Ellavale Native Forest Protection Project

Ellavale Native Forest Protection Project is an avoided deforestation project located on Ellavale Station, approximately 100km northwest of Bourke and near Fords Bridge in New South Wales. It was registered in November 2014 and covers an area of 40,884.55ha.

Avoided deforestation projects aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by protecting native forests from being cleared and converted into agricultural systems. The standard requirements for this methodology dictate that the land must have been issued a valid clearing permit (such as an Invasive Native Scrub Property Vegetation Plan) prior to 1 July 2010, which ensures the threat of deforestation was both genuine and legally permissible prior to the project's inception.

The Bourke and Fords Bridge region is known for large-scale pastoral grazing operations, particularly those involving sheep, cattle, and goat backgrounding. The area is characterized by semi-arid environmental conditions, generally experiencing low annual rainfall of less than 340mm. Soils in this landscape predominantly consist of red sandy loams across Mulga country and the flood-out zones from the Warrego River system.

Interestingly, the native vegetation on Ellavale Station has historically been heavily impacted by dense woody weeds, such as turpentine and budda. Over the project's lifespan, there have been several administrative changes, including a methodology variation in May 2015 to transition from the 2013 to the 2015 Avoided Deforestation 1.1 Determination. The project is supported by the aggregator Terra Carbon Pty Limited, and in September 2023, the listed participant changed from Hayes Pastoral Corporation Pty Ltd to Grimwade & Gordon Land Pty Ltd as trustee for Grimwade & Gordon Land Trust. Furthermore, real estate marketing for Ellavale Station has highlighted the project's Carbon Abatement Contract as a lucrative source of secondary income alongside its traditional carrying capacity of 25,000 goat equivalents.