'Palmerville Station Savanna Burning project

Palmerville Station Savanna Burning project is a savanna fire management project located on the historic Palmerville Station in the Palmer River region of Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, approximately 200km northwest of Mareeba. It was registered in May 2023 and covers a vast 133,309ha.

Savanna fire management projects involve conducting strategic, low-intensity planned burns during the early dry season (the cooler months) to reduce fuel loads and establish fire breaks. By shifting the fire pattern to the early dry season, this methodology limits uncontrollable, high-intensity wildfires in the late dry season, thereby reducing significant emissions of greenhouse gases like methane and nitrous oxide.

The surrounding Palmer River area is known for operating working cattle stations, eco-tourism, and gold fossicking. The region encompasses both high and low rainfall tropical savanna zones, experiencing a distinct monsoonal wet season where annual rainfall often exceeds 1000mm. The terrain is highly rugged, underlain by granite, and produces predominantly skeletal and alluvial soils that support Eucalypt woodlands and native speargrass.

This project is managed by the proponent Chelsea On The Park Pty Ltd, a division of Diversified Property Group, in collaboration with the Aboriginal Carbon Foundation. This partnership actively integrates modern carbon abatement strategies with the traditional land management knowledge of the Western Yalanji people, who are the Traditional Owners of the area. Furthermore, Palmerville Station carries immense historical significance due to its establishment during the 1873 Palmer River Gold Rush and continues to be a popular destination for modern gold prospectors.