Artemis Station

Artemis Station is a Savanna Fire Management project located at a working cattle station on the Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland, approximately 96km north of Laura. It was registered in August 2014 and covers 124,668.71 ha.

Savanna Fire Management projects involve strategic and planned burning of savanna areas during the early dry season. By actively managing the fuel load, the methodology aims to reduce the risk, severity, and frequency of uncontrolled late dry season wildfires, thereby reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions. The project originally followed a 2013 methodology but transitioned via a variation in 2017 to the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative-Emissions Abatement through Savanna Fire Management) Methodology Determination 2015.

The Cape York Peninsula region is known for widespread cattle grazing, tourism, and extensive conservation efforts. The area experiences a tropical monsoonal climate classified as high rainfall. Soils in this region are predominantly sandy, nutrient-poor lateritic soils, or Kandosols.

Artemis Station is widely recognized for its vital conservation work to save the endangered Golden-shouldered Parrot (Psephotellus chrysopterygius). The property is owned by Tom and Sue Shephard, with Susan Shephard formally taking over as the sole project proponent from Country Carbon Pty Ltd in 2023. The traditional early dry-season burning not only generates Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) but also clears encroaching woody shrubs. This restores the native grasslands and protects the structural integrity of the termite mounds where the rare parrots nest. Corporate buyers, including ANZ, have intentionally purchased ACCUs from this project due to its exceptional biodiversity co-benefits, directing proceeds back into monitoring and managing the remaining parrot population.