San Clemente looks to revamp its use of goats in wildfire prevention plans

For the past year, goats have munched their way through San Clemente’s hillsides as part of a pilot program aimed at preventing wildfires.
The approach has proven a cost-effective and environmentally sound way to clear overgrown brush and invasive plants — fuel that would otherwise feed a wildfire instead of a hungry herd of goats.
But the pilot program is set to wind down next month after San Clemente City Council voted to extend it last summer. City officials are not giving up on grazing goats. They are rethinking, though, how to move forward with them as original expansion plans met unexpected challenges.
“Staff is currently developing a phased approach utilizing smaller projects to keep this program going,” Community Development Director Adam Atamian told the City Council during an update on Tuesday. “We are in the middle of that process right now. We’re hoping that in the next month or so, we’ll have some contracts in place.”
San Clemente first employed goats to graze its hillsides last February in the wake of the Palisades and Eaton fires in Los Angeles County. Mike Kay, a former volunteer firefighter who moved to San Clemente years ago after losing his home in the Tubbs fire in Sonoma County, spearheaded the effort with 20 goats.
He also volunteered to build an enclosure on city property to manage and protect his herd as they chomped through 10 acres surrounding Vista Hermosa Sports Park.
“It has been a blessing and a privilege to be able to serve our community and to provide an unusual but financially, economically, environmentally … positive means of dealing with some of the invasive species and fire fuel load issues that we have here in town,” Kay said during Tuesday’s meeting.
Initially scheduled for a three-month run, the pilot not only proved effective at removing potentially dangerous brush, but was also popular with the community.
In August, the City Council voted to continue the effort through March 31, while soliciting proposal requests for a long-term goat contract. The move freed up $100,000 in support of the program. City staff also submitted an application for grant funding from the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or CalFIRE, to expand the pilot.
San Clemente received three bids in response to their proposal request, but rejected them all.
City staff discovered a number of issues in need of further review during the proposal process, including graze schedules, managing sensitive areas near residential neighborhoods and the need to come up with overall parameters for an extended program.
Instead of one large-scale contract, Atamian stated a preference for a phased approach through smaller contracts next month when the rainy season wraps up and a feast of vegetation awaits herds of goats.
“There will be a point where we need to go out for a [request for proposals],” said Councilmember Mark Enmeier. “Will there be enough in our budget to continue this program as we are right now with our current budget?”
Atamian said there isn’t an estimated cost for a more robust wildfire prevention program that includes goats.
“I can say that $100,000 is nowhere close to what’s going to be needed for the type of wildfire prevention program we’re contemplating,” he added. “But as far as what how much should be allocated each year is, that’s a difficult number to pin down.”
San Clemente modeled its plan after the one followed in Laguna Beach, which Atamian said runs around $2.2-million per year.
“If we want to continue with a fire prevention program that could include goats as well as other fire prevention means, we would need added funds coming into our revenue,” Enmeier said.
He floated the idea of a citizen’s initiative to raise the city’s sales tax — something Atamian did not want to opine on.
“We would need more revenue coming into our city one way or another,” Enmeier said.
“I think that’s safe to say,” Atamian responded.