Yuin Station, Murchison HIR Aggregation

Yuin Station, Murchison HIR Aggregation is a Human-Induced Regeneration project located on Yuin Station, situated approximately 75km northwest of Yalgoo in the Mid West region of Western Australia. Registered in September 2020, the carbon project spans an impressive 126,426.25 hectares.

Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) projects involve establishing permanent, even-aged native forests through assisted natural regeneration on land that was previously cleared of vegetation. By altering land management practices, specifically managing the timing and extent of livestock grazing and the humane control of feral animals, the project removes suppressors that have hindered regrowth for at least 10 years prior. This allows native forests to naturally regenerate from in-situ seed sources, rootstock, and lignotubers.

The Murchison and Yalgoo region is renowned historically for sprawling pastoral leases and sheep grazing operations. It is characterized by a semi-arid climate and acts as a transitional interzone containing open woodlands of acacia alongside a diverse array of arid shrubs. The local environment features sun-hardened red sandy earth and clay loams typical of the Western Australian southern rangelands.

Yuin Station holds significant historical value, having been established in 1870 and remaining under the management of the Foulkes-Taylor family since 1928. To support the project's ecological goals, the family significantly reduced their breeding ewe numbers from 6,000 to around 2,500 head, shifted their focus from wool to meat sheep, and implemented extensive rotational grazing. Furthermore, they were the first station in the region to erect self-funded wild dog and feral-proof boundary fencing, aiding both land rehabilitation and livestock protection.