Narndee and Boodanoo Regeneration Project

Narndee and Boodanoo Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration project located approximately 85km south-east of Mount Magnet in the Mid West region of Western Australia. It was registered in May 2018 and covers an expansive 192,692.65 hectares.

Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) projects involve restoring permanent native forests by changing land management practices that previously suppressed natural vegetative growth. For this methodology, standard requirements involve establishing even-aged native forests through assisted regeneration from in-situ seed sources, such as rootstock and lignotubers, on land that was cleared or suppressed for at least 10 years prior. To achieve this, the project's main activities focus on strictly managing the timing and extent of grazing by livestock or feral animals to allow the native trees to naturally reach forest canopy cover.

The Mid West region of WA is well known for historic large-scale pastoral leases, traditionally used for widespread sheep and cattle grazing, alongside active and historical mining operations. The area is classified as a semi-arid environment that relies on episodic winter rainfall to hydrate the landscape and occasionally fill ephemeral freshwater wetlands. Soils across the project area are predominantly characterized by red earth, extensive colluvium, and sheetwash overlying a mafic igneous basement rock, which together support diverse arid habitats like open saltbush and Mulga woodlands.

A fascinating aspect of this carbon project is its integration into a massive, privately managed conservation landscape. In 2022, the Boodanoo and Narndee pastoral leases were acquired by the Forever Wild Initiative, a conservation charity. Forever Wild has transitioned the properties from historic heavy-grazing sheep stations into a low-impact conservation grazing system, running a small herd of cattle to specifically finance biodiversity protection. Forever Wild manages Narndee and Boodanoo alongside neighbouring Meeline and Challa stations, forming a contiguous 600,000-hectare wilderness zone. This landscape-scale conservation footprint supports targeted ecological efforts, such as the Narndee Malleefowl Project, which actively monitors and protects the region's threatened mound-building Malleefowl population.