York Downs Station

York Downs Station is a Savanna Fire Management project located on the Cape York Peninsula, approximately 40km east of Weipa in Far North Queensland. Registered in July 2015, the project covers a vast area of nearly 130,000 hectares. The region is characterized by a tropical monsoonal climate and falls within the high rainfall zone (>1000mm annually) defined by the methodology. The landscape features extensive bauxite plateaus and lateritic soils typical of the Weipa area, supporting native savanna vegetation used for cattle grazing.

The project operates under the 2015 Savanna Fire Management methodology, which incentivizes the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through strategic fire management. By conducting planned, cool burns during the early dry season (EDS), the project proponents reduce the vegetative fuel load. This significantly lowers the risk and severity of uncontrolled, high-intensity wildfires during the late dry season (LDS), thereby avoiding the release of higher levels of methane and nitrous oxide.

York Downs Station is a working cattle property managed by the Witherspoon family, who breed Brahman cattle. The carbon project has provided a diversified income stream, allowing the managers to invest in station infrastructure, such as upgrading heavy machinery for fire break maintenance and installing solar power systems to reduce reliance on diesel generators. The project also reports co-benefits for local biodiversity, creating a safer habitat for native species like echidnas and wallabies by mitigating the devastation of intense wildfires.