Docents reveal Coyote Hills’ treasures to kids and adults alike

Coyote Hills is a beautiful piece of land on the East Bay Shoreline with much to teach, and every year thousands of school children, as well as adults, come to this East Bay Regional Park to learn about the two most important aspects of this site: its natural history and its role in the lives of the first East Bay inhabitants, the Ohlone.

The docent program at Coyote Hills is the backbone of the park’s mission to perpetuate respect for the land and the people who called it home long before Europeans settled in the East Bay. Through activities and talks, volunteer docents lead programs that result, it is hoped, to an appreciation of what Coyote Hills means both in terms of understanding the local ecosystem, and its role in the lives of native peoples.

Student Aide Saatvika Deshpande

demonstrates the ‘Cart of Curiousities’

Throughout the year, docents, trained representatives of the park district, work with school kids in what are called ‘immersions.’ Five stations are set up around the visitor center where docents demonstrate Ohlone games, such as stick and hoop, staves, and crafts like string making.

Starting April 5 and running every Thursday for four weeks from 10 a.m. to 12 noon, volunteers can participate in a training that educates them in the history and mission of the parks, as well as the particular activities that they will lead. Additionally, docents will learn how to interact with large groups and understand different learning styles in order to effectively interact with visiting classes. For people who have teaching experience, the transition to docent is easy, but for those who have never had the experience of being in front of a group, the docent training is a great way to learn a valuable skill.

Docents also learn how to combine a variety of teaching styles that engage kids who learn best by listening, and kids who learn best by doing. Many people who go through the program find that it is great training for other teaching situations they might encounter if they continue in natural history and cultural learning programs elsewhere. Some docents have gone on to be naturalists with the park district

Naturalists in the park system are the paid employees who develop the programs for the park system and lead the major nature walks and events, while docents take the information and curricula developed by the naturalists and present it, often in their own unique style, to visitors and school kids.

Docents can choose from a variety of activities. It might be sitting with a display of caterpillars munching milkweed at the entrance to the butterfly vivarium, arranging a display of furs and bones of local mammals at the visitor center, or teaching animal tracking. It also might be leading games and activities on the immersion days, where efficient docents will encourage chaperoning parents to get involved in the fun!

Activities go on all year long, generally slowing in the winter; however, in dry warm winters like this one, the daily visitor count can exceed two thousand. There’s always something going on. A popular attraction is Kristina’s Cart of Curiosities, featuring rotating displays ranging from natural history examples including skulls (replicas), furs, and plant specimens, to Ohlone artifacts such as pottery, tools, and arrowheads. These objects are intended to rouse kids’ curiosities and spark questions, which the docents are happy to answer.

Some of the docents have been with the program for years, and though East Bay Regional Park Districts’ (EBPRD) docent program has existed for around 35 years, the twelve-year-old Coyote Hills program has active volunteers who came on board at the beginning. For those docents who put in 25 hours or more during the year there is an annual volunteer dinner; docents also receive a parking pass that exempts them from the Coyote Hills $5 parking fee. There is ongoing training, as well as enrichment programs, and occasional field trips. Recently Coyote Hills docents were invited by the docents of the Oakland museum to have a museum tour for free.

Coyote Hills turns 50 this year and is perhaps best-known as the site of the annual Gathering of the Ohlone, a tradition begun many years ago by EBRPD Cultural Resource Specialist, Bev Ortiz. It is a time to remember cultural ways and have some fun, but it is also an opportunity to reflect on the close bond between the land and its ancient inhabitants. One of the landmark events of the year, the Gathering is open to all docents who wish to volunteer. In fact, docents are welcome to help out at any event, even at other park sites, with the appropriate training, though the April docent training is good for Coyote Hills alone.

Park Naturalist Kristina Parkison was herself a docent at the Long Marine Lab in Santa Cruz some years ago. There, after graduating college and before entering the Peace Corps, she learned to lead groups and deliver prepared information. “I had had no experience teaching, but being a docent prepared me for talking to groups and delivering informational talks,” she says.

Learning about Ohlone culture is part off the curriculum for local elementary schools and the kids coming through the park for the cultural programs are usually third and fourth graders. Kindergarteners through second graders typically fill out the nature walks. Regardless of age, the park offers both a refreshing natural experience and an opportunity to learn.

