Wrotham Park Fire Management Project

Wrotham Park Fire Management Project is a Savanna Fire Management project located at Wrotham Park Station, approximately 300km west of Cairns and 80km northwest of Chillagoe in Far North Queensland. Registered in February 2018, the project initially covered a vast area of over 256,000 hectares, though a variation in March 2019 adjusted this boundary. The project operates on a working cattle station owned by the Consolidated Pastoral Company (CPC), situated at the confluence of the Mitchell and Walsh rivers. The region is primarily utilized for cattle grazing on native vegetation, a land use that integrates well with strategic fire management to protect pasture assets.

Savanna Fire Management (SFM) projects generate carbon credits by shifting the seasonality of burning. By conducting cool, planned burns in the early dry season (EDS), project managers reduce the fuel load and prevent the occurrence of high-intensity, destructive wildfires in the late dry season (LDS). This shift reduces the emission of potent greenhouse gases like methane and nitrous oxide. For this specific project, the methodology covers both "high" and "low" rainfall zones, indicating the property straddles the 1,000mm average annual rainfall isohyet, which is the standard regulatory dividing line for these calculations.

The environmental conditions at Wrotham Park are typical of the tropical savanna climate of the Cape York Peninsula. The terrain features a mix of rich riverine flats, black soil plains, and tea tree sand ridges. The presence of the Mitchell and Walsh river systems creates significant alluvial zones that support the station's carrying capacity. The project involves active aerial and ground burning operations to create fire breaks and mosaic patterns, which not only sequester carbon but also protect biodiversity and cattle infrastructure from uncontrolled bushfires.

A notable aspect of this project is its proponent, Consolidated Pastoral Company (CPC), which is one of Australia’s largest private landholders and agribusinesses. CPC has partnered with South Pole Australia to manage the carbon technicalities. Wrotham Park Station itself is a legendary property in Australian pastoral history, established in 1874, and is often cited in industry reports for its integration of carbon farming with large-scale beef production.