Yarraden Station

Yarraden Station is a savanna fire management project located at Yarraden Station on the Cape York Peninsula in far north Queensland, approximately two hours west of Musgrave and Coen. It was registered in December 2014 and covers an extensive 118,807.65 hectares.

Savanna fire management projects involve the strategic and planned burning of savanna areas during the early dry season. By conducting cooler, controlled burns early in the year, proponents reduce fuel loads and mitigate the risk of intense, late dry season wildfires. This methodology helps to avoid the larger greenhouse gas emissions that are associated with massive, uncontrolled late-season bushfires, requiring historical baselines and satellite monitoring of fire scars to prove emissions reductions.

The Cape York region is well known for large-scale beef cattle breeding operations and grazing. The area experiences a tropical monsoonal climate characterized by a high-rainfall wet season followed by a prolonged dry season. The soils in the region are generally lower-fertility sandy and clay loams, with some surrounding grazing areas featuring heavier clay soils, treeless black soils, and marine plains.

Yarraden Station itself is a historic cattle breeding property with a carrying capacity of roughly 8,000 head of cattle, and has historically been run as a vertically integrated beef operation alongside the neighboring Holroyd River Station. The carbon project has seen several management changes since its inception. The project proponent varied from Country Carbon Pty Ltd to Terra Carbon Pty Limited in May 2022, and subsequently to Umlilo Holdings Pty Ltd (as trustee for CC Stage 3 Agricultural Trust) in June 2023. Additionally, public records indicate that the Clean Energy Regulator accepted an Enforceable Undertaking from the original project manager, Country Carbon, in May 2020. The project has also actively participated in carbon abatement contracts to deliver generated Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) to the Commonwealth.