Kristina Parkison and her co-workers Francis Mendoza and Dino Labiste lead the trainings, which consist of both written materials and hands-on experience. Is there anything else, beside experience, satisfaction, and knowledge that a docent can expect to gain? Says Parkison with a smile: “People do get a special vest.”

Coyote Hills Docent Training

Thursdays, Apr 5 through Apr 26

10 a.m. – 12 noon

Coyote Hills Visitor Center

8000 Patterson Ranch Rd

For more information: (510) 544-3213, or email Docents.Coyotehills@ebparks.org

http://www.ebparks.org/about/getinvolved/volunteer/docent

Free (trainees will also receive passes for free parking)

Elks turn 150 but their values are timeless

Five years ago Steve Kay was staring down cancer, his wife Jo Ann beside him every step of the way. “But you know who was supporting her?” says Steve. “The Elks.”

Steve Kay has just finished his one year term as Exalted Ruler (think president) of Fremont Elks Lodge 2121. “My Father was an Elk; my father-in-law was an Elk. When I was a kid, my cousin got Elk support to get the surgery he needed to walk. ” Seeing the good work Elks did, and having the family connection, it was no surprise that Steve became a member decades ago. When he had young kids, he truly appreciated the Elks’ support of youth programs and sports.

This year the Elks celebrate their 150th anniversary. With more than 2000 lodges across the country, and around a million members, The Elks National Foundation has recently passed the 6 billion dollar mark for charitable giving since its inception.

In today’s social media world where online relations are often unfulfilling, people of all ages are rediscovering the joy of working alongside others to do good works for their communities. The list of the Elks charitable activities is long: essays contest for scholarships, youth programs, drug awareness campaigns, providing clothes for victims of sexual abuse, fundraising on behalf of numerous charities, and much, much more.

Of the many areas the Elks support, veterans receive some of the most benefits. Recently, a grant from the Elks National Foundation paid for 36 baskets of supplies for veterans leaving the Palo Alto VA Hospital for new living situations. The ‘Welcome Home Baskets’ included basic household items such as cleaning supplies, aluminum foil, and paper towels to give the vets a little jumpstart.

“I’d have to say that working with veterans has been the most rewarding of my experiences with the Elks,” says Steve. “There is a line in the Elks pledge: ‘So long as there are veterans, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks will never forget them.’”

The history of the Elks relations with Veterans goes back to World War I when Elks funded and equipped the first two field hospitals in France and built both a 72-room community house in Camp Sherman, Ohio, and a 700-bed rehabilitation hospital in Boston.

After World War II, Elks Foundation loans to 40,000 returning veterans for college, rehabilitation, and vocational education were the precursor of the GI Bill. During the War, the Elks were the only civilian organization asked to help recruit construction workers for the military, a task that was completed three months ahead of schedule.

Whether donating blood, providing for soldiers’ recreation with books and facilities, or providing comfort and material support to veterans back home, the Elks have a strong bond with the men and women who protect our freedom.

Another popular Elks sponsored activity is the Hoop Shoot. In this free throw shooting competition, kids 8 to 13 compete at the Lodge, District, State, and Regional levels, leading all the way to a National Final. Winners receive medals and have their names ensconced in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame alongside the greats of the game.

The idea behind the Hoop Shoot is that by instilling the values of persistence and patience, reinforced with practice and goal-setting, youngsters will transfer that skillset to their academic and, eventually, workplace environments. In other words, by developing ‘grit,’ young people are embracing the quality most likely to help them succeed in life.

The Elks’ commitment to youth is also reflected in the strong relationship the Order has with the Boy Scouts of America. Visitors to the Fremont Lodge’s recent gala dinner celebrating 150 years of Elks would have seen a display of scrapbooks and memorabilia going back decades. There, a recent photograph shows a Scout troop at Space Center Houston during a trip made possible with Elks fundraising support.

