Open Space Advisory Board Agenda and Packet 2023 11 08

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After the 2021 Marshall Fire, the City of Louisville began putting more efforts towards fire mitigation on open space properties. As a part of these efforts, the City chose to integrate targeted livestock grazing for it's holistic approach to ecosystem resilience. Rather than utilizing a mower that requires diesel fuel or chemical sprays to reduce forage, the targeted livestock grazing uses livestock to reduce forage, deposit nutrients on the land, support heterogeneity, and kick-start the natural cycles to create a healthier ecosystem long term. One of the main objectives of regenerative land management is to keep animals moving. Land stewards move a high -density herd daily. This practice mimics the way buffalo roamed across the plains. Large herds could create a high impact in a short amount of time, eating grasses, trampling the earth, and depositing nutrients. Then, the acres were left to rest before the buffalo returned. The process of high impact followed by long stretches of rest created a system where the ruminants and grasses evolved together creating a healthy grassland ecosystem. I Grama Grass & Livestock works to achieve this mimicry by increasing the herd's stocking density on a small portion of the grazable acres and moving the cows daily to allow for as much rest as possible. I Holistic management concept pulled from Allen Savory's Ted Talk "How to green the world's desserts and reverse climate change. 13