Cudgee Regeneration Project

The Cudgee Regeneration Project (ERF116701) is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located in the remote Thargomindah-Quilpie area of South West Queensland. Situated within the Quilpie Shire local government area, the project lies approximately 90km southeast of the township of Quilpie and northeast of Thargomindah. Registered on February 7, 2018, the project covers a substantial area of 33,811 hectares.

The region is part of the Mulga Lands bioregion, characterized by a semi-arid to arid climate with low, variable rainfall and red earth or clay soils known as "hard red country." Land use in this area is predominantly pastoral, focused on grazing sheep, cattle, and goats on native vegetation. The project operates under the Human-Induced Regeneration of a Permanent Even-Aged Native Forest-1.1 methodology. This involves land management changes, specifically managing the timing and extent of grazing and suppressing feral animals, to allow native forest (primarily Mulga) to regenerate on land where regrowth was previously suppressed for at least 10 years.

The project is operated by Amaral Pastoral Pty Limited, a proponent that manages approximately 490,000 hectares across three properties in the region: Cudgee, Wiralla, and Jandell, each integrating carbon farming with livestock operations. A notable aspect of Amaral Pastoral's operations is their partnership with the traditional owners of the land, the Budjiti Aboriginal Corporation and Kullilli Bulloo River Aboriginal Corporation. This collaboration facilitates shared revenue streams and ensures traditional owners maintain access to Country for cultural activities.