Darling River Eco Corridor 9

Darling River Eco Corridor 9 is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) carbon project located approximately 150km west of Bourke in the Far West region of New South Wales. Registered in April 2016, the project covers a vast area of 38,302 hectares on a property known as Salt Lake Station, situated within the Mulga Lands bioregion. This remote area is traditionally utilized for extensive grazing operations, primarily involving sheep and cattle, and is characterized by its semi-arid climate and flat, red sandy loam soils interspersed with sandy ridges.

The project operates under the Human-Induced Regeneration methodology, which awards carbon credits for regenerating native forests on land where vegetation has been historically suppressed. In this landscape, suppression was largely caused by unmanaged grazing pressure from domestic stock and feral animals, particularly goats. To facilitate regeneration, the project activities include the installation of new fencing infrastructure to control grazing timing and extent, as well as the humane management of feral animal populations. These interventions allow native species such as mulga, hop bush, budda bush, gidgee, and leopardwood to regenerate from in-situ seed sources (rootstock and lignotubers).

An interesting facet of this project is its integration with the ongoing pastoral operations of the Barton family, who have leased the land since 1927. By adopting sustainable grazing practices and establishing a carbon income stream, the project aims to improve drought resilience and soil health, reversing degradation along the Kulkyne Creek catchment which feeds into the broader Darling River system. The project is part of a larger aggregation of Darling River Eco Corridor projects managed by Terra Carbon (a subsidiary of GreenCollar) to create landscape-scale ecological connectivity.