Dottie the goat might be a familiar face, as she was one of the two goats (the other being Betty White) chosen to be in a Nativity Scene in Hood River in 2023.
SNOWDEN — Blackberry bushes, poison oak and snowberries are just a few of the many plant species that goats consider a tasty treat throughout the Gorge. In areas where plants have overgrown the natural landscape, goats provide a low-impact solution to managing vegetation growth. At Northwest Grazing, owner Will Lyons rents out his herd to do just that.
“I probably have 130 goats right now, maybe more,” Lyons said. “They’re quiet and really enjoyable. It’s actually just good for your soul to sit and watch the goats eat.”
Since April, the goats have been put to work, moving from land to land along with their two canine companions, who serve as on-site guard dogs — Brooks and Dunn. At each location, Lyons works with the landowners to set up pens big enough for the goats to eat through in about 24 hours, strategically moving them from one pen section to the next to prevent under- or overgrazing.
While the goats enjoy their multi-course meal, the land also benefits from their grazing by enhancing soil nutrient cycling and reducing wildland fire risks.
“What the goats are good at doing is reducing ladder fuels that are easily ignitable [in wildland fires],” Lyons said, explaining that any vegetation from five to six feet up is fair game for grazing, even the leaves of the branch of a tall maple tree. “It’s an efficient removal of fine fuels, such as leaves or other quick-drying fuels.”
Northwest Grazing owner Will Lyons with Brooks, one of the livestock guardian dogs that help protect the herd from possible predators.
Emma Renly photo
Additionally, he stated the goats are effective at clearing the underbrush, which opens up the ground canopy as another key component of the fire suppression efforts.
On most land in the Gorge, Lyons explained that there would be benefits from goat grazing, as the technique is particularly cost-effective on steep terrain or land dense in bush.
“Goats are really smart animals … You can stick them in almost any kind of vegetative environment, and they can do very well,” he said.
Landowners interested in a herbicide-free approach to land management or in need of an option for minimal land disturbances might be interested in grazing as well.
While the cost of renting the herd starts at $1,000, Lyons pointed to the Washington Department of Natural Resource’s Cost-Share Program as a way to offset expenses or suggested landowners collaborate to share the cost for a larger-scale grazing project.
“By implementing grazing the season after a prescribed burn or large machinery-based clearing operation, you can reduce the growth of brush,” Lyons said, adding that on larger projects the grazing helps increase the time needed between burns or mastication.
While over the upcoming winter the goats will remain in a barn, Lyons is anticipating about 200 kids to be born this spring. Since he got his first goats, Jenna and Bella, in 2022, he estimates the herd’s eating ability has increased 30-40% annually.
“I grew up on a farm, and I feel like I got a lot from that. Even though I didn’t continue my family’s farming enterprise, I’m taking a lot of what I learned during that and applying it to this,” Lyons said, expressing excitement that his kids are going to get the same experience of working with, managing and problem-solving livestock.
Dottie the goat might be a familiar face, as she was one of the two goats (the other being Betty White) chosen to be in a Nativity Scene in Hood River in 2023.
Emma Renly photo
“I have a two-and-a-half-year-old son, Andrew, and he already has little toy sheep and toy goats that he herds with his little toy dog. He puts in a little pen, and he feeds him hay,” Lyons said. “He’s already learning responsibility and that these animals have to be cared for all the time.”
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