Not a baaaa-d idea: Sheep help curb Ochoco fire danger

Reducing fire danger with … sheep? It’s not something you hear every day.

That was a creative solution to some hazardous fuels along major access routes on the Ochoco National Forest this summer.

The woolly little livestock came to the rescue, removing hundreds of acres of knee-deep, dried-out grasses along busy forest roads.

The Forest Service had recently thinned smaller trees to reduce fire danger along Forest Service Roads 22, 4210 and other roads commonly used by the public. They left behind neatly stacked piles of branches awaiting wetter weather when firefighters return to burn them.

But by mid-summer, thick grasses had also grown up around those piles, creating a bed of hazardous fuels that could put those busy public roads in danger should they somehow ignite.

That’s when Forest Service range managers saw an opportunity for a “win-win” solution.

“Starting in August, we had our sheep permittee, Hay Creek Ranch, graze around the thinning piles along the roads in the area,” said Rangeland Management Specialist Tory Kurtz. “A lot of the grasses along these piles were knee-high if not taller, and it would not have taken much to light this fuel.”

The project helped provide a fuel break and improve forest health, while reducing fuels around the piles in preparation for burning them this winter.

“The project was a huge benefit to reduce the concern of wildfires along these often-traveled corridors during the driest part of the summer,” Kurtz said.

She also thanks the permittee for his willingness to change his course of grazing with this band of sheep and add an additional herder to assist with the logistics of grazing along the main roads.