Baroona Regeneration Project

Baroona Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located approximately 40km northwest of Cunnamulla in the Paroo Shire of South West Queensland. It was registered in July 2015 and currently covers 38,482.55 hectares, with variations made in July 2016 to expand the project area.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects establish permanent even-aged native forests by altering land management practices to assist natural regrowth. For this methodology, proponents must demonstrate that the land was cleared of vegetation and regrowth was suppressed for at least 10 years prior to the project commencing. A standard requirement for these generated forests is that they must ultimately attain a minimum height of 2 metres and achieve at least 20% crown cover.

The Cunnamulla area sits within the Mulga Lands bioregion, which is classified as semi-arid with low, variable rainfall. Soils in this region generally consist of red sands, loams, and mulga soils. The predominant land use across the district is pastoral grazing, mostly running cattle, sheep, and goats.

This project was set up by Adrian and Sally Schmidt on their property, "Baroona", with Climate Friendly Pty Ltd acting as the project agent. The primary project activities include ceasing the mechanical and chemical suppression of regrowth, managing the timing and extent of livestock grazing, and the humane management of feral animals. By relying on in-situ seed sources such as rootstock and lignotubers, the project aims to successfully restore the native forest canopy.