Muella Native Forest Protection Project

Muella Native Forest Protection Project is an avoided deforestation project located on Muella Station, 130km northwest of Bourke in western New South Wales. It was registered in April 2015 and covers 13,837.90 ha.

Avoided deforestation projects protect native forests from being cleared and prevent the land from being converted to an agricultural system. This specific methodology applies to land where a clearing permit was issued before 1 July 2010, thereby avoiding the carbon emissions that would have resulted from deforestation.

The surrounding semi-arid Paroo lowlands region is predominantly used for livestock grazing, such as sheep and cattle, on large pastoral stations. The environment is considered semi-arid, receiving a low mean annual rainfall of approximately 307mm. Soils in the vicinity feature a mix of deep siliceous sands in the dunefields and red earth soils over sedimentary and silcrete rocks.

The project's method was varied in August 2015 from the initial 2013 methodology to the updated Avoided Deforestation 1.1 Methodology Determination 2015. Additionally, the project's location on Muella Station features unique temporary treed swamps and claypans that support diverse aquatic invertebrate communities; interestingly, in 1999, an entirely new species of fairy shrimp (Branchinella budjiti) was discovered in a claypan just 500 meters from the station's homestead.