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Meet The ‘Goat Gypsy’ Working To Restore The Land And Prevent Wildfires

As temperatures rise and wildfires continue to burn across the West, many in Colorado are turning their attention to fire prevention. There's a woman who comes to the Roaring Fork Valley every year known as the "goat gypsy." Lani Malmberg and her herd of 1,200 Spanish cashmere goats help with fire mitigation, land restoration and weed control on private and public lands across all 13 Western states. 

She and her team were instrumental in helping to restore the Lake Christine burn area on Basalt Mountain two years ago. Aspen Public Radio's Morning Edition host Eleanor Bennett recently met with Lani Malmberg outside her camper on a property in Old Snowmass where she was on another fire prevention and thistle control job. 

Eleanor is an award-winning journalist and "Morning Edition" anchor. She has reported on a wide range of topics in her community, including the impacts of federal immigration policies on local DACA recipients, creative efforts to solve the valley's affordable housing crisis, and hungry goats fighting climate change across the West through targeted grazing. Connecting with people from all walks of life and creating empathic spaces for them to tell their stories fuels her work.