July 8, 2022.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Cailey Chase
When doing their invasive plant cleanup, the goats need guidance and direction, but with fuel management they can eat all the vegetation. They will be mostly free grazing but will also be contained in some areas with heavier growth.
“When the goats are eating and pooping they are recycling plant matter back into the soil evenly, building up healthy soils,” Chase said. “They also stomp plants into the soil which makes it more available to micro-organisms and fungus. When soils are built up they have more moisture so are more fire and drought resistant."
The goats are set up with water, salt blocks and a shelter in case of heavy rain. Chase said the public has mostly been respectful of the herd, and a guardian dog is onsite to keep them safe. They are aiming to cover 1.5 acres per day.
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The rehabilitation team consists of four workers, six dogs, three horses and the goat herd. It is their eighth year of operation.
The goats are all named with different words from the traditional language of the Ktunaxa Nation in Kimberly, like Rain, Snow and Bitterroot.
Their next job is invasive plant removal in Quesnel.
"Goats have also been used in cut blocks to protect planted trees and that is the next thing we are moving to," Chase said. "We are excited to be part of a growing soil regeneration movement."
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