Working with the Scouts is a high priority, as the organizations share so many values and goals. Elks that volunteer are eligible to receive a special award, the Boy Scouts’ Marvin M. Lewis Award named for the Honorable Marvin M. Lewis, a former Grand Exalted Ruler. Established 1998, it recognizes significant contributions to Scouting and the development of America’s youth.

The Elks of today have come a long way from their roots as an actors’ social club in Ney York in the late 1860s.

The son of a clergyman, Charles Algernon Vivian was a twenty-five year old singer when he who arrived in New York in 1867. A moderately successful variety performer, he attracted a number of fellow performers who lamented the closing of the bars on Sunday. They began meeting under Vivian's leadership and they made sure the meetings were well-stocked. When a members died shortly before Christmas 1867, the group decided it ought to help the widow, an act which eventually led to framing the organization as a benevolent society, choosing the strong, peaceful, majestic elk as its mascot and namesake.

As much as the Elks do for the community, they are equally committed to providing fellowship for the membership. From karaoke to weekly darts tournaments, square dancing to car shows, the Lodge has something for everyone. Wing Wednesdays are a big hit, and members look forward to special events like the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day and Easter brunches.

It’s arguable that nineteenth-century America had a particular view of women and non-whites that influenced the early membership of the club; unfortunately, many of those biases persisted, Finally, in the 1970s, restrictions to membership on the basis of race and gender were abolished. Today, the Elks open their doors to everyone. “The Order,” states the Membership page of the Fremont Elks website (http://fremontelks.org/membership/), “is a non-political, non-sectarian and strictly American fraternity. Proposal for membership in the Order is only by invitation of a member in good standing. To be accepted as a member, one must be an American citizen, believe in God, be of good moral character and be at least 21 years old.” Steve Kay adds, “We don’t define God for anyone. It’s the God that you believe in.”

Civic-minded people who enjoy giving of their time and like socializing in a fun and friendly environment should visit http://fremontelks.org/membership/ today.

Club’s hobby is on the money

Who hasn’t looked through their loose change from time to time looking for interesting coins? Maybe you’ve found a “double die” Lincoln cent, a pure silver Kennedy half dollar, or a Mercury dime. The men and women of the Fremont Coin Club share your interest, and then some.

The Club, founded in 1971, meets at the Elks Club on Farwell Drive. If you ask most members why they belong, the answer is consistent: As 17-year member Herb Miles notes, “It’s a way of meeting like minded people.” Collectors share a basic interest in coins and currency, but usually develop specialties, which they enjoy sharing.

Miles, for instance, collects “good fors,” tokens popular from the 1890s to the 1940s produced by merchants to entice return customers. Tokens could be ‘good for’ five cents off a cigar, a free drink, or in one case, a free stick of dynamite.

Miles also collects an obscure bit of Americana: KKK tokens, coins specially created by the group to raise funds.  Says Miles, “I go around to all the shows and they know what I collect, so they’ll set something aside for me. In the past, though, they didn’t know me; I’d say, ‘you got any KKK tokens?’ and they’d look at me as if I’d lost my mind.” Incidentally, Herb Miles is African-American.

People have collected coins for the value of their metals for as long as coins have been minted; collecting them for their aesthetic value came later. From Mesopotamia to Ancient Rome, scholars and state treasuries collected and catalogued coins. From the middle-ages through the eighteenth century, the hobby was mainly for the well-to-do. Today’s hobby is rooted in the nineteenth century when the new middle class adopted the leisure activities of the wealthy.

Coin collecting is accessible in some form or another to nearly everyone. The wide variety of denominations, conditions, materials, and origins mean that collectors have an enormous spectrum from which to choose. Values run from a few cents to the astronomical. An excellent specimen of one of the first coins to come from the first US mint in Philadelphia, a rare “chain cent,” is worth $750,000!

One of the problems facing the Fremont Coin Club and clubs around the country is the difficulty of finding new members. While the Internet and eBay have seemingly made it easy for less social collectors to enjoy their hobby alone, according to a 2008 article in the Numismatic News by Jim Majoros, clubs were even in decline before the Web. His calculations suggest that in the years between 1975 and 2008, there was a 60 percent loss of coin club membership. California alone went from 173 to 59 recognized clubs. As a result, most clubs are finding ways of getting youth interested early.

