Darling River Eco Corridor 3

Darling River Eco Corridor 3 is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located on the Yathonga property, approximately 60km southwest of Louth in the Far West region of New South Wales. Registered in June 2016, the project covers a substantial area of 40,207 hectares within the Darling Riverine Plains and Cobar Peneplain bioregions. The project is situated on a long-held intergenerational grazing property that has been managed by the same family since 1862, primarily for sheep and cattle production.

The project operates under the Human-Induced Regeneration methodology, which involves regenerating native forests by changing land management practices rather than planting new trees. The core activities for this project include managing the timing and extent of livestock grazing and humanely controlling feral animals, particularly goats, which suppress vegetation growth. By relieving this pressure, the project allows native vegetation, such as Mulga and river red gums, to regenerate naturally from in-situ seed sources, rootstocks, and lignotubers.

The local environment is characterized by a semi-arid climate with low and highly variable rainfall, typically averaging between 200mm and 300mm annually. The soil composition is diverse, featuring red sandy loams and dunefields in the rangeland areas, transitioning to heavy grey clays and vertosols in the low-lying floodplains and claypans near the river systems. This landscape supports a mix of woodlands and shrublands that are vital for local biodiversity.

This project is part of the broader Darling River Eco Corridor aggregation managed by Terra Carbon (a subsidiary of GreenCollar), which aims to create a contiguous zone of protected vegetation along the Darling River catchment. Beyond carbon sequestration, the project has provided the landholders with financial resilience against drought, allowing them to destock during dry periods without financial ruin, thereby preserving ground cover and reducing soil erosion.