Hickleton Station Forest Regeneration

Hickleton Station Forest Regeneration is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located at Hickleton Station, approximately 120km southwest of Longreach and 40km north of Stonehenge in Central West Queensland. Registered in October 2015, the project covers a substantial area of 15,724 hectares within the Longreach Regional Council area.

The project operates under the Human-Induced Regeneration methodology, which involves implementing land management changes to facilitate the regrowth of native forest. Specifically, this project focuses on managing the timing and extent of grazing (primarily by sheep or cattle) to stop the suppression of vegetation. By allowing native species, likely Acacia (such as Gidgee or Mulga) and Eucalypt woodlands, to regenerate, the project aims to restore forest cover to a density of at least 20% crown cover and a height of 2 meters.

The region is characterized by a semi-arid climate with an average annual rainfall of approximately 400mm, which is highly variable and evaporation-intensive. The landscape in this part of the Channel Country typically features a mix of cracking clay soils on the floodplains and red earths or stony lithosols on the residual plateaus and "jump-ups." The primary land use in the surrounding district is extensive grazing.

A notable aspect of this project is its maturity and successful delivery. The project secured a Carbon Abatement Contract (CAC102462) with the Australian Government in November 2015. As of October 2024, this contract was marked as completed, with the proponents, David and Raymond Quinn, successfully delivering 88,647 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) to the Commonwealth.