Biodiverse Carbon Conservation Scottsdale (Revoked)

Biodiverse Carbon Conservation Scottsdale (Revoked) is an environmental planting project located at Scottsdale Reserve, approximately 4km north of Bredbo and 75km south of Canberra in New South Wales. The project was registered in July 2015 and covered an area of nearly 295 hectares before being voluntarily revoked in August 2017. The project area sits within the Monaro Tablelands, a region historically dominated by sheep grazing and agriculture, but increasingly recognized for significant conservation efforts.

The project operated under the Carbon Farming (Quantifying Carbon Sequestration by Permanent Environmental Plantings of Native Tree Species using the CFI Reforestation Modelling Tool) Methodology Determination 2012. This methodology involves establishing permanent plantings of native tree species, such as Eucalypts and Acacias, on land that has been clear of forest for at least five years. The goal is to restore native vegetation cover, which sequesters carbon in the biomass of the growing trees. Standard requirements for such projects include maintaining specific stocking densities and ensuring the plantings are permanent (typically for 25 or 100 years).

The Scottsdale Reserve is situated in a "rain shadow" area, receiving relatively low annual rainfall (approximately 500–600mm), which presents challenges for reforestation. The soils in the region are often derived from granite or shale, known for being shallow, fragile, and prone to erosion if vegetation cover is lost. The reserve itself is owned by Bush Heritage Australia and is a well-known conservation site dedicated to restoring the critically endangered Yellow Box-Blakely’s Red Gum Grassy Woodland.

While the specific carbon project was revoked, the restoration work at Scottsdale has continued. The revocation under Section 33 of the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011 indicates it was a voluntary action by the proponent, Australian Integrated Carbon Financial Services Pty Ltd. This is often done to transfer a project to a newer methodology (such as FullCAM), to consolidate it into a larger aggregation to reduce administrative costs, or because the specific crediting model was not commercially viable at the time. The project was part of a broader portfolio of "Biodiverse Carbon Conservation" projects managed by the proponent, several of which underwent similar administrative changes during that period.