Darling River Conservation Initiative Site #9

Darling River Conservation Initiative Site #9 is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located approximately 50km northwest of the small township of Louth and about 140km southwest of Bourke in Western New South Wales. The project was registered on June 6, 2019, and covers a significant area of 35,630 hectares. It operates on the "Glenora" and "King's Bore" pastoral properties, situated within the Mulga Lands bioregion, an area historically utilized for extensive grazing of sheep, cattle, and goats.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects involve regenerating native forest by ceasing or suppressing activities that prevent growth, such as mechanical clearing or unmanaged grazing. In this specific project, the proponent, Terra Carbon Pty Limited (a subsidiary of GreenCollar), works with landholders to manage the timing and extent of grazing and to humanely control feral animals, particularly goats, which are a major suppressor of vegetation in the region. This allows native species like Mulga, Bimble Box, Turpentine, and Gidgee to regenerate from in-situ seed sources and rootstock.

The environment in this region is semi-arid, characterized by low and variable rainfall averaging around 300mm annually. The terrain is relatively flat, featuring soft red sandy loams and red earth soils typical of the Cobar Peneplain. These soil types support open shrublands and woodlands that, when relieved of constant grazing pressure, can recover to form permanent even-aged native forests.

An interesting administrative note in the project's history references a 2015 name variation involving "The Bluff Human-Induced Regeneration Project" and "Darling River Eco Corridor 23." While the current project (Site #9) was registered in 2019, this historical data likely reflects the complex evolution of carbon project aggregation and land-use agreements in the Darling River catchment.