Kirkalocka Station Regeneration Project

Kirkalocka Station Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located at Kirkalocka Station, approximately 55 kilometres south-south-west of Mount Magnet in the Mid West region of Western Australia. It was registered in November 2018 and originally covered an expansive 74,764.98 hectares, although a project variation in October 2020 removed some of these areas. In December 2021, the proponent name was officially updated to Breakaway Pastoral Pty Ltd, a company operated by Jared and Blair Ridley who purchased the historic pastoral lease in March 2018.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects aim to establish permanent native forests by changing land management practices to encourage the regrowth of native vegetation from in-situ seed sources, such as rootstock and lignotubers. For this project, the methodology involves actively managing the timing and the extent of livestock grazing on land that was previously cleared of vegetation and where natural regrowth had been suppressed by grazing animals for at least 10 years prior to the project commencing.

The surrounding Murchison area is traditionally known for pastoral sheep and cattle grazing, as well as extensive gold and nickel mining operations. The region is classified as having an arid to semi-arid climate, experiencing a harsh environment with a low average annual rainfall of around 200–245 mm. The local environment typically features red earth plains, sandy loams, and rocky greenstone soils capable of supporting mulga woodlands, saltbush, and bluebush.

Kirkalocka Station has a rich pastoral history. Originally established as a merino sheep station by the Broad family in 1903, the property sheared a record 18,226 sheep at its peak in 1918. However, due to severe drought conditions and the devastating impact of wild dogs, the station was destocked in 2002 and later diversified into a tourism-focused outback homestead. The Ridleys have since reintroduced a small, manageable herd of cattle to help fund ongoing land rehabilitation while expanding the station's established tourism and caravan accommodation facilities.