California law threatens grazing to prevent wildfires
When it comes to preventing wildfires, local communities throughout California are rediscovering the value of grazing. Large flocks of sheep and goats are an increasingly common sight in urban communities like San Rafael, the East Bay hills, Simi Valley, Pebble Beach and Roseville — all in the name of reducing fire danger.
As USA Today reports, goats hired by the Ventura County Fire Department helped save the Reagan Library in Simi Valley from the Easy Fire in October by grazing off flammable vegetation well before fire season began. Even the Sierra Club has endorsed sheep and goat grazing as an effective tool in California’s fight against catastrophic wildfire.
But recent changes in California’s agriculture overtime rules brought about by Assembly Bill 1066 have had the unintended consequence of disproportionately increasing herder wages more than 50%.
This legislation, signed into law in 2016 by Gov. Jerry Brown and which took effect in 2019, puts California labor rules at odds with federal guidelines adopted by the Obama administration and embraced in federal court rulings regarding herder compensation. This will jeopardize the availability of herders and make targeted grazing uneconomical for many California communities looking for options to chemical treatments.
As the president of the California Wool Growers Association, the state’s oldest livestock organization representing sheep and goat producers throughout the Golden State, I’m thrilled to see our communities once again embracing the importance of grazing. However, these flocks don’t simply show up on their own — and they can’t be stored away like a piece of equipment once the job is completed.
Managing livestock takes extensive knowledge and experience that are even more critical in urban communities. The ranchers who provide these livestock — and the herders who care for their well-being — must protect them from predators and vandalism, ensure they have an ample food supply and clean water to drink and manage their movement to communities throughout the state.
Caring for these four-legged firefighters takes a practiced eye by highly skilled herders who are paid a state-established monthly salary. In fact, many municipalities and agencies that utilize sheep and goats require on-site care.
Employers provide herders with housing and meals, the value of which the state of California does not acknowledge. These jobs have a multiplier effect in our rural communities. And these businesses provide a vital connection between the rural communities where they are based and the urban communities they serve.
Well-managed targeted grazing has numerous environmental benefits beyond reducing fire danger. Grazing helps maintain the carbon sequestration capacity of healthy soils. In many cases, grazing replaces costly herbicide applications, providing an ecologically sensitive alternative to chemicals. An added benefit is that grazing animals can work on steep slopes and rugged terrain inaccessible to motorized equipment.
The members of my association are asking Gov. Gavin Newsom to correct this untenable situation by aligning state regulations with the federal guidelines for herders. In this way, herders will have the certainty of an equitable wage and the public will have the comfort of knowing that this army of firefighters will be on the job munching us toward a safer environment.
We thank the governor for recognizing in past comments the value of sheep and goat grazing to reduce fire danger. As a state we cannot afford to sacrifice this essential fire protection tool through unintended consequences. We hope common sense will prevail.