Stanley Farms Mallee Plantings #3 Project (Revoked)

The Stanley Farms Mallee Plantings #3 Project (Revoked) was a large-scale reforestation initiative located in the north-eastern Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. Situated approximately 30 kilometers northeast of the township of Kalannie and roughly 250 kilometers northeast of Perth, the project fell within the Shire of Dalwallinu. Registered in April 2015 and covering a substantial project area of 25,596 hectares, the project was managed by Corporate Carbon Solutions Pty Ltd. It operated for just under two years before being voluntarily revoked in March 2017 under Section 33 of the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011.

The project utilized the Reforestation by Environmental or Mallee Plantings, FullCAM methodology. This method is designed for establishing permanent plantings of mallee eucalypt species, native trees characterized by multiple stems arising from an underground lignotuber. Under this specific determination, plantings are typically established in belts or blocks to integrate with agricultural operations. The methodology uses the Full Carbon Accounting Model (FullCAM) to estimate carbon sequestration, requiring specific stocking densities to ensure the trees achieve forest cover potential.

Environmentally, the Kalannie and Goodlands region operates on the marginal fringe of the Western Australian wheatbelt. The area is characterized by a semi-arid climate with low annual rainfall, typically averaging between 280mm and 320mm. The landscape is dominated by broadacre cropping (wheat and canola) and sheep grazing. Soils in this vicinity are often sandy loams or red earths, but the region is also heavily managed for dryland salinity; mallee plantings are frequently employed here to lower saline water tables and protect topsoil from wind erosion.

The project appears to have been associated with the Stanley family's farming operations (Stanley Farms), prominent innovators in the region known for researching biochar and oil mallees to improve soil health in "hostile" growing conditions. The revocation of this project, along with the concurrent "Stanley Farms Mallee Plantings #2," suggests a strategic restructuring of the landholder's carbon portfolio or a transition to different agricultural priorities, a common occurrence during the early years of the Emissions Reduction Fund.