Baroona Regeneration Project

The Baroona Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located approximately 40km north-west of Cunnamulla in South West Queensland. Registered in July 2015, the project covers a substantial area of 38,482 hectares within the Mulga Lands bioregion. This region is traditionally dominated by sheep and cattle grazing, a land use that aligns with the proponent's history; the Schmidt family are established pastoralists in the district with connections to other significant holdings such as Goolburra Station.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects involve regenerating native forest where it has previously been suppressed. For Baroona, this involves managing the timing and extent of grazing and ceasing mechanical clearing to allow native vegetation, likely Mulga (Acacia aneura) and associated species, to regenerate from in-situ seed sources and rootstock. The project aims to achieve a forest cover with a canopy density of at least 20% and a height of over 2 metres.

The environmental setting is semi-arid, characterised by low, variable rainfall averaging around 370mm annually. The soils in this vicinity are typically red earths, sandy loams, and lateritic soils, which support the hardy Mulga scrub and wildflower species native to the area. The project has undergone variations since its inception, including the addition of land in 2016, to expand its carbon abatement potential.