Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
L
IVESTOCK
G
UARDIAN
D
OGS
Effective livestock guardians are of utmost value when
working in an extensive, isolated, or predator-infested
habitat. Remember that the most dangerous of all predators
are domestic dogs that have joined as a pack to kill for the
“thrill.” The specie and breed of guardian required will be
dependent upon the class of livestock to be protected,
topography, and type of predator (nocturnal or diurnal).
Age, level of experience, and number of guardians needed
is based upon specie and aggression of predator, herd size,
and management practices (portable solar-powered elec-
tric fencing, or herding). A livestock guardian dog less
than 2 years of age should not be expected to guard live-
stock alone. The young dog needs to gain experience from
a successful, competent mentor, and be used as visual
backup until at least 2 years of age. As the numbers of
guardians in use increase, each dog will fi nd its niche in
the working scheme of the mob. The role of each dog
within the mob must be evaluated before adding or delet-
ing a dog from a functioning group. Livestock guardian
dogs should be fed a high energy and high protein food
daily. The dog food should not have ruminant animal
protein as an ingredient. Each dog requires its own feeder
space to prevent squabbling at feeding time.
load reduction, and fi re breaking. All approaches must take
into consideration the climate, topography (slope, soil,
elevation), vegetation type (drought-tolerant plants, plants
adapted to fi re, plants that can be managed to minimize
fi re travel), and fi re frequency in the area. Goats are only
one in many management scenarios that can be used to
curtail the devastating loss created by fi re (Peischel and
Ingram, 2004 ).
Fuel Load Reduction
Fuel load reduction references a reduction and lowering of
ladder fuels through pruning and minimizing down fuel
materials by removal or mulching. Ladder fuel is vegeta-
tion growing under or in stands of trees that will ignite,
causing fi re traveling up the tree and crown fi re. Crown
fi res can generate their own weather and consume thou-
sands of hectares (acres). They are extremely diffi cult to
contain for fi re suppression teams. The reduction of down
material can be accomplished by removing “snags” out of
standing timber, fi rewood cutting of downed trees, the
physical removal of downed trees, or the use of livestock
to break down and mulch-in slash material.
Goats used for fuel load reduction are managed to
remove dense understory (brush, shrubs, and forbs) and
lower branches to prevent “laddering.” This technique
takes time, and time relates to the biological control of
reduction and returning to sites being reduced. On occa-
sion, depending on availability of vegetations, it can mean
the supplementation of protein, energy, or balanced miner-
als for the goats (depending upon the class of goat used
and time of year). A free choice loose chelated mineral
mix must be available. It should be balanced based upon
profi les of soil, vegetation, and livestock analysis.
Depending upon the vegetation present and young tree
plantations or older plantations, the management can last
for several years. Management includes a return mainte-
nance program. Depending on the vegetation type, sheep
or beef cattle may need to be added to the regime.
Eliminating the ladder fuel gradually prevents soil
erosion, and enhances rainfall infi ltration and even perco-
lation through the soil interface. As the goats work through
an area, they are also working the understory including old
pine needles and leaves, breaking lower branches and split-
ting apart old downed branch material. Vegetation that
returns can be perennial grasses, some annual grass species,
evergreens, and many forbs species.
FOREST FIRE MANAGEMENT
There are various tools that can be used to minimize the
damage done by fi re to grasslands, rangelands, forests,
homes, and personal property. The tools used range from
mechanical (bulldozers, masticator machines), hand clean-
ing (weedeaters, chainsaws), wildfi re landscape design,
herbicides (labeled for forbs, shrubs, and woody species),
prescribed burns, and livestock. Each tool has a specifi c
use and place in management. A vegetative survey analysis
is conducted and an assessment made for the use of each
tool. Fire protection and mitigation are factors that should
be built into the management plan of ranches, farms (crops,
trees, livestock), subdivisions, and secluded home sites but
particularly for the urban/wild land interface. There should
be a policy for interface (the I-Zone) zoning established
before the layout and approval of subdivisions for structure
erection (Slaughter, 1996). Self-help, neighborhood team-
work and an understanding of nature make the mitigation
approachable. The consequences of fi re such as erosion,
fl oods, and biological devastations (vegetative, wildlife)
should be curtailed instead of accepted as the outcome of
fi re. Fire prevention (or minimizing the damage) encom-
passes selecting the correct home site, zoning ordinances
that are respected, landscape planning and design with
mixed plant species, vegetative fuel discontinuity, fuel
Fuel Discontinuity
This management approach of fuels breaks the continuity
of fl ammable cover. It is canopy related and creates a
