'NT Cattle Conservation HIR Project #02142022 IDR

NT Cattle Conservation HIR Project #02142022 IDR is a Human-Induced Regeneration project located at Idracowra Station, approximately 120km south of Alice Springs in the MacDonnell Shire of the Northern Territory. It was registered in December 2022 and covers an expansive area of 466,041.86 hectares.

Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) projects involve establishing permanent, even-aged native forests through assisted regeneration from in-situ seed sources, such as rootstock and lignotubers. This methodology requires proponents to change land management practices on land where tree regrowth was previously suppressed for at least 10 years. For this specific project, the standard activities implemented to allow native trees to mature include managing the timing and extent of livestock grazing, controlling feral animals in a humane manner, and managing non-native plant species.

The central Australian region surrounding the project is predominantly used for expansive cattle grazing and pastoral enterprises. The environment is classified as arid to semi-arid, experiencing low and variable rainfall historically averaging around 200mm (8 inches) annually. The local landscape features the Finke River catchment, sand hills, open grass plains, and spinifex ridges. The local soil profiles typically consist of red sandy soils, red earths, and desert loams that support vegetation like low edible mulga.

An interesting aspect of this project is its use of cutting-edge technology. The proponent, RegenCo, utilizes a combined airborne-LiDAR and satellite spectral mapping approach across the entire property to precisely track tree and sapling metrics and identify species. Additionally, the underlying property of Idracowra Station boasts a colourful history; it was previously owned by a UAE oil billionaire before being sold to a local pastoral family in 2019 to be run in conjunction with a neighbouring station. More recently, property management has included active firefighting, as a wildfire burned approximately 9,350ha of the project area. This temporarily paused the generation of Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) in the affected carbon estimation areas until the vegetation could regenerate and surpass pre-fire levels.