Astrea Station

Astrea Station is a savanna fire management project located at Yarraden, approximately 60km west of the Musgrave Roadhouse on the Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland. It was registered on September 24, 2014, and covers a project area of 62,765.19 hectares.

Savanna fire management projects involve the strategic, planned burning of savanna landscapes during the early dry season. These controlled, low-intensity burns standardly aim to reduce the accumulated fuel loads on the ground, which in turn reduces the risk and severity of highly intense, high-emission wildfires that typically ravage the landscape during the late dry season.

The Cape York Peninsula region around Yarraden is primarily used for extensive cattle grazing and pastoral holdings. Astrea Station itself operates as a fully operational cattle breeding station running a Brahman-based herd. The area falls within the tropical high rainfall zone and features varied topography, ranging from flat plains to undulating hills. The environment is characterised by seasonal watercourses like the Lukin River, weathered sandy and loamy soils typical of the region, and supports diverse savanna timber including Ironbark, Bloodwood, Cooktown Ironwood, and Stringybark. The understory is heavily timbered with native pasture grasses such as Spear Grass and Kangaroo Grass.

Astrea Station has provided a strong passive income stream for its owners, with the carbon offset scheme projecting around 5,000 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) annually alongside its pastoral operations. Over its lifetime, the carbon project has seen several administrative changes, including a legislative update from the 2013 early dry season burning methodology to the 2015 emissions abatement methodology in 2017. The project proponent has also transitioned over the years from Country Carbon Pty Ltd to Terra Carbon Pty Limited in 2022, and most recently to S.C. Browning Pty Ltd in 2025. Additionally, the Clean Energy Regulator notes a 2020 Enforceable Undertaking connected to the project involving former participant Country Carbon Pty Limited.