Mt Mulgrave Savanna Burning Project

Mt Mulgrave Savanna Burning Project is a savanna fire management project located at Mt Mulgrave Station, approximately 119km north-northwest of Chillagoe and 320km northwest of Cairns in Far North Queensland. It was registered in October 2015 and covers an immense project area of 279,869.26 hectares.

Savanna fire management projects involve conducting strategic, controlled burns during the early dry season to reduce grassy fuel loads. This standard practice mitigates the risk and severity of uncontrolled, highly emissive wildfires that typically ravage the landscape in the hotter, late dry season, thereby significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The Mt Mulgrave region features a tropical savanna climate with distinct monsoonal wet and dry seasons, encompassing both high and low rainfall classification zones. The local environment is characterised by expansive savanna woodlands, rugged undulating hills, limestone outcrops, and fertile black soil plains (Vertosols) near river systems like the Mitchell River. The general land use in this remote outback region is extensive agricultural grazing; Mt Mulgrave Station itself has been operated as a large-scale beef cattle property by the Kingsley family for over four decades.

This project was set up to fight fire with fire to protect the land, native wildlife, and the cattle station's livelihood. It employs modern fire management techniques, utilising helicopters equipped with aerial incendiary machines alongside ground teams using drip torches and front-end loaders to safely manage firebreaks. The project saw administrative variations in 2016 to formally include Corporate Carbon Solutions Pty Ltd as a participant and slightly reduce the registered project area. The Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) generated by this project provide supplementary, drought-proof income for the station and are actively purchased on the voluntary market by corporations to offset emissions.