channelislandsrestoration
Restoration of Native Grasslands & Bird Populations
Sheep Grazing On The San Marcos Foothills
Channel Islands Restoration (CIR) is conducting carefully designed prescribed sheep grazing to restore the native grassland on this site. Although uncontrolled grazing has caused damage in many regions, carefully designed and timed grazing programs support the growth of native plants and reduce the number of nonnative plants. The sheep will be present on the Preserve through the month of September into early November.
Sheep grazing has important effect on fire safety. CIR started a grazing program in 2018 on the nearby Preserve. In November 2018, the Cave Fire burned the area and was extinguished at the Preserve. County Fire Chief Rob Hazard credits CIR’s grazing program with saving the neighborhoods around San Marcos Foothills. In a letter to CIR, Chief Hazzard wrote:
“By all accounts most firefighters were convinced the fire would burn into the developed neighborhoods in the North La Cumbre area and had the potential to result in significant structure loss. This did not happen, no structures were lost, and the primary reason was the buffer provided by the grazed areas in the preserve.”
Please note, through November 6th we have docent volunteer shifts that are available at the San Marcos Foothills Preserve. It’s sheep season again at the San Marcos Foothills Preserve, we need your help to educate the public!
If you have any questions or comments about this program, please contact Ken Owen, at 805-448-5726 or Jack Anderson from Cuyama Lamb, at 510-734-8334. Funding for this program is provided by Santa Barbara County Fire Safe Council. More community support is vitally needed for this program. Please donate at www.cirweb.org/donate.
Funded by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service Partners Program, the County of Santa Barbara, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Office of Spill Prevention and Response (“CDFW/OSPR”) and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and Channel Islands Restoration.
Recent Grazing Results Visualized
Left: Green foliage consists of mostly non-native grasses on the Foothills.
Right: Native bunch grasses appear on the Foothills after non-native grasses have been removed.
Great article about this in the LA Times this week: https://www.latimes.com/travel/story/2023-10-13/volunteer-sheep-docent-santa-barbara-grazing