Vergemont Regeneration Project (Revoked)

Vergemont Regeneration Project (Revoked) was a human-induced regeneration project located on Vergemont Station, approximately 110km west of Longreach in Western Queensland. It was registered in January 2018 and covered an expansive 271,093.40 hectares before being revoked in May 2021.

Human-induced regeneration (HIR) projects involve establishing permanent even-aged native forests by changing land management practices to encourage regrowth from in-situ seed sources. Standard requirements include demonstrating that vegetation was suppressed for at least 10 years prior to the project commencing. Project activities typically involve ceasing mechanical or chemical destruction of regrowth, excluding livestock, managing non-native plants, and humanely managing feral animals.

The Longreach and Channel Country bioregion is traditionally known for extensive cattle and sheep grazing operations. The region experiences semi-arid climatic conditions with low and highly variable rainfall, and its environment features vast arid landscapes and tracts of mulga bushland. Soils in the area generally consist of cracking clays (vertosols), desert loams, and areas of ironstone and lateritic ridges which support local opal mining interests.

Interestingly, following the revocation of this carbon project, Vergemont Station was purchased by the Queensland Government in 2024 to be converted into a massive national park. This historic acquisition was supported by a $21 million philanthropic donation brokered by The Nature Conservancy. The property sits at the headwaters of the Lake Eyre Basin and is now slated to protect critical habitat for threatened and restricted species, including the endangered night parrot, the yellow-footed rock-wallaby, and the Opalton grasswren.