Laguna Beach’s goat grazing program, a key component of its larger fuel modification efforts, will continue with a new service provider.
The City Council approved a three-year contract on March 10 with California Grazing Company in an amount not to exceed $748,029. The agreement will come at a cost of $244,422 in the first year, with optional extension years beyond that.
A combination of goats and hand crews is used to manage vegetation throughout various areas in the community to mitigate the risk of wildfire and provide defensible space for firefighters. The city has identified 27 fuel modification zones, with 10 zones consisting of approximately 285 acres tended to by goats.
Councilman Bob Whalen asked how oversight would work with the new contractor, particularly as they get acclimated to working in a new community.
Fire Marshal Robert Montaghami replied that the department would have direct contact with the vendor daily under the supervision of Christopher Gort, a specialist for the city’s fuel modification program.
“[Gort] will go out, communicate, connect with them prior to unloading any of the goats or bringing any equipment in,” Montaghami said. “We have gone through all of the zones, all 10 zones, and strategically worked on where the staging will be, and which zones we’re going to have grazed first, so we have a priority of zones that we’re going to address.”
The Dartmoor neighborhood in North Laguna and the Skyline-Alta Laguna zone in the central section of the city, totaling 90 acres between them, have been identified as priority zones for this year. Montaghami said the plan is to begin the goat grazing process in those areas the first week of April.
Four bids came in to perform the work. California Grazing Company came in well below Legacy Ranching’s bid of $1.05 million for the three-year term. Indacochea Sheep Ranch, a long-time vendor for the city whose contract expired in December, entered a bid of $1.13 million across three years.
“The approach seems very, very doable and ideal to our conditions and to our community,” Montaghami said. “We did scrutinize all of the bids, and we feel confident about this vendor.”
While the schedule for where the goat herds will be feasting next is not finalized, it will typically be made available on the city’s website.
Other zones grazed by goats include Hidden Valley/Pacific, Bluebird Canyon, Nestall-Top of the World, the Fire Road, Ceanothus, Three Arch Bay, Del Mar, and Barracuda-West/Nyes.