Yuin Station, Murchison HIR Aggregation

Yuin Station, Murchison HIR Aggregation is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located in the remote Murchison region of Western Australia. The project area is situated approximately 80 kilometers northeast of the town of Mullewa and roughly 75 kilometers northwest of Yalgoo. Registered in September 2020, this expansive project covers 126,426 hectares of pastoral land. The property itself, Yuin Station, is a historic pastoral lease that has been managed by the Foulkes-Taylor family since 1928, primarily for sheep and cattle grazing.

The project operates under the Human-Induced Regeneration methodology, which involves regenerating permanent native forest by removing specific suppressors that prevent regrowth. In this context, the primary suppressors are the grazing pressure from domestic livestock and feral animals. To facilitate regeneration, the project proponents manage the timing and extent of livestock grazing, often reducing stocking densities significantly, and implement humane control measures for feral animals, particularly goats and wild dogs. The goal is to allow in-situ seed sources, such as rootstock and lignotubers, to regenerate into forest cover.

The Murchison region is defined by its semi-arid to arid climate, characterized by erratic rainfall that averages between 200mm and 250mm annually. The landscape typically features broad plains of red earth soils, red sands, and shallow loams over hardpan. These soil types support the growth of Mulga (Acacia aneura) woodlands and shrublands, which are the primary vegetation systems being restored by this project. Notably, the station owners were among the first in the region to install self-funded feral-proof boundary fencing to better manage grazing pressure and protect the regenerating landscape.