LETTER FROM THE SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS (Using goats to clear land at the Getty Museum [View all]

Snipping to interesting parts:

Goats can’t eliminate the potential for a fire because the chaparral is a pygmy forest whose oaks are too thick for even goats to swallow. But the animals consume enough plant life that if a fire were to occur, it would be weak enough, at about 1,800 degrees, for firefighters to come within 20 feet of the blaze, according to Bunten.

“We take the understory out,” Bunten added, referring to the smallest plants.



Some critics say that goats aren’t necessarily cheaper than herbicides, but Bunten says the animals are an eco-friendly way to mow vast spreads, a pastoral activity that often draws onlookers and families.



But the herbivores can’t be left on their own. Here in the West, mountain lions, coyotes and bears prey on goats. A black bear killed one of the flock in Claremont, Calif., three years ago, the Buntens said. Three dogs now help keep the goats in line and the predators at bay.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2008/05/20/letter-from-the-santa-monica-mountains/