Yenloora Regeneration Project

Yenloora Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located approximately 85km east of Thargomindah in the Shire of Bulloo, South West Queensland. It was registered in September 2015 and covers an impressive 35,589 hectares across the Mulga Lands bioregion.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects involve establishing permanent, even-aged native forests by removing factors that suppress tree growth. For this project, the standard methodology requirements involve ceasing the mechanical or chemical destruction of regrowth and managing the timing and extent of livestock grazing. This allows native vegetation to regenerate naturally from in-situ seed sources, rootstocks, and lignotubers on land that had been cleared and suppressed for at least 10 years prior to the project commencing.

The Thargomindah area and the wider Channel Country are well known for large-scale cattle and sheep grazing operations spanning vast pastoral leases. The regional environment is characterised by a hot, semi-arid to arid climate with erratic and low rainfall, averaging around 300mm annually. The soils in this part of the Mulga Lands are predominantly infertile, acidic sandy red earths, featuring harder stony ridges, soft mulga sandplains, and shallow loamy soils peppered with saline lakes. Due to the low rainfall, properties in this region rely heavily on the Great Artesian Basin, with numerous capped artesian bores providing a reliable, pressurised water supply for livestock.

This project was established on the "Yenloora" lease of the Wombula and Yenloora aggregation. Originally registered by Yenloora Investments Pty Ltd as the Trustee for the O'Connell Grazing Trust, the participant name was varied to Benjamin and Petra Mason in November 2021. Interestingly, while portions of the neighbouring Wombula lease retain the right to clear vegetation through a locked-in Property Map of Assessable Vegetation (PMAV), the Yenloora carbon project area is protected and cannot be retreated. This diversification has provided the graziers with a predictable, year-on-year income stream, a vital drought-proofing asset in a volatile region sometimes referred to as "Heartbreak Corner" due to its challenging and dry climate. Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) generated from this project have been purchased by corporate buyers, such as the Australian law firm Gadens, to achieve carbon neutrality under the government's Climate Active program.