Gorse Out a ‘graze’ success in Caspar
CASPAR » Almost 37 acres of gorse was cut down and masticated in the town of Caspar during September and early October, thanks to a friendly herd of hungry goats.
The Holy Goats, a project of Pastor Matt Davis, were brought in to graze gorse received some grant payment for the work. Davis also donated several days of grazing.
The Gorse Abatement 2020 Project Coordinator was Helene Chalfin, who is also Jug Handle’s Education and Nursery Director and the Restoration Projects Coordinator.
“The project’s motivation and goal has been that Jug Handle Creek Farm and Nature Center work with Caspar Community as sister nonprofits — to accomplish an environmental restoration project that benefits all of Caspar — while creating better fire safety for the entire community,” Chalfin said in an email.
Jug Handle Creek Farm and “Gorse Out” members worked together to involve County Ag in helping to finance gorse removal with the first $20,000 of the fund, and the Mendocino County Agriculture Department wrote a noxious weed abatement grant to the USDA, which benefited the town of Caspar with a total of $33,000 for gorse removal.
More landowners in Caspar signed on for gorse remediation through this project than for any previous gorse removal project done in Caspar, Chalfin said.
Jug Handle Creek Farm raised an additional $7,150 from local Caspar landowners to fight gorse on their own properties and the team also successfully approached County Ag for another $13,000 grant augment.
Caspar Community donated $ 16,000 of Fire Safety funds towards the gorse abatement project and acted as a vendor for the County funds and some of the Community contributions. $23,250 was spent from the County Grant and
Caspar Community fund for removal on the east side of Highway 1. The work took ten days.
An additional $22,937 was spent from the County Grant and Caspar Community Funds on the west side of Highway 1. That work took an additional 10 days.
Holy Goats will be paid $1,000 for their 19 days of grazing on Oscar Smith Ranch West.