Dalwood Regeneration Project

The Dalwood Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located approximately 70km northwest of Brewarrina and 90km northeast of Bourke in the semi-arid Mulga Lands of New South Wales. Registered in November 2017, the project spans a substantial area of 20,286 hectares within the Western Local Land Services region. The property, known as Dalwood Station, is situated north of the Barwon River, an area traditionally dominated by extensive grazing operations for sheep, cattle, and goats.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects involve implementing land management changes to facilitate the regrowth of native forests on land where vegetation has been suppressed for at least 10 years. For Dalwood, the primary project activity is the humane management of feral animals, likely goats, which are a prevalent suppressor of vegetation in this region, alongside the management of livestock grazing pressure. By controlling these suppressors, the project aims to allow the in-situ seed bank (including rootstock and lignotubers) to regenerate into a permanent, even-aged native forest.

The environmental context of the region is characterized by a semi-arid climate with an average annual rainfall of approximately 300–400mm. The soil composition in this area typically consists of red kandosol earths on ridges and grey vertosol clays on the floodplains associated with the Culgoa and Bokhara river systems. These soils support native vegetation such as Mulga (Acacia aneura), Poplar Box, and Coolibah, which the project seeks to restore. The project is operated by Bentick Pastoral Co Pty Ltd, a family-owned entity that recently updated its participant details to consolidate the Bentick family members under the corporate structure.