Darling River Conservation Initiative Site 14

Darling River Conservation Initiative Site 14 is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located at Merita Station, approximately 90km northwest of Bourke in New South Wales. Registered in May 2020, the project covers a substantial area of 17,932 hectares within the Bourke Shire Council region. The project was previously known as the Merita Human Induced Regeneration Project and Darling River Conservation Initiative Site 10 before settling on its current title.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects involve regenerating native forests by identifying and removing the activities that have historically suppressed growth. In this specific case, the project focuses on managing the timing and extent of grazing by livestock and humanely controlling feral animals (primarily goats) to allow the landscape to recover. The methodology requires that the land had been cleared of vegetation and regrowth suppressed for at least 10 years prior to the project's commencement.

The region is characterized by a semi-arid climate with low, variable rainfall and soils that typically consist of red earths and clays, supporting vegetation such as Mulga and Poplar Box woodlands. Historically, this area has been heavily utilized for grazing sheep, cattle, and goats. An interesting observation from the project proponent, GreenCollar, highlights that the landholder uses the presence of spider webs in the morning dew as an ecological indicator of recovery, noting that increased ground cover provides habitat for insects, which in turn support the spider population.