Superhero Goats Return to Protect Reagan Library from Wildfires
By Victoria Macchi and Kristin Phillips | National Archives News
Goats graze on the hilly perimeter of the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, CA, as part of a fire mitigation plan. Photo by National Archives/Randle Swan.
WASHINGTON, DC, June 14, 2023 — Hundreds of high-achieving goats are back at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, CA, this summer to chomp their way through underbrush and buffer the facility from future wildfires.
For about two months, approximately 700 goats, a few sheepdogs, and a goat herder will live on site. By eating their way through the ground-cover vegetation, the goats will create a fireline of roughly 150 feet on the hillsides around the campus.
Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan pose with their goats “Nubie” and “Heidi” at Yearling Row Ranch in 1950. Photo from the Reagan Library, Roll Number GB83.
“The goats have been fabulous. They truly eat their weight in gold,” said Randle Swan, the library’s Acting Deputy Director and Supervisory Curator. During a 2019 wildfire, “the herd cleared the underbrush so well that the fire was unable to maintain the heat it needed to keep moving and was able to be extinguished before reaching the Library and Museum’s main structure.”
The extra time also allowed the archival and curatorial staff to make the necessary plans for a potential evacuation. Ultimately, staff did not have to evacuate, and unlike other nearby museums the Reagan Presidential Library was able to reopen shortly after the fire was extinguished.
The library has partnered with the Ventura County Fire Department for more than a decade to bring the goats in annually.
"I imagine President Reagan would have enjoyed seeing goats grazing the grounds," Swan said. “He cherished the time he spent at his ranch. As President, he was even gifted a herd of six goat kids.” (See box below.)
The Ventura County Fire Department also times the goats’ arrival so that it does not disturb birds in the area that may be nesting in the bushes; that coordination is done with federal wildlife officials.
After the herd is done clearing the grounds, it will be relocated to a neutral pasture, ensuring that the goats don't spread invasive plants. They will then be moved to their next location.
Read more about the goat program in the National Archives 2021 Climate Action Plan.