Vanrook Station (Revoked)

Vanrook Station (Revoked) was a savanna burning project located at Vanrook Station, approximately 130km north-east of Normanton in the Gulf of Carpentaria region of Queensland. Registered in June 2015, the project covered a significant project area of 232,905 hectares, representing a portion of the much larger 590,500-hectare cattle station. The property is situated within the Carpentaria Shire and is traversed by the Gilbert and Staaten Rivers, primarily supporting large-scale Brahman cattle grazing operations.

The project operated under the "Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions through Early Dry Season Savanna Burning" methodology. This method involves strategically lighting cool, patchy fires during the early dry season (typically before August) to reduce the fuel load. By burning early, the project aims to prevent high-intensity, uncontrolled wildfires in the late dry season, thereby reducing the total greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere.

The region is characterized by a tropical savanna climate with distinct wet and dry seasons. Rainfall is summer-dominant, driven by the monsoon, while the dry season poses a significant fire risk. The landscape features the flat, alluvial plains of the Gulf Country, with soils predominantly consisting of cracking clays on the floodplains and sandy loams on the ridges and levees of the river systems.

This project was voluntarily revoked in September 2017 under Section 32 of the CFI Act. Vanrook Station itself is a property of historical significance, often cited as one of the largest cattle stations in Queensland. In 2022, the station (along with the aggregation held by Gulf Coast Agricultural Co) was sold to the Harris family for approximately $380 million, a deal that highlighted the immense scale and value of the region's pastoral assets.