Boogardie Murrum Regeneration Project

The Boogardie Murrum Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration (Human-Induced Regeneration of a Permanent Even-Aged Native Forest-1.1) project located in the Murchison region of Western Australia. The project area is centered approximately 20 kilometers west of the township of Mount Magnet, a historic gold mining center. Registered in July 2022, the project encompasses a massive expanse of approximately 251,724 hectares. The project likely covers the pastoral leases of Boogardie Station and the nearby Murrum Station, which are situated in a region dominated by extensive rangeland grazing (sheep and cattle) and mining operations.

Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) projects in this context involve altering land management practices to allow suppressed native vegetation to regenerate into permanent forest. Unlike environmental planting, HIR does not involve planting seedlings; instead, it relies on the germination of in-situ seed banks and rootstock. For this specific project, the primary activity is the management of the timing and extent of grazing. By controlling livestock pressure, and potentially managing feral animals like goats, the proponent aims to allow native Mulga woodlands to recover to a forest cover density (defined as at least 20% canopy cover and 2 meters in height).

The environmental conditions of the Murchison region are classified as arid to semi-arid, with a low and erratic average rainfall of approximately 200mm to 250mm per year. The landscape is characterized by red sandy earths, shallow loams over hardpan, and extensive flats of Mulga (Acacia aneura) shrublands. These soils are ancient and often nutrient-poor, supporting vegetation that is highly adapted to drought.

An interesting aspect of the property is its historical stability; Boogardie Station has been held by the Jones family since 1880, marking it as one of the few properties in the region with such long-term continuous family ownership. Geologically, the station is also famous for the "Boogardie Orbicular Granite," a rare rock formation found on the site. The proponent, Guymon Pty Ltd, trades as Boogardie Station. Recent variations to the project in 2023 involved the removal of certain land areas, a common practice in HIR projects to exclude areas that do not meet regeneration potential or overlap with active mining tenements.