Round Mountain · Maintenance Program
Targeted Goat Grazing
Beginning October 2025, a herd of 200+ goats & sheep maintains Round Mountain’s shaded fuel break — lowering ladder fuels through low-impact seasonal browsing, with no chainsaws, tractor tracks, or smoke.
Overview
Keeping an old fuel break clean, one bite at a time
Round Mountain is a prominent ridge above the South Yuba River canyon, three miles north of Nevada City. It carries an old, historically maintained community fuel break along its ridgetop — the kind of feature that, if kept clean, can keep a fire moving up-canyon from cresting into the watershed beyond.
On-the-ground treatment work for Phase 1 of the Round Mountain project begins in fall 2026. In parallel, a herd of 200+ goats and sheep — managed by First Rain Land Stewardship Services in partnership with YWI and the BLM — is already maintaining the existing fuel break at the Round Mountain Recreation Area through low-impact seasonal grazing. It’s the first-ever goat grazing at Round Mountain.
Goats reach what machines struggle to: steep slopes, brushy understory, and the tangled regrowth that builds back between mechanical treatments. They leave the soil structure largely intact, work quietly, and turn a fire-risk problem into a slow, four-legged maintenance routine the whole community can watch happen.
Why goats
Four outcomes from low-impact browsing
Fuel reduction
Reduces ladder fuels and understory brush that carry fire from the forest floor into the canopy.
Risk mitigation
Maintains a strategic ridgetop fuel break that aids fire suppression and slows up-canyon spread.
Community safety
Improves evacuation corridors and reduces ember-cast potential near homes and recreation areas.
Ecological benefits
Eases competition for water and light and supports the recovery of native plant communities.
Seasonal cycle
How a grazing season runs
Targeted grazing follows the October–May window, when forage is green and fire risk is low. Units may be skipped in years when fuel and forage conditions don’t warrant treatment.
- 01October 2025
Kickoff: herd arrives & site prep
- 02Oct – May
Targeted grazing in 1–5 acre paddocks
- 03Every 3–6 days
Move paddocks; monitor browse & stubble
- 04Ongoing annually
Adaptive management based on fuel conditions
Where we’re working
Round Mountain Recreation Area
Field photos
From the ridge
Documents
Project documents
Partners & supporters
Who makes it happen
Common questions
Good to know
Paddocks are typically 1–5 acres. The herd remains 3–6 days on average before moving, depending on forage and treatment objectives.
The goal is annual targeted grazing during the October–May window to maintain an open understory. Units may be skipped when fuel and forage conditions don’t warrant treatment.
Operations use a water trailer, with paddocks planned along road access where feasible. Livestock guardian dogs stay with the herd, supervised by an on-site herder. Trails remain open; temporary electric fencing is signed to alert visitors.
Grazing is targeted and low-impact — ideal on steep or sensitive terrain and as a pretreatment or maintenance complement to thinning and prescribed fire. Method selection is unit-specific.
Grazing is planned around the area's sensitive resources. Streams, springs, and ponds are fenced out or buffered; work follows seasonal protections for the California red-legged frog and nesting birds; fencing is wildlife-friendly (no barbed wire); and operations pause on Red Flag Warning days. The approach reflects YWI's watershed- and wildlife-friendly stewardship — and the BLM monitors how well the grazing is maintaining the fuel break.