Mileura Station, Murchison HIR Aggregation

Mileura Station, Murchison HIR Aggregation is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located in the Murchison region of Western Australia, approximately 100 to 120 kilometers west of the town of Meekatharra. Registered in August 2020, the project covers a vast area of approximately 250,399 hectares, which aligns closely with the historical pastoral lease boundaries of Mileura Station itself.

The region is traditionally a rangeland pastoral area, historically utilised for sheep and cattle grazing. The project operates under the Human-Induced Regeneration methodology, which involves regenerating native forests on land where vegetation growth has been suppressed for at least 10 years, typically by livestock or feral animals. To achieve this, the project activities include the exclusion of livestock, strict management of grazing timing, and the humane control of feral animals (such as goats) to allow the native vegetation to recover and reach forest status (20% canopy cover and 2 meters height).

Environmentally, the Murchison region is classified as semi-arid to arid, with low and variable rainfall averaging between 200mm and 260mm annually. The landscape is dominated by Mulga (Acacia aneura) shrublands and woodlands over red sandy loams, shallow earth, and hardpan plains. The vegetation is adapted to harsh conditions, often relying on sheet flow across the landscape.

A notable feature of Mileura Station is its significant role in scientific history. Due to its remoteness and "radio quiet" status, the station was the original proposed site for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) and hosted early radio astronomy experiments and prototypes (such as the Murchison Widefield Array precursors) before the main observatory site was established on the neighbouring Boolardy Station. The land is also rich in Aboriginal history, falling within the Wadjarri Yamatji native title area, with archaeological evidence of occupation dating back nearly a millennium.