Colorado is a pretty dry state, prone to fires in both forest and grassland. No, Californians didn’t bring this problem to Colorado with them; it’s always been that way. In fact, this is one of the few problems Colorado has that wasn’t caused by an influx of liberal Californians, although those people do tend towards favoring hands-off forestry practices that lead to runaway fires.

Colorado, though, as it happens, already has something that can help prevent fires, at least on the open grasslands, and that something may come as an udder surprise to some:

Cows.

City officials in Boulder County have partnered with local ranchers to bring herds into at-risk neighborhoods, including areas near Wonderland Lake Park, where 70 cattle grazed 35 acres of land.

Paul Dennison, who is with Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks, told Fox News that cattle grazing began in early June, which brought the grass height down from the three to four feet expected if left unmanaged.

This is a good idea; it’s good for the cattle, it’s good for the grassland, and it’s good for the people who may otherwise have been the victims of a runaway grass fire.

Cattle are, after all, natural grazers; their four-chambered stomachs are ideal for digesting grass, which is a harsh, low-quality food. Grasses are loaded with silica and have relatively low nutrient content. People can’t eat it – but cattle can, turning into delicious, delicious beef. So, it’s good to have cattle hoofing it around these open spaces.

“As the cattle trample as they graze, they break up some of that thatch, so we are looking at reduction of fuel height in the grasses, and we are also looking for some decomposition and degradation of the thatch that lies underneath the living grass,” Dennison added.

It’s a good moove.