Goats Help SFO Prevent Fires

San Francisco International Airport has a new attraction – goats. The animals are eating up grass around the airport that’s dry and overgrown, which will help reduce the risk of fires.

The herd of goats from Watsonville, California, approximately 80 miles away, will number between 250 and 300. Charles Schuler, the airport spokesman, said that the animals will be there for a couple of weeks. The goat strategy is part of the airport’s annual organic weed abatement program

Schuler said that it was “out of the question” to use chemicals or heavy machinery to clean up the land. The habitat surrounding the airport is very sensitive because there are two endangered species — the San Francisco garter snake and the California red-legged frog — on that property. To further ensure that there are no negative environmental impacts from this method, a goat herder and environmental biologist are watching the process.

After all, the University of California Berkeley knows first-hand of the potential problems of using goats to mitigate fire risks. The University tried that plan, and Tom Klatt, the campus' environmental projects manager, said the animals are "not necessarily benign." The goats might trample protected animals while eating or roaming.

It’s worth mentioning that SFO is not the first airport to try this strategy. An article on the MSNBC website points out that “Seattle-Tacoma International, near Seattle, also used them several years ago, but airport spokesperson Perry Cooper said they stopped using the animals because ‘it was not cost-effective.’”

Goats were also used in Menlo Park in 2002.