Highlands Station Regeneration Project

Highlands Station Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located in the remote Central West Queensland region, approximately 90km south of Isisford and 120km southwest of Blackall. Registered in November 2016, the project covers a vast area of nearly 57,000 hectares within the Longreach Regional Council area. The property sits within the Mulga Lands bioregion, an area traditionally utilized for extensive sheep and cattle grazing.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects involve implementing changes in land management to facilitate the regrowth of native forest on land where vegetation has been suppressed for at least 10 years. For Highlands Station, the core activity involves managing the timing and extent of grazing pressure, essentially reducing the number of livestock or altering their rotation to allow young trees (such as Mulga or native Eucalypts) to establish without being eaten. The project also includes the humane management of feral animals, such as goats and pigs, which are significant suppressors of seedling regrowth.

The environment in this part of Queensland is classified as semi-arid, characterized by hot summers, mild winters, and highly variable rainfall. The landscape typically consists of flat to undulating plains with soils ranging from red earths in the Mulga country to cracking clay soils on the open downs. These conditions support a mix of Acacia woodlands and native grasses, which the project aims to restore to a permanent even-aged native forest status.

An interesting administrative note for this project is the variation in December 2021, where the participant name changed from the individual landholder, Ian John Allen, to Terra Carbon Pty Limited. Terra Carbon is a specialist advisory firm that manages numerous carbon projects, indicating a shift toward professional corporate management of the carbon assets on the property.