Roger Lyles, a charter member of the Fremont club, describes the life cycle of the collector thus: “Kids get introduced to the hobby by an elder, usually someone from the family. As a kid, the young collector might chase a few coins, but then life happens. Only when that person achieves middle-age and attains some discretionary income (and time), the collecting flame is rekindled. Then that collector passes on the interest to a child, or grandchild, thus completing the cycle.” Lyles’ version would account for the preponderance of seniors in the club, as well as the presence of a few kids who act as auction runners or give show and tell talks about their favorite coins.

Visitors to Fremont Coin Club meeting can peruse member displays, participate in a show and tell, listen to a short talk, and bid on items consigned by members, who may keep the proceeds or designate them for club activities such as annual dinners and shows.

A sample of the sort of items auctioned off appears in the club’s May/June 2012 newsletter: 1914 Australian Florin; Eisenhower dollar varieties; tokens from the Western Token Jamboree and Alameda County; Indian cents; uncirculated silver half-dollars; a mint 1910 Liberty nickel; a ten ounce silver bar, and more.

At the January 23rd meeting, Lyles, a retired a real estate broker of 46 years, related his own story: “My father was a collector,” said Lyles, “and in 1952 he gave me a penny that was the size of a half dollar. I said, ‘this is a penny?’ He saw I had an interest.” Roger’s father owned a grocery store, where young Roger would find interesting coins and buy them with his $1.50 an hour wage.

Four years ago he sold the business and devoted himself to his hobby. He’s doing well. “Stuff that I may have paid five bucks for back in 1960,” says Lyles, “I get maybe seventy-five bucks today.” Is that a profit after inflation? “Well, that’s a matter for debate. The risks you take as a coin seller today are substantial.”

Roger spends 2 or 3 days a week involved in coin activities, “visiting different coin shops, buying this and that.” Of course, for any collector, there’s no selling without a little buying. “I tell my wife,” says Lyles, “If I can’t have it to sell, I can’t sell it! If I sell one thing and I do good, I’ll buy another and try again.”

Aside from guest speakers, the Club often hosts other special and fun activities, such as hot dog night, ice cream socials, and their our annual barbeque, to name a few. One of the most interesting meetings is “other hobbies” night when everyone is encouraged to bring a sample or two and talk about what else they collect, aside from coins and currency. “It’s amazing what people collect,” says the Club website (http://www.fremontcoinclub.org/), “and we love hearing about it. And let’s face it, the more people who know you collect it, the faster your collection can grow—coin or otherwise!”

For more information on club dues, meetings, and links to important coin related sites, visit http://www.fremontcoinclub.org/

After 350 years, nobody ‘board’ by this card game

Every Wednesday from the beginning of September to the end of May, if you visit the Round Table Pizza in Centerville, you might wonder what those people in the back are doing. People are playing some sort of card game that also involves moving pegs around a wooden board. Congratulations, you have stumbled upon the Fremont Cribbage Club.

The Club of approximately 25 members began meeting in May of 1987. One of more than 200 “Grass Roots Clubs” under the jurisdiction of the Western Region of the American Cribbage Congress (ACC), the official Club name is Christopher’s Crusader’s, named in honor of departed long-time club member, Bob Christopher.

The game itself is more than 350 years old. According to biographer, natural philosopher, and pioneer archaeologist John Aubrey (1626-1697), English poet Sir John Suckling (1609-1641) invented cribbage in the early 17th century. It is derived from the game ‘noddy’ which gets its name from the noddy, or knave, also known as the jack, which bears an important role in both games. The objective of cribbage (one of the most popular card games in the English-speaking world) is to be the first player to score a target number of points, typically 61 or 121. Points are scored for card combinations that add up to fifteen, and for pairs, triples, quadruples, runs and flushes. The board itself is simply a point-tallying device.

The ACC supports local, or ‘Grass Roots,’ clubs all across the country. These clubs meet once a week or every other week and conduct 6-game or 9-game tournaments that last between 2 and 3 hours. It’s a great way to meet new people and play cribbage without needing to travel very far. Playing in a local club “is a way for us to enjoy a game that many of learned playing with our families when we were young,” says current club president Craig Rothbach. He moved into his role a few years ago when the previous president resigned. “Someone had to do it,” he says. “I’m retired so I figured I had the time.”

