Wyloo Station

Wyloo Station is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located approximately 116km south of Pannawonica and 158km west of Paraburdoo in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Registered in March 2021, the project spans an impressive 188,831.56 hectares across the Shire of Ashburton. The surrounding region is predominantly used for pastoral leases, specifically beef cattle and sheep grazing, alongside extensive mining operations.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects involve establishing permanent, even-aged native forests through assisted regeneration. Standard requirements dictate that the project must occur on land that was previously cleared of vegetation and where natural regrowth has been suppressed for at least 10 years. Proponents must actively change land management practices, such as excluding livestock or managing the timing and extent of grazing, to allow in-situ seed sources, rootstocks, and lignotubers to successfully regenerate into forest cover.

The Pilbara environment presents a challenging, semi-arid to arid climate with typical annual rainfall around 280mm, though this is highly variable and heavily reliant on summer cyclones. The local soils across the Ashburton River region consist of rocky ridges, open plains, sandy loams, and alluvial river flats which support native perennial grasses and spinifex.

In addition to its carbon outcomes, the Wyloo Station project actively employs a rest-based grazing system for its Droughtmaster cattle herd. Supported by the Pilbara Extension Network (a partnership involving Meat & Livestock Australia, Rio Tinto, and the WA government), this system utilizes a five-paddock rotation to give the country time to recover. This allows native plants to regrow, rebuild root reserves, and set seed before being grazed again. Originally registered under the name "AIC HIR WA Project 3", the project name was officially varied to "Wyloo Station" in July 2024.