Vegetation and land management is a critical part of any forestry project.
 
Properly managing the vegetation on forestry sites not only protects your valuable investment from unwanted growth and forest fires, it also ensures the land and soil remain healthy for generations to come. While companies have been using a combination of chemicals and machinery for years, these are becoming less and less acceptable in terms of cost and environmental impact. 
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The solution is simple: Forestry Sheep. 

Sheep are grazers. They will eat dense, woody vegetation like their browsing goat brethren - but have a more ferocious appetite for grass and weeds on the ground, acting more like lawnmowers than bushwackers.
  
Sheep will effectively control many common weeds, including many grasses and weeds. Once they acquire a taste for it, sheep will consume large quantities of unwanted vegetation and a herd of 1500 can work through 5-10 hectares per day.
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The additional benefit of using Sheep is that they also help regenerate the land, improve the soil, and fertilize new growth for a healthier ecosystem.

S/G works to develop sustainable forest management plans so that all community members can enjoy the forest and its benefits for generations to come. We believe communities benefit from a “working forest.” 

First Nations traditionally don’t use herbicides and often provide feedback on where in the forest they don’t want herbicides sprayed. The sheep are a great way for us to contribute to this effort. Competing vegetation can cause challenges for proper tree growth, so we use sheep in sensitive areas to eat through the vegetation that needs to be removed.

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A well managed forest can sustainably provide economic benefits while integrating habitat management, water, recreation, traditional cultural uses and visual impacts.

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In forest management, most stands need tending or pre-commercial thinning for 10-20 years after stand establishment. Often these early thinning operations are neglected because they are expensive. The forest owner has to wait many years before they can see the benefit of the investment. Sheep grazing can save on costs for early thinning operations. This also provides many other benefits such as land regeneration and forest fire prevention.  At appropriate herding densities, sheep rarely damage Pine/Spruce seedlings.

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Because of the sheep’s feeding preference, it is possible to apply this grazing system even in very young regenerating forest stands. Trees harvested during tending and pre-commercial thinning are usually left in the forest to maintain nutrient levels of the site. Grazing can have similar impacts as tending and pre-commercial thinning, but it’s a more natural way of managing the forest. Sheep will browse deciduous seedlings and saplings and in this way they simulate natural thinning of the stand. Like this, grazing reduces competition between the trees and has a positive impact on nutrient cycling which is beneficial for the growth of the remaining trees.

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In southern Europe, Canada and dry parts of the US, sheep and goats are used to keep fire prone vegetation low in fire breaks. With ongoing climate change, forest fires are an increasing threat both in these region and also in northern Europe.

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