Livestock Grazing Vegetation Management in Benicia Open Space

Benicia is a historic, waterfront city of approximately 27,000 residents located in Solano County along the Carquinez Strait. Benicia's Southampton community includes areas referred to as Wildland Urban Interface, where the neighborhoods encircle open spaces. These open spaces add to the beauty and charm of the City, but also create a significant challenge for fire suppression, since the rear property lines of a large ratio of homes are exposed to the threat of fires from City-owned open spaces. Due to the topography of the hillsides and the nature of the vegetation, fires originating in the open spaces often burn with speed and intensity, occasionally transitioning onto residential property, including fences, decks, patios, roofs, and homes. To reduce this risk, prescribed vegetation management occurs each spring to reduce weeds and slow fire spread in open spaces. By strategically reducing areas of vegetation around the perimeters, firefighting crews have a better chance of keeping the fires in the open spaces and out of residential structures.

The Fire Department has identified 27 open space areas within the City that require vegetation management utilizing livestock grazing, preferably goat grazing. Goats are preferred because of their ability to easily navigate the steep terrain and reduce vegetation.

To most effectively manage Benicia's open space vegetation and reduce fire risk of the surrounding homes, contract requirements include:

• Livestock herds shall be utilized to graze open spaces and effectively abate potential fire fuels with 0-50 feet of private property lines surrounding the open spaces.
• The herder shall use portable fencing to contain the grazing livestock, and prevent the livestock from trespassing onto private property.
• All areas must be grazed to reduce vegetation and maintain weed growth at four inches or less in height on June 30, 2026.
• If weather conditions result in additional vegetation growth after an area is grazed, the livestock will need to revisit regrowth areas at the consultant's expense.
• If the consultant is unable to utilize livestock to manage vegetation in one of the areas depicted on the map, then they will need to mow, disc, or use handwork to reduce the vegetation.