Milhouse Reforestation Project

Milhouse Reforestation Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located approximately 36 kilometres north-northwest of Cunnamulla in South West Queensland. Registered in March 2017, the project currently covers a small residual area of 5.42 hectares.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects involve regenerating native forests by changing land management practices to remove suppressive factors, allowing native vegetation to recover and eventually reach true forest cover. The standard requirements for this methodology typically involve ceasing activities that suppress forest growth, such as mechanical or chemical destruction of regrowth, and closely managing livestock grazing pressures.

The surrounding region's primary land use is sheep and cattle grazing. The area experiences a semi-arid climate with low average annual rainfall, and the local soils generally consist of sandy loams, massive red earths (Kandosols), and cracking clays (Vertosols).

This project establishes permanent native forests through assisted regeneration from in-situ seed sources, including rootstock and lignotubers. It is being undertaken on land that was previously cleared of vegetation and where regrowth had been actively suppressed for at least 10 years prior to the project commencing. Permitted project activities include the active management of the timing and extent of grazing to allow the native vegetation to thrive.

An interesting note about this project is its significant restructure. In February 2018, the vast majority of the project's original area was removed and transferred to the nearby Flanders Carbon Project (ERF103197). As a result of this variation, the proponent, Paniri Ventures Pty Ltd, transferred 37,422 Kyoto Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) from the Milhouse Reforestation Project to the Flanders Carbon Project under section 52 of the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Rule.