Badja Station Regeneration Project

Badja Station Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located at Badja Station in the Mid West region of Western Australia, approximately 121km southwest of Mount Magnet and 101km northeast of Morawa. It was registered in November 2018 and covers a vast 104,411.95 hectares.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects involve establishing permanent, even-aged native forests by altering land management practices to allow native vegetation to recover. Standard requirements for this methodology dictate that proponents must cease activities that suppress natural regrowth and protect the regenerating vegetation until it successfully reaches native forest cover standards, typically requiring a minimum of 20% crown cover and a height of at least 2 meters.

The Mid West region surrounding the Yalgoo Shire is predominantly utilized for large-scale pastoral activities, namely sheep and cattle grazing, alongside active iron ore mining operations. The area is classified as a semi-arid environment with low, unpredictable rainfall. Geologically situated on the Yilgarn Craton, the regional soils generally consist of red sandy earths, hardpans, and shallow loams.

This project facilitates ecological recovery by carefully managing the timing and extent of livestock grazing and employing humane management of feral animals. This allows the forest to naturally regenerate from in-situ seed sources, such as rootstock and lignotubers, on land that was previously cleared and suppressed for at least 10 years. Interestingly, the Badja Station property boasts a rich pastoral history dating back to before 1897. The property was notably destocked around 2015 when an iron ore mining company proposed using a portion of the station as a national radioactive waste management facility. Developed in partnership with Select Carbon Pty Ltd, the carbon project has also been awarded carbon abatement contract CAC960184. Additionally, an administrative variation to the project was recorded in July 2020, resulting in the removal of specific land parcels from the original project area.