Livestock Help Prevent Wildfires in American West

Topic: Environment

Cattle, goats, and sheep are being used to control wildfires by eating away flammable plants. This method is called targeted grazing or pyrograzing. It's gaining attention as severe wildfire seasons push firefighters and public land budgets to the limit.

In grasslands across the American West, four-legged fire prevention crews are busy at work. They help keep wildfire risk under control by eating away tall grasses that could otherwise burn. This practice is known as targeted grazing or pyrograzing.

When livestock are used for wildfire control like this, they can lower the risk of catastrophic fires. Strategically removing trees, shrubs, and grasses can also help alter the trajectory of future wildfires. However, this work is complex and expensive, often involving intentional burning, herbicides, and heavy machinery to thin forests or create fuel breaks.

Livestock can do some of this work instead by grazing in the right places. The U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management are pushing for more targeted grazing in national forests and on other public lands as part of their 2025 Grazing Action Plan.

Why It Matters

This method is important because it can help reduce the risk of wildfires, which are becoming increasingly common due to climate change. By using livestock to control flammable vegetation, we can make our communities safer and more resilient to natural disasters.

Key Facts

• Cattle, goats, and sheep are being used to control wildfires by eating away flammable plants in the American West.
• Targeted grazing or pyrograzing is gaining attention as a cost-effective method for reducing wildfire risk.
• The U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management are pushing for more targeted grazing in national forests and on other public lands as part of their 2025 Grazing Action Plan.
• Beef cattle consumed around 600 pounds of vegetation per acre (670 kilograms per hectare) across nearly 34 million acres (nearly 14 million hectares) in California alone in 2017.
• A quarter of the U.S. Forest Service's ranger districts in the Pacific Northwest, Intermountain, and Pacific Southwest have used some kind of targeted grazing to manage fire risk.

Key Terms

Targeted Grazing

Using livestock to control flammable vegetation by eating away tall grasses that could otherwise burn.

Pyrograzing

A type of targeted grazing where livestock are used to prevent wildfires by eating away flammable plants.

Implications

This method is important because it can help reduce the risk of wildfires, which are becoming increasingly common due to climate change. By using livestock to control flammable vegetation, we can make our communities safer and more resilient to natural disasters.