Hickleton Station Forest Regeneration

Hickleton Station Forest Regeneration is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located at Hickleton Station, approximately 125km southwest of the major outback town of Longreach in Central West Queensland. Registered in October 2015, the project covers a substantial area of 15,724 hectares in a region historically dominated by pastoral leases for sheep and cattle grazing.

The project operates under the Human-Induced Regeneration methodology, which involves implementing land management changes, specifically the management of grazing timing and extent, to allow native vegetation to regenerate. By removing the suppression pressure caused by livestock, the project enables in-situ seed sources, rootstock, and lignotubers to establish permanent even-aged native forests.

The local environment is classified as semi-arid, with a summer-dominant rainfall averaging between 400mm and 450mm annually. The terrain typically consists of "rolling downs" or channel country, characterized by cracking clay soils (Vertosols) which are fertile and have high water-holding capacity, often supporting Mitchell grass ecosystems alongside the regenerating native timber.

A significant achievement for this project is the successful completion of its Carbon Abatement Contract (CAC102462) with the Australian Government. Between November 2015 and October 2024, the proponents, David and Raymond Quinn, delivered over 88,000 Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) to the Commonwealth, fulfilling their contractual obligations.