A herd of sheep is helping reduce wildfire hazards at Westmont College near Santa Barbara by grazing on non-native vegetation in a canyon long identified as a high-risk fire zone.
The flock, brought in from Cuyama Lamb and managed by Montecito Fire Protection District, began grazing this month. The animals are expected to remain on-site for about three weeks, Westmont officials said.
“As we saw in the Thomas Fire and the Tea Fire, this canyon is notorious for funneling fire down into the community,” said Maeve Juarez, Montecito Fire wildland fire specialist. “We’re really sensitive to controlling the flashy fuels in this area.”
The grazing project is aimed at reducing fast-burning grasses before they dry out in late summer.
Rather than using goats like many other property owners, Westmont has opted for sheep because they tend to be “finickier” eaters. The sheep will hopefully target problem plants such as tobacco, tumbleweeds, castor bean and eucalyptus regrowth. Electric fencing will be used to prevent any feasting on native species and important plants near the waterline.
Westmont biology professor Laura Drake Schultheis said the area has been the focus of ongoing wildfire mitigation efforts and ecological restoration since dead and dying eucalyptus trees were removed in 2023.
“A big part of that mitigation includes containing exotic weeds that sprout up every year,” Schultheis said. “When we reduce those types of fuels, we help protect both Westmont and the surrounding communities from future fire risk.”
Schultheis and her ecology students have planted roughly 60 coast live oaks in the canyon and continue to monitor and expand the restoration site. Students in a spring biodiversity course reported that many of the oaks had already grown more than three feet tall.
Although Montecito Fire has previously used hand tools to manage vegetation, this is the first time sheep have been deployed at the site.
“Grazing provides a very effective and eco-friendly alternative to these methods with less noise and the added benefit that surrounding communities enjoy watching the sheep do their thing,” Schultheis said.
Westmont College is a private Christian college located in Santa Barbara County, primarily in Montecito.