Three herds of goats and sheep, totalling 1200 head, are working in Sleepy Hollow, Terra Linda, Lucas Valley, San Rafael, San Anselmo, and Fairfax in 2019 as part of a large-scale fire hazard reduction project spearheaded by local landowners, Sleepy Hollow Fire Protection District (SHFPD), Marin County Open Space District (MCOSD), and Fire Safe Marin. This project is a collaborative effort resulting from the Marin CWPP and 2016 SHFPD Wildfire Hazard and Wildland Urban Interface Area Assessment, which identified key locations for fuel reduction to reduce the impact of wildfires in Marin communities. By partnering with adjacent local landowners, including Rocking H Ranch, Triple-C Ranch, San Domenico School, MCOSD, Ross Valley School District, and the Towns of San Anselmo and Fairfax, the multi-agency project will strategically reduce hazardous fuels on nearly 500 acres of high-risk grassy woodlands in central Marin.
We Need Your Help!
Fire Safe Marin is working hard to bring these four legged weed-eaters to more Marin communities in 2019 and beyond. We need to raise at least $100,000 to bring them to more communities and locations. You can participate by supporting our Fund-A-Goat program! Your tax-deductible donation will help bring goats to more backyards and open spaces, and with every donation of $100 or more, you’ll get to name a goat! We’ll send a photo of your named goat, with its corresponding number, and invite you on a guided walk to meet the goats and learn more about this important program from our wildfire experts.
Make a Tax-Deductible Donation Today!
Grazing is a natural, economical and an ecologically sustainable solution to reducing vegetation fuel and wildfire hazards in Marin. In 2018, two herds, totalling 800 goats and sheep, grazed more than 340 acres of high-risk grass woodlands in central Marin, clearing 1-2 acres a day of vegetation, including non-native, invasive plants. This approach proved cost effective and gentle on the land, reducing the fuels for fire, restoring native grasslands where firefighters can more easily control fires, limiting greenhouse gas emissions, and creating pastoral fuel breaks in the open spaces between communities.
This summer, if we are able to reach our fundraising goals, Fire Safe Marin will introduce and graze goats in more Marin communities in our ongoing effort to reduce wildfire fuels. Fire Safe Marin is working with public and private land managers and Marin’s growing network of recognized Firewise USA neighborhoods (www.firesafemarin.org/firewise) to identify locations where grazing will be most effective and provide the most protection for the greatest number of neighborhoods.
How can you help? Fund-A-Goat with a tax deductible donation!
Your tax deductible donation will help us reach our goal of $100,000 towards goat grazing projects in 2019! Project locations will be selected based on risks and priority areas identified in the 2017 Marin County Community Wildfire Protection Plan.
- Make a donation of $50 or more and receive an invitation to visit the goats. Learn how they are helping to make Marin safer during wildfire season and see the incredible animals, and their canine guardians, at work.
- Make a donation of $100 or more and name one of the goats. Petunia? Tam? Ember? Hero? The choices are endless! You’ll be invited to meet the goats and photos of the named goats will appear with your donation on Fire Safe Marin’s website. Please include your Goat name in the Comments section.
Donations can also be made by check and mailed to Fire Safe Marin, PO Box 2831, San Anselmo, CA 94979.
Download a donation form:
https://firesafemarin.org/images/documents/forms/FIRESafe_MARIN_Donation_Form_2017_public.pdf
Getting prepared in advance of fire season is crucial. Together, we can make Marin a safer and more fire-resistant place to live and work this wildfire season. Please make a donation today.