One of Craig’s jobs is to transmit to the American Cribbage Congress’s website points tallies for the players. The ACC keeps track of points and statistics, and players are awarded prizes and honors according to the point tallies they accumulate over the years. Annually, the Fremont Club holds a dinner and award ceremony (spouses invited) to honor the high scoring players. Each club crowns its own local champion who is then eligible to play in a Tournament of Champions at the yearly ACC gathering in Reno. Though the ACC sanctions dozens if not hundreds of tournaments across the country every year, Reno is the big one where the National Champion—the player who earns the most points in a season—is crowned.

Cribbage holds a special place among American submariners, serving as an ‘official’ pastime. The wardroom of the oldest active submarine in the United States Pacific Fleet carries the personal cribbage board of World War II submarine commander and Medal of Honor recipient Rear Admiral Dick O'Kane on board. Today, the honor of carrying the cribbage board belongs to the nuclear-powered attack submarine, USS Los Angeles (SSN 688).

The story is that while aboard the USS Wahoo patrolling in the shallow waters of the Yellow Sea during WWII, O'Kane was dealt a perfect 29, the highest possible score for a single cribbage deal. The crew felt that it was a lucky omen and indeed they sank two Japanese freighters that night. Three days later, while patrolling off the Korean coast south of Chinnampo, O'Kane received a 28-hand, the second best possible score. When the crew sank two freighters that day and another one the following day, the cribbage board became a talisman of good luck.

In Theodore H. Sweester’s memoirs, published as ‘Cribbage in the Dugout,’ by Richard E. Hage and‎ Anna M. Meleney, the WWI physician recounts that while on the front near Ypres, he spent a year tending to the wounded as shells burst overhead, even surviving a gas attack. For relief he and his fellow officers played cribbage. A search for ‘trench art’ on eBay turned up a couple cribbage boards, including a rifle with a cribbage board inlaid into the stock.

Cribbage finds it way into English literature by way of Charles Dickens’ ‘Old Curiosity Shop’ character Richard Swiveller, who teaches a young lady cribbage, guaranteeing thereby his ticket to everlasting marital bliss. Speaking of the English and cribbage, it is the only game that can be played in a pub for money.

To ensure that new and would-be members are welcomed, the ACC has devised a Code of Congeniality, which, among other pledges, promises to

• Welcome new players warmly and make them feel wanted.

• Not make new players feel inferior if or when they miss points or make a bad play. (They will, instead, let them know that all cribbage players do this and that it is part of the learning process.)

Those interested in learning to play have a variety of books to choose from: Titles such as ‘Cribbage Made Easy’ by George Walker, ‘Play Winning Cribbage’ by DeLynn Colvert, and ‘Hand Book of Cribbage’ players of all levels instructions, strategies, and caveats. The tongue-in-cheek guide, ‘How to Cheat at Cribbage: With Quotations from William Shakespeare’ by Jeffrey O. Haseltine seems a promising read for those interested in cribbage’s mischievous side.

Anyone wishing to learn on their own can find rules and online gameplay at https://cardgames.io/cribbage/

How much of cribbage is skill, and how much is luck? “That’s always a good question,” Rohrbach laughs. “When you’re winning, it’s skill, when you’re losing it’s luck. I have learned tricks from players that I never would have thought of. Skill is definitely involved, and some players are clearly better than others.”

In February 2017, The ACC announced that Sir John Suckling's birthday, February 10, is the official date of National Cribbage Day. “Take the day to celebrate,” reads the ACC website, “take time off work, be with family, make a cake, organize a local parade, but most of all play cribbage!

If you’d like to contact the Fremont cribbage club Christopher’s Crusaders, ACC Grass Roots club #43, email accgr43@gmail.com.

Martin Luther King, Jr. – A leader in both substance and style.

