Munching Goats Protect Campus from Fire

Westmont has hired brush-eating goats to clear defensible space around the campus, better protecting the college from future wildfires. Brush Goats 4 Hire, a Santa Barbara County company, will deliver a herd of penned goats during the week of July 27. The goats are expected to chew their way through several areas targeted by the Montecito Fire Department and will finish by the end of August.

Troy Harris, Westmont director of risk management, says the goats have been a success on other fire department-monitored work in Montecito.

“Each year the college takes an active role in reducing the brush fuel load on campus, removing large quantities of underbrush,” Harris says. “The recent fires have demonstrated the importance of such efforts.” Last November, the Tea Fire destroyed eight structures on campus and 15 nearby faculty homes.

Fire officials have targeted three areas where the goats will reduce flammable foliage: west and north of Page Hall, south of the bridge on La Paz Road, and just above the northwest corner of Chelham Way.

Harris says the goats are an environmentally friendly alternative to clearing brush. “The goats naturally fertilize the soil, assisting with erosion control,” he says. “We also don’t have to use chemical weed abatements. The goats are also much quieter than weed whackers, chippers, or bulldozers.”

The goats, kept within electric-fenced pens and monitored by surveillance cameras, will eat poison oak, chaparral and other plant growth. The animals are also protected by predator control dogs responsible for guarding against wild animals entering the pens.