Fairlight Station

Fairlight Station is a Savanna Fire Management project located in the Cook Shire of Queensland, approximately 70 kilometers west of the township of Laura and roughly 320 kilometers north of Mareeba. The project was registered in September 2014 and covers a vast area of approximately 104,976 hectares. This region is situated within the Cape York Peninsula, a remote area primarily utilised for extensive cattle grazing and conservation. Fairlight Station itself is a working cattle property featuring significant frontage to the Palmer River.

The project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative, Emissions Abatement through Savanna Fire Management) Methodology Determination 2015. This methodology is designed for the high rainfall zone of the tropical savannas. The primary activity involves strategic, planned burning during the early dry season (EDS) when vegetation is still moist and fires are cooler and patchier. By reducing fuel loads early in the year, the project aims to prevent high-intensity, uncontrolled wildfires during the late dry season (LDS). This shift in fire regime reduces the emission of potent greenhouse gases, specifically methane and nitrous oxide, that are released in greater quantities by hot, late-season fires.

Environmentally, the Fairlight Station area experiences a tropical monsoonal climate with distinct wet and dry seasons. As a high rainfall project, it receives significant annual precipitation, typically exceeding 1,000mm, which drives rapid vegetation growth. The landscape is characterized by undulating ridge country and river flats, with soil types ranging from loams and alluvial clays along the creek flats to red-brown earths and sandy soils on the ridges. Kandosols are also common in this part of the Cape York Peninsula.

The project has undergone administrative changes since its inception, including a variation in the methodology from the 2013 determination to the 2015 version. Additionally, the project proponent changed in May 2022 to Terra Carbon Pty Limited, taking over from the previous participant, Country Carbon Pty Ltd.