Westerton Regeneration Project

Westerton Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration project located at Westerton Station near the town of Stonehenge, approximately 150km southwest of Longreach in Outback Queensland's Barcoo Shire. It was registered on September 20, 2017, and covers an area of 55,122.43 hectares.

Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) of a Permanent Even-Aged Native Forest projects involve establishing permanent native forests through assisted regeneration from in-situ seed sources, including rootstock and lignotubers. This methodology requires proponents to change land management practices to encourage native regrowth on land that was previously cleared of vegetation and where regrowth has been suppressed for at least 10 years. For this specific project, the primary activity is the management of the timing and the extent of livestock grazing.

The Barcoo Shire region is predominantly used for pastoral operations, specifically sheep and cattle grazing on large stations. The environment is semi-arid with highly variable rainfall, making the region prone to both extended multi-year droughts and severe flooding. The soils in the district often feature heavy cracking clays (Vertisols) along the floodplains, alongside extensive stony plains and jump-ups.

Interestingly, the nearby town of Stonehenge is famous for an outback "address book" where tourists spell out their names and home towns using the region's abundant stones. The Westerton Station area also faces extreme climatic challenges; for example, the local Thomson River catchment was severely impacted by historic floods in March 2025, which submerged the typically arid landscape after the area received nearly double its annual rainfall in just over a week.