On April 12, 1963, Birmingham police arrested the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and threw him in jail. Seizing the moment, King responded to his critics with a lengthy defense of non-violence and the urgent need to act—now known as the ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail.’ (https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html)

Against decades of Jim Crow and in the wake of broken promises of change from Birmingham’s civic and business leaders, on April 3, 1963, the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights (ACMHR) and King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) began a series of non-violent marches and sit-ins against racism and racial segregation, defying Circuit Judge W. A. Jenkins’ provocative injunction against “parading, demonstrating, boycotting, trespassing and picketing.”

Someone managed to smuggle into the King’s cell a copy of the April 12 newspaper where King read “A Call for Unity,” a statement drafted by eight white clergymen railing against King and his demonstrations.

King responded to his critics with patience, though there is a certain pedagogical tone. He compares his work to that of the biblical prophets and Paul, not to raise himself to their height, but to demonstrate that the need to preach is still present. His particular message is an indictment of the South’s long-standing injustice toward African-Americans, but he universalizes the message by way of aphorism, stating “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

When King points out that those church leaders who deplored the demonstrations failed to “express a similar concern for the conditions that brought about the demonstration,” he flatly but respectfully reveals their hypocrisy. Certainly, King knew the clergy would feel the sting of that observation, as surely as when Jesus accused the Pharisees of the same.

The marches and demonstrations were further criticized in the newspaper for creating “tension.” This was, King notes unapologetically, the intended effect. Negotiations and working through political channels had so far accomplished nothing. It was the ‘constructive nonviolent tension’ of direct action that gave the movement leverage. For King, tension created dialogue and transcended the white monologue. “We have not made a single gain in civil rights,” stated King, “without determined and legal nonviolent pressure.”

There are other themes in the letter, as well, including the moral necessity to disobey unjust laws, the false mythology that time will heal all, and the obstacles presented not by extremists such as the Ku Klux Klan, but by white moderates who are “more devoted to ‘order’ than to justice.”

What emerges from the letter most clearly is King’s patience and dedication to both the contemporary struggle and a vision of the future. Perhaps as important is his respect for his audience and his patient point-by-point consideration of his opponents’ views. This Martin Luther King Jr. Day, it is worth considering not only King’s purpose and intention, but, in today’s volatile political arena, his thoughtful, intelligent, and considered style.

You can celebrate King’s life on Sunday, January 14 at the Afro-American Cultural and Historical Society’s 41st annual Commemoration program. The Rev. Carol Henry is the Keynote Speaker. This year’s theme is “King: His voice, his teaching, his love for humanity.” Also attending are: Rev. Garrett Yamada, Host Pastor; Mission 24 Church; Mrs. Rita Duncan; Harpist Hannah Chew, Harpist, Angel Hearts; Mrs. Hong and the Newark Memorial Choral Group, Mrs. Zilli and the Music for Minors Choir, the Vukani Mawethu Choir, a display of student artwork, and more.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration

Sunday, Jan 14

3:00 p.m.

First Presbyterian Church of Newark

35450 Newark Blvd (Corner of Cedar Blvd)

For more information 510-793-8181

www.aachsi.com

Free

Four-legged weed-whackers provide essential services

If you were recently surprised by a herd of goats near Lake Elizabeth, rest easy—the weed-munching ruminants have not escaped the wild to feast on our park. No, what you saw were 650 hard-working members of Living Systems Land Management’s (LSLM) weed abatement team.

Goats and sheep have been used for years as agents of land management and are popular alternative to labor-intensive mowing, herbicides, and biological interventions such as insects and fungi. For the last five years, the city of Fremont has contracted with LSLM to manage Lake Elizabeth and Sabrecat Park.

Mike and Jan Canaday run LSLM from their base in Coalinga, where they own about a hundred acres of land—but it takes a lot more than that to run LSLM. “We have about 4000 goats and 3000 sheep,” Says Mike Canaday. “In the off-season, we graze about 4500 acres in the Central Valley.” The Canadays bring the pregnant goats to their modest ranch, but for the majority of the year, his herds and flocks can be found all over California reducing invasive plants in order to restore native populations, or creating firebreaks.

“We have one group of animals up in Santa Rosa,” says Canaday, “one or two groups that hang out in the Bay Area, and we we usually have one in San Jose . There’s another bunch in Southern California below LA. The groups stay in their areas for the season; we don’t truck them from one end of the state to the other.”

