Barney Gumble Reforestation Project

Barney Gumble Reforestation Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located approximately 75km northwest of Charleville in South-West Queensland. It was registered in August 2018 and covers an expansive 28,000.92 hectares.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects involve regenerating native forest by altering land management practices to allow native vegetation to recover. For this project, standard methodology requirements include ceasing the mechanical or chemical destruction of regrowth and carefully managing the timing and extent of livestock grazing. This process enables the vegetation to regenerate from in-situ seed sources, such as rootstock and lignotubers, eventually achieving a mature forest canopy cover.

The surrounding South-West Queensland region is predominantly used for extensive cattle and sheep grazing. The area features a semi-arid climate with low, highly variable rainfall, and the soils are typically sandy loams, cracking clays, and red earths characteristic of the Mulga Lands bioregion.

This project was established on land that had been previously cleared of vegetation, where regrowth was actively suppressed for at least 10 years prior to the project's commencement. Interestingly, corporate sustainability reports indicate that Woodside Energy retired 11,785 carbon credits generated by the Barney Gumble Reforestation Project to help offset their Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions for the 2021-22 period. Furthermore, the project underwent a proponent variation in April 2024, transferring from Tacora Agri Pty Ltd to Prove Pastoral GP Pty Ltd. This transition notably followed a series of commercial legal proceedings between the two entities in the Supreme Court of Queensland throughout 2023.