Sheep are released to graze at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., on May 31, 2023. Wildlife biologists with the base's 60th Civil Engineer Squadron use a flock of approximately 600 sheep to clear overgrown grass and weeds, and more sheep are expected soon. (Heide Couch/U.S. Air Force)
The Air Force will deploy over 1,000 sheep to Travis Air Force Base in California this summer to help reduce the risk of wildfires.
About 600 have already arrived at the base, where they are eating dried grass and other underbrush that can fuel blazes, the Air Force said in a statement Wednesday.
In recent years, sheep and goats have been used across California, the state most affected by wildfires, to control underbrush and mitigate burn risks.
The animals are widely regarded as more sustainable, cost-effective and efficient than machinery.
A herder supervises the offloading of a flock of sheep May 31, 2023, at Travis Air Force Base, Calif. By letting the animals eat vegetation, the base reduces fire hazards without having to apply herbicides or mow large areas. (Heide Couch/U.S. Air Force)
“Sheep are better than lawn mowers,” Christa Rolls, a wildlife biologist with the 60th Civil Engineer Squadron, was quoted in the statement as saying.
“Mowing leaves the dead grass behind, which does not reduce the fire hazards,” Rolls said. “Sheep remove all standing vegetation and leave little residue behind.”
The remaining vegetation is also less likely to catch fire, according to Melvin Self, an assistant chief of training in the squadron, which is headquartered at Travis.
“The stalks or brush remaining won’t burn as easily as grass since they contain more moisture,” Self said.
The base, which also hosts the 349th Air Mobility Wing and the David Grant Medical Center, has been susceptible to wildfires in recent years.
In 2019, the Air Force published photos of a fire burning just south of the installation. A year later, the LNU Lightning Complex fires forced evacuations of personnel and aircraft, but the flames never breached the base perimeter.
Sheep graze in open space at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., on May 31, 2023. Wildlife biologists there bring in hundreds of sheep, which feed on vegetation and reduce fire danger at the installation. (Heide Couch/U.S. Air Force)
Named after the Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit of the state Forestry and Fire Protection Department, the 2020 fire was the sixth-largest in California history, according to the Department’s data. Six of the seven largest have occurred in the past three years, the data show.
Scientists say climate change is partly to blame for the increase. A buildup of natural fuel is also a factor, they say.
Kaos Sheep Outfit, which describes itself as a “sustainable target grazing company focusing on the mutualistic relationship between sheep and ranching,” manages the sheep at Travis.
This is the third year the company is providing them, according to the Air Force statement, which said the grazing also improves habitat for several threatened or endangered species on base that could be harmed by herbicides and machinery.
The sheep will be grazing in three locations at the installation through July.
