Cowley Regeneration Project

Cowley Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration project located at Cowley Station, approximately 64km from Quilpie in South West Queensland. It was registered in October 2019 and covers an extensive 94,188 hectares.

Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) projects involve regenerating native forests by changing agricultural land management practices to allow native vegetation to naturally recover. For this methodology, standard requirements include demonstrating that the land was previously cleared and that regeneration is achieved by modifying activities that suppress tree growth. In this project, activities include the cessation of mechanical or chemical suppression of regrowth, managing the timing and extent of livestock grazing, and the humane management of feral animals.

The Quilpie region is deeply rooted in the pastoral industry and is best known for large-scale sheep and cattle grazing. The environment is considered semi-arid with low, highly variable rainfall. The local soils are typical of the Channel Country, predominantly consisting of red earths, sandy loams, and cracking clay plains.

This project establishes permanent native forests through assisted regeneration from in-situ seed sources, including rootstock and lignotubers. It specifically targets land where vegetation regrowth had been actively suppressed for at least 10 years prior to the project commencing. Historically, Cowley Station has been an active pastoral lease since the late 19th century and sits within the Bulloo River catchment, an area that frequently endures the extremes of outback Australian conditions from severe droughts to significant flood events.