Lake Barlee Regeneration Project

The Lake Barlee Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located on the Mt Jackson Station pastoral lease, approximately 110 kilometers north-northeast of Southern Cross in Western Australia. Registered in November 2018, the project encompasses a massive area of 127,425 hectares within the Shire of Yilgarn. The region is situated in the Goldfields-Esperance district, an area characterized by a "mixed-use" landscape where extensive rangeland grazing operations coexist with significant iron ore and gold mining exploration.

HIR projects in this context focus on regenerating permanent native forests on land where vegetation growth has been suppressed for at least 10 years. For the Lake Barlee project, the primary activity involves managing the timing and extent of grazing. By controlling the pressure from livestock and feral animals (such as goats), the project aims to allow in-situ seed sources, including rootstock and lignotubers, to regenerate into mature forest cover without the need for manual planting.

The environmental setting of the project is semi-arid to arid, with low annual rainfall generally falling between 200mm and 250mm. The terrain is geologically diverse, featuring red sandy loams and stony ironstone ridges typical of the Yilgarn Craton's greenstone belts, transitioning into saline flats and sediments near the project's namesake, Lake Barlee. Notably, the project area lies within the Great Western Woodlands, recognized as the largest remaining area of intact temperate woodland on Earth, which adds significant conservation value to the carbon sequestration activities.

An interesting facet of this project is its location within a highly active mining exploration zone. While the carbon project protects vegetation, the underlying land is subject to various exploration tenements, such as those held by Taiton Resources and formerly Cliffs Asia Pacific Iron Ore, highlighting the complex dual-use nature of the WA Goldfields. The project is managed by Select Carbon, and in 2024, the participant structure was updated from an individual pastoralist to Red Dirt Pastoral Pty Ltd, reflecting a shift to a corporate trustee arrangement for the station.