Pindabunna Regeneration Project

Pindabunna Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located on Pindabunna Station, approximately 50km east of the settlement of Paynes Find in the Shire of Sandstone, Western Australia. Registered in November 2017, the project covers a vast area of 238,060 hectares within the Southern Rangelands.

The project operates under the Human-Induced Regeneration methodology, which involves implementing management changes to allow suppressed native forests to regenerate. In this region, the primary suppressor is typically grazing pressure from livestock and feral animals. The project activities focus on managing the timing and extent of grazing, likely controlling total grazing pressure from sheep and rangeland goats, to enable the recovery of native vegetation such as Mulga (Acacia aneura) and other acacia species.

The Pindabunna area is characterized by a semi-arid climate with an average annual rainfall of approximately 200mm-250mm, often unreliable and split between winter fronts and summer storms. The terrain features the deep red earth, hardpan plains, and rocky breakaways typical of the Yalgoo bioregion. This landscape has historically been used for pastoralism (sheep and cattle) and gold mining.

Interesting developments on Pindabunna Station include the implementation of landscape rehydration techniques. Station manager Don Maasdorp has been noted for using grading to slow natural water flow and spread it across the landscape to combat dehydration, a practice that complements the carbon project's goal of vegetation recovery. The station also has supply links to direct-to-consumer outlets like Midway Farmstall in West Pinjarra, highlighting a "paddock to plate" approach for their rangeland produce.