Greatest of all time (GOAT) goat grazing on Maui

Growing up and living here on Maui, I thought it was commonplace for people to often keep goats as pets and even not surprising when driving to see wild ones on the side of the roads every now and then.

However, as part of our ongoing wildfire prevention work and with vegetation management as a major component of our Wildfire Safety Strategy, I first learned about how other entities and landowners throughout the globe are using livestock — like goats, sheep and cows — to actively maintain firebreaks on their properties at our Wildfire Safety Symposium in 2024.

It was intriguing to me to hear how you need the right animal to do the job. Sheep are better in areas where you may have equipment, say a solar farm for instance. This is because goats may try to climb on the solar photovoltaic panels, so the goats may do better in open fields.

Fast forward a year later, it was exciting to be part of a successful demonstration where our company tested out goat grazing in Upcountry Maui to see its effectiveness as well as spread more awareness to others about the benefits of using these animals for active vegetation control.

In partnership with Surfing Goat Dairy, it was the first time in our company’s 100-plus year history where we “employed” 15 goats to clear a 1-acre area next to one of our substations.

At first, it was estimated it would take about one month for the goats to eat their way through the invasive grass and hale koa.

But to all of our amazement, the goats got it down to the ground and were already starting to yearn for greener pastures outside of the fence in 8 days!

In working with goat wrangler extraordinaire Jay Garnett and Shannon McCann, we learned that animals want to eat what’s yummy and fresh just like humans. That’s why it’s important for landowners to plan for goat grazing as annual maintenance ahead of the dry season when the grass is still greener.

“Unfortunately, a lot of people go into the dry season and see all the fuels, all the grass that turns brown and say we have to deal with that,” Jay told us on the day the goats were being gathered back up. “But that’s too late for us to come in. This is an example of showing people that doing it at the right time, we can actually do a good control until the next rainy season.”

This collaboration with Surfing Goat Dairy is another way Hawaiian Electric is continuing to work to expand community partnerships to significantly reduce the risk of a wildfire started by utility equipment. The company’s strategy also calls for deploying new technology, fortifying infrastructure, and minimizing fire hazards.

The goat grazing pilot on Maui underscores how important it is for everyone to work together to minimize fire risks in our island. This is especially important as we are seeing more frequent extreme weather events that requires a coordinated effort by many organizations, residents, and supportive public policy to keep all of our communities safe.

Check out more of Hawaiian Electric’s goat grazing pilot.