Harvey Pine project 2018

Harvey Pine project 2018 is a plantation forestry project located in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, with the specified project area situated approximately 70km east of the timber hub of Manjimup and south of Kojonup. Registered in May 2018, the project currently covers a substantial area of 3,041 hectares. The project is managed by New Forests under the Forestry Investment Trust (FIT), a major institutional forestry vehicle in Australia.

The project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative, Plantation Forestry) Methodology Determination 2017. Its primary activities involve establishing new plantation forests and converting existing short-rotation plantations to long-rotation schedules. In practice, converting to "long-rotation" typically means shifting from growing trees for quick-harvest pulpwood (woodchips) to growing them for sawlogs (structural timber). This extension allows the trees to grow larger and older, significantly increasing the average volume of carbon stored in the landscape over time compared to the baseline scenario.

The region surrounding the project area is characterized by a Mediterranean climate with cool, wet winters and dry summers, classified as a high-rainfall zone essential for commercial timber production. The landscape supports a mix of broadacre grazing (sheep and cattle) and extensive forestry estates. The soil profile in this part of the Great Southern region generally consists of lateritic gravels and sandy loams, which are well-suited for Pinus radiata and Eucalyptus globulus plantations.

While the project is named "Harvey Pine," the provided coordinates place it significantly south-east of the town of Harvey. It is likely that "Harvey" refers to a legacy portfolio name or the operational center for the softwood estate, rather than the exclusive geographic location of the trees. The project has expanded since its inception, with area variations approved in 2021 and 2022, indicating an active aggregation of plantation properties into the carbon scheme.