At Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, a new group of workers has arrived with a rather unusual job description.
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group → arrive → description
They are expected to spend the coming months eating their way through dry vegetation.
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They → expect → vegetation
The base has brought in 471 goats as part of a pilot project aimed at reducing the amount of flammable brush around parts of the installation.
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base → bring → installation
Rather than relying entirely on machinery or sending crews into difficult terrain, officials are testing whether controlled grazing can provide another way to prepare potential fire breaks.
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grazing → rely → breaks
The trial began in September and is expected to continue until the end of the year, with the animals working across several hundred acres.
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animals → begin → acres
Why goats are being used at MCAS Miramar
The project is focused initially on East Miramar, including land associated with the base's explosive ordnance division.
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project → use → division
The area presents a particular challenge because vegetation can become a source of wildfire fuel while the rough ground makes access difficult for personnel.
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access → present → personnel
For firefighters and other crews, reaching some sections on foot can be hazardous.
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reaching → reach → foot
That is where the goats come in.
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goats → come → ?
They can move across uneven ground while feeding on vegetation, with their grazing and trampling expected to reduce the amount of dry material left standing.
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grazing → move → material
As reported by NBC 7 San Diego, Cole Bush, who runs Shepherdess Land and Livestock with her mother, is overseeing the livestock operation.
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who → report → operation
The company is supplying not only the goats but also the herding dogs, a shepherd and the other services needed to manage the herd during the trial.
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company → supply → trial
The animals did not need much encouragement when they arrived.
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they → need → encouragement
They began feeding on a designated hillside within minutes.
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They → begin → minutes
471 goats could clear up to five acres of vegetation each day
The pace of the grazing will depend on the vegetation and conditions at each site.
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pace → clear → site
Bush said the goats can work through between one and five acres in a day.
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goats → say → day
That means the 471 animals will have several months to work across the areas selected for the pilot.
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animals → mean → pilot
The intention is not simply to remove every plant.
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intention → remove → plant
Instead, the grazing is being tested as a practical way of reducing vegetation in places where creating and maintaining fire breaks can be complicated.
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creating → test → breaks
If the approach proves useful, the programme could eventually extend to other parts of the installation.
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programme → prove → installation
One longer-term possibility is grazing along the base perimeter, where a reduced layer of vegetation could form a buffer between the military property and surrounding communities.
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layer → reduce → property
MCAS Miramar tests goats as an alternative to machinery near sensitive habitat
Wildfire does not stop at the edge of a military installation, and fire moving through the region can affect land on either side of the base boundary.
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fire → test → boundary
MCAS Miramar officials therefore see vegetation management as part of protecting both the installation and neighbouring communities.
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officials → see → installation
The goat project also gives the base an alternative to using heavy machinery in some locations.
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project → give → locations
MCAS Miramar is home to several endangered species, according to officials.
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Miramar → accord → officials
Bringing large machines into sensitive areas can disturb vegetation and habitat, while repeated vehicle movement can create its own environmental impacts.
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movement → bring → impacts
The pilot is intended to establish whether grazing can reduce some of those effects while still achieving the vegetation clearance required for fire management.
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grazing → intend → management
PC: NBC 7 San Diego
The idea has been under discussion for years
For MCAS Miramar Fire Department Fire Chief Joshua Allen, the arrival of the goats follows a proposal that had been discussed for much of the past decade.
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that → follow → decade
Allen said he had supported the idea of using goats on the base for years.
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he → say → years
The current programme gives officials a chance to test the concept in actual working conditions rather than relying on assumptions about how well it might perform.
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it → give → assumptions
It is also being described by the base as the first programme of its kind at a US military installation.
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It → describe → installation
The results will help determine what happens next.
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what → help → ?
Officials will be able to assess how much vegetation the herd can manage, where grazing works most effectively and whether the approach can be incorporated into future wildfire preparation.
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approach → assess → preparation
What happens after the pilot
Reportedly, the goats are scheduled to remain on the base through the end of 2026.
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goats → happen → 2026
During that period, their work will provide a practical test of whether livestock can become part of the installation's longer-term vegetation management strategy.
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livestock → provide → strategy
There are limits to what the trial can establish.
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trial → be → what
Grazing is not being presented as a replacement for every form of vegetation clearance or wildfire preparation.
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Grazing → present → clearance
Instead, the base is examining where the animals can do work that might otherwise require machinery or personnel in difficult terrain.
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that → examine → terrain
If the results support wider use, the method could become part of how MCAS Miramar manages vegetation around its perimeter and other fire-prone areas.
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Miramar → support → perimeter
The same trial could also offer information for other military installations considering whether managed grazing is suitable for their own landscapes.
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grazing → offer → landscapes
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
