Shearing the Land : Sheep Clear Building Site for Developer

Yesterday they were sheep. Today, to officials of a development company, they are “organic construction workers.”

But for the 2,000 sheep that arrived recently to feed on the rolling green hills east of San Clemente, it’s all just another free lunch.

Bleating as they cascaded down the ramps of 10 triple-decker semi-trucks, the sheep landed with gazelle-like bounds and headed for the tall grass and scrub brush they will clear to make way for 5,000 new homes.

For the developer, Arvida Co., the arrangement means the free removal of tall grass and scrub brush that otherwise would have been graded by machine and shipped to a landfill. For the sheep rancher, Pedro Indocochea of Perris, it means a way to feed his herd.

“We’re putting the vegetation into the tummies of sheep instead of hauling it away,” said Horst Schor, Arvida vice president. “And there won’t be any pollutants released into the air. Environmentally, this is a good solution.”

Known as voracious eaters that will strip their grazing area of all vegetation, the sheep will save Arvida several thousand dollars, said company spokesman Kevin Canning.

“They will basically eat about anything,” said Dorine Indocochea, who keeps the books for her rancher husband. “They’re real garbage disposals on legs.”

The 2,000-acre site of the Talega Valley housing project lies half in unincorporated county territory and half in the city of San Clemente. County officials have approved plans for up to 2,700 homes, and the San Clemente Planning Commission is considering plans for 2,300 more.

Pedro Indocochea said he is happy that the Arvida Co. called him in April to propose the idea.

With grazing lands becoming scarce in Southern California, Indocochea said he is glad to bear the $12,000 cost of trucking the sheep to Orange County.

“Land development and environmentalists make it really hard to find anywhere for them to feed,” he said. “I’m glad we’re able to find them a home here.”

From Needles to Brawley, the flock has bounced around Southern California in search of grazeable land, Indocochea said.

“About the only places left for them to eat now are the farmlands,” he said. “And (farmers) know it and charge a lot for my sheep to use their lands.”

Traditionally, cattle from South County’s sprawling ranchlands have been used to control scrub brush in the area.

But sheep, say Arvida officials, are better natural lawn mowers than cows.

“Cattle leave something like the bottom third of the plant,” Canning said. “Sheep will get it all, right down to the roots.”

The partnership between sheep herder and developer is not unknown in the building industry, although Schor said it is the first time the arrangement has been tried in Orange County since he helped build the community of Anaheim Hills in the mid-1970s.

“The sheep worked out really well back then,” Schor said. “They’ll do a great job here, too.”

The sheep, all 1-year-old female breeders, will live off the land here for at least three months.

“Right now, it’s beautiful here,” Dorine Indocochea said. “I don’t know how long it will last.”