Strathburn Station

Strathburn Station is a Savanna Fire Management project located in the remote center of the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland. Situated approximately 130km northwest of the Musgrave Roadhouse and roughly 500km northwest of Mareeba, the project operates on a massive 246,564-hectare cattle station. The project was registered in December 2014 and is currently managed by Strathburn Cape York Carbon Pty Ltd.

The project operates under the Savanna Fire Management methodology, which involves strategic burning of the landscape during the early dry season (typically cooler months). By igniting controlled, low-intensity fires when vegetation still holds moisture, the project reduces fuel loads and creates firebreaks. This activity prevents large-scale, high-intensity wildfires from occurring in the late dry season, thereby significantly reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions.

The Strathburn area is characterized by a tropical savanna climate within the high rainfall zone, receiving between 1100mm and 1200mm of rain annually, primarily during the wet season (December to March). The landscape features the Holroyd, Pretender, and Edward river systems, creating extensive ephemeral wetlands and waterholes. The terrain is generally flat with vegetation dominated by eucalypt woodlands and tall grasses, supported by soils that typically range from sandy loams to clays in the lower-lying wetland areas.

Beyond carbon farming, the station is a working cattle breeding property and a known wilderness destination, noted for its rich biodiversity including barramundi, brolgas, and crocodiles. The project has a history of active management; it transitioned from an earlier 2013 methodology to the 2015 determination and saw a change in participant structure in 2021. The station's owner has also been a vocal participant in industry discussions regarding the modeling of carbon sequestration baselines for savanna projects.