Harkness Station

Harkness Station is a Savanna Fire Management project located in the remote Cape York Peninsula of Far North Queensland, positioned on the Coleman River headwaters approximately halfway between Mareeba and Weipa. It was registered in July 2015 and covers an expansive 132,097.87 hectares.

Savanna burning projects involve the strategic and planned burning of savanna areas during the cooler early dry season. By deliberately reducing the ground fuel load early in the year, the project lowers the risk and severity of hot, unmanaged late dry season wildfires. This standard methodology requires tracking fire scars and adherence to the 2013 Determination rules, allowing the resulting reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to generate carbon credits.

The Cape York Peninsula area is known for its extensive remote cattle farming operations, traditional indigenous lands, and conservation areas. The region experiences a typical tropical savanna climate characterized by a high-rainfall monsoonal wet season and a distinct, long dry season. The area's soils are predominantly Kandosols (red, yellow, and grey massive earths) mixed with laterite and bauxite. These soils generally have low fertility and poor water-holding capacity, but effectively support native grass ecosystems and broadacre grazing.

This project actively operates on a very well-watered remote cattle station, demonstrating the integration of carbon farming with traditional pastoralism. The project proponent officially changed from Country Carbon Pty Ltd to Terra Carbon Pty Limited in December 2022. Notably, Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) generated from Harkness Station have been purchased by major Australian corporate entities, such as the property fund manager ISPT, to help meet their Climate Active carbon neutral commitments. Additionally, public records indicate the Clean Energy Regulator accepted an Enforceable Undertaking from Country Carbon in May 2020 relating to the project's earlier management.