Boothulla Regeneration Project

Boothulla Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration project located at Boothulla Station, approximately 60km north-west of Cooladdi in south-west Queensland. It was registered in August 2015 and covers an area of 72,656.64 hectares.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects involve the assisted regeneration of permanent even-aged native forests from in-situ seed sources, such as rootstock and lignotubers, on land that has been cleared of vegetation and where regrowth has been suppressed for at least 10 years. To achieve the required forest canopy cover, project activities on this site include the cessation of mechanical or chemical destruction of regrowth alongside the careful management of the timing and extent of livestock grazing.

The Cooladdi area is situated within the semi-arid Mulga Lands bioregion, a landscape traditionally known for cattle and sheep grazing operations. The local environment features open mulga woodlands, scattered pockets of Mitchell grass, double frontages to the Paroo River, and degraded claypans. Rainfall in this region is typical of a semi-arid climate, subject to intense droughts and occasional flood events, while soils generally range from red earths and sandy loams in the mulga scrub to cracking clays in the Mitchell grass areas.

The project is operated by the Boothulla Cattle Company on behalf of the Treloar family, who have owned the property since 1957. The family transitioned entirely to a beef cattle grazing enterprise in 2003 after selling off their sheep due to wild dog and dingo predation. In conjunction with the carbon project, the proponents have engaged in significant sustainable land management practices. These include working with Southern Queensland Landscapes to install extensive riparian fencing to protect local riverways, and implementing natural sequence farming with contour banking to rehydrate poor-condition claypans and improve overall pasture utilisation.