Curragh Regeneration Project

The Curragh Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located at Curragh Station, near the locality of Fords Bridge, approximately 70km north-west of Bourke in New South Wales. Registered in July 2015, the project covers a substantial area of 20,587 hectares. The property is situated within the Bourke Shire Council area, a region historically dominated by rangeland grazing of sheep, cattle, and goats.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects involve regenerating native forests on land where vegetation has been suppressed for at least 10 years. For this specific project, the proponents are required to manage the timing and extent of grazing and cease mechanical clearing to allow native seed stocks, specifically those in the soil or existing rootstock, to germinate and grow. The goal is to achieve a permanent native forest cover with a canopy density of at least 20% and a height of 2 metres.

The environmental context of the site is typical of the Mulga Lands bioregion. It features a hot semi-arid climate with an average annual rainfall of approximately 330mm, which can be variable and summer-dominant. The landscape consists largely of red earth soils and sandy loams, supporting vegetation types such as Mulga (Acacia aneura), Box, and Beefwood. These soil and climate conditions make the land well-suited for carbon farming through regeneration, as the native acacia species are resilient to the dry conditions once established.

An interesting aspect of this project is its commercial maturity; it holds an active Carbon Abatement Contract (CAC102204) with the Australian Government to deliver over 340,000 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs). The project is managed by Select Carbon Pty Ltd, a major carbon service provider now owned by Shell. In late 2021, the participant structure was varied to remove Anthony Bailey, leaving Karen Bailey and Charles Bailey as the primary proponents.