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Native perennial grasslands have declined in California over the past 200 years. On the Fort Ord National Monument perennial grasslands are being replaced by coastal scrub dominated by coyote brush (Baccharis pilularis ssp. consanguinea DC .). Decades of sheep grazing has been insufficient to prevent this encroachment and a new tool was needed in order to maintain perennial grassland habitat. In January 2014, goats were used on an experimental basis to reduce B. pilularis cover. Paired control and grazed plots were constructed in dense stands of B. pilularis and percent cover was measured before and after grazing. Results showed no significant change in B. pilularis cover over the first three months of the study. The goats did, however, defoliate all B. pilularis branches within reach (< 2m in height) and this was followed by a flush of spring B. pilularis growth. C ontinued annual grazing by goats is expected to substantially reduce B. pilularis cover in this historically sheep grazed area. Even at less than one year into this multiyear study, goat grazing has been shown to be a better management tool than sheep grazing for reduction of a shrub species.