Uteara Regeneration Project

Uteara Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located at Uteara Station, approximately 78km west of Bourke in New South Wales. It was registered in September 2015 and covers an expansive 17,687.44 hectares.

Human-Induced Regeneration of a permanent even-aged native forest projects involve establishing native forests through assisted regeneration from in-situ seed sources, such as rootstock and lignotubers. Standard requirements dictate that proponents must remove or limit suppressive activities on land where native vegetation regrowth was previously stalled for at least 10 years. For this project, the core activities include managing the timing and extent of livestock grazing and the humane management of feral animals, allowing the landscape to eventually achieve a native forest canopy cover of at least 20% and a height of 2 metres.

The Far West region around Bourke is known for its extensive broadacre pastoralism, predominantly grazing operations for sheep and cattle. The environment is characterized by a semi-arid, low-rainfall climate, with local soils heavily featuring red earths, red sand, and loams.

This project seamlessly integrates carbon farming with the property's traditional grazing operations. By resting pastures and controlling feral pests, the proponent, Helen Parker, is working to sustainably restore the natural landscape while managing a long-standing pastoral property. Interestingly, the Uteara property is well-known locally in the Bourke shire, and an ATSB aviation report from 1995 notes the use of an on-station airstrip for aerial bore inspections across its vast acreage.