LSLM’s goats are “Boer crosses,” introduced to the US from South Africa in the 1990s. According to Canaday, compared to other goats, they are “just a little more civilized. They aren’t so spooky and they’re easier to get a long with.” The choice of whether to use goats or sheep at a particular location is usually decided by the plants that need management and the type of site. In vineyards and orchards, for instance, sheep, which are selective in their diet, only eat the targeted plants. Goats, on the other hand, “can tear up a vineyard,” says Canaday. Goats can also grow tired of certain plants, so long-term management often includes switching between sheep and goats every couple of seasons.

Goats are used especially where noxious weeds need abatement. They eat the flower heads and leave the stalks, preventing the plants from going to seed. They also eat the leaves, and without the attendant photosynthesis, the plants die out without building a strong root system.

Some of the plants that goats have managed successfully include Yellow and Purple Star thistles, French, Spanish, and Scotch brooms, European annual grasses and a list of other noxious plants that degrade both plant and animal habitats.

In California there are over 30 grazing businesses, but, according to Canaday, “for the size of operation like ours, there are only four or five.” There are no universally adopted standards for the grazing business, but because protection of both the environment and the animals is of paramount importance, LSLM adheres to essential management practices outlined on its website (http://www.livingsystemslandmanagement.com/Standards.html) which cover herd density, animal choice, humane treatment of the animals, plant identification, fuel reduction (for firebreaks), fire hazards, and more.

Onsite shepherds (the term covers goats and sheep) monitor the herds at the worksite 24/7. Additionally, portable electric fences keep the herds in precisely the area under treatment. Canaday says that the fences do not constitute a physical barrier, per se. Rather, they constitute a “psychological barrier.” Since LSLM never buys animals, but only uses what the herd breeds, every animal is brought up in the neighborhood of such fences. The goats have created a culture of fence avoidance, which the young animals adopt. More importantly, the fences protect the goats from predators, anything from dogs to mountain lions, depending on the setting. The most common problem is coyotes. “Coyotes won’t jump a fence,” says Canaday, “they’ll try to go under it, and if they do, the fence bites them a little and keeps them away.”

Border collies are essential to moving the herds into place and getting them on and off the trucks. “We couldn’t do this without them,” says Canaday. In fact, raising border collies was how he got into the business. Canaday is a former president of the United States Border Collie Handlers Association, and as such knew a lot of people in the livestock business, providing trained cattle- and sheep-dogs to many of them. Through contacts made around that time, the Canadays took the opportunity to purchase LSLM when the opportunity arose in 2002.

“The reason there aren’t a lot of people in this business,” says Canaday. “is that you spend all the money you made in the grazing season cutting firebreaks [in the off season] and just trying to hang on until next year. “We have to buy a lot of other feed, like alfalfa hay, and it’s expensive, but once you get it figured out, it works; it’s not a get rich quick scheme—it’s a lot of work.”

Cutting firebreaks is a significant part of LSLM’s business, and the recent wildfires have touched the Canadays: “Our off-season grazing area is about a mile from where 70,000 acres burned up in the Thomas fire.” It was close enough to make Canaday take to heart the trauma faced by so many. “I can’t imagine having to load up a truck with as much as I could take and get out of town with my wife and a few dogs—that’s just shattering to me.”

The fires became personal for Canaday, though, in another way. Firebreaks made by LSLM animals in Santa Rosa were responsible for saving an entire homowners association neighborhood, even when two adjacent ones were leveled. Cal Fire credited the weed abatement managed by LSLM for denying crucial fuel to the fires, which swept around, but not through the area. In a nearby wooded area, jobs at a medical instrument company were saved because firebreak maintenance under LSLM helped preserve the building.

Canaday feels quite fortunate that his business could have such a positive impact and “change the destiny” of people’s lives.

Does he have a plan for the future? “I’ll probably do this until I die.” Retirement plan? “Absolutely not,” he replies with a laugh. “If we didn’t like doing this,” he says, “we wouldn’t do it; but, we like it—we like the people, we like the animals, we like going to different places. You get see places that many people don’t get access to. It keeps us young and we love it; it’s just a good way to live.”