Cowley Regeneration Project

Cowley Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located at Cowley Station, approximately 80km east-south-east of Quilpie in South West Queensland. It was registered on 16 October 2019 and covers a vast project area of 94,187.96 hectares.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects involve regenerating permanent even-aged native forests by changing land management practices on land where native forest growth was previously suppressed for at least 10 years.

The Quilpie region is part of South West Queensland's mulga country," characterised by a semi-arid climate, very low rainfall, and predominantly red earth and sandy loam soils. The general land use in this area is widespread pastoralism, specifically sheep and cattle grazing. The project's proponents, Elizabeth Reid Morris and Robert Harold Morris, operate the historic Cowley Station as a commercial grazing property, raising cattle and managing the land through dry conditions.

To achieve carbon abatement, this project establishes permanent native forests through assisted regeneration from in-situ seed sources, including rootstock and lignotubers. The core project activities involve the cessation of mechanical or chemical destruction of regrowth, closely managing the timing and extent of livestock grazing, and managing feral animals in a humane manner. By protecting the native scrub, such as the dominant Mulga trees, which also offer vital shade and supplementary fodder for livestock during drought, the project allows degraded native vegetation to naturally recover while improving local land resilience and biodiversity.