Darling River Conservation Initiative Site #4

Darling River Conservation Initiative Site #4 is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located in the Cobar Shire of western New South Wales, approximately 80km northeast of the township of Ivanhoe. Registered in November 2018, the project encompasses a significant area of 21,396 hectares. The region is historically dominated by rangeland grazing, primarily for sheep, goats, and cattle, and sits within the broader catchment of the Darling River system.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects involve suppressing activities that prevent vegetation from growing, rather than actively planting new trees. For this specific project, the methodology requires managing grazing pressure from livestock and controlling feral animals (such as goats) to allow native forest to regenerate naturally from in-situ seed sources, rootstock, and lignotubers. The project area had been cleared or suppressed for at least 10 years prior to registration, and the new management plan aims to return it to permanent native forest cover.

The local environment is classified as semi-arid, with an average annual rainfall of approximately 300mm. The landscape is typical of the Cobar Peneplain, featuring flat to undulating country with red sandy loam soils, red earths, and clay pans. Native vegetation in this area generally consists of Mulga (Acacia aneura), Bimble Box (Eucalyptus populnea), and White Cypress Pine, interspersed with shrub layers. This project is part of the broader "Darling River Eco-Corridor" developed by GreenCollar (via Terra Carbon), a massive aggregation of properties aiming to improve landscape connectivity and biodiversity while diversifying landholder income through carbon credits.