Salisbury Downs Human-Induced Regeneration Project

Salisbury Downs Human-Induced Regeneration Project is a human-induced regeneration project located approximately 110km north of White Cliffs in the outback of far-west New South Wales. It was registered in August 2023 and covers 46,248 hectares.

Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) projects involve establishing permanent native forests by altering land management practices to remove pressures that suppress tree growth. Standard requirements for this methodology involve stopping clearing activities, altering livestock grazing, and controlling feral animals to allow native vegetation to naturally regenerate and achieve standard forest cover.

The far-west New South Wales region is known for large-scale historic pastoral leases focusing on sheep and cattle grazing. The area is considered to have an arid, hot desert climate with very low rainfall, and the soils are largely composed of red sand dunes interspersed with clay pans.

This project was established to regenerate native forests from in-situ seed sources, rootstock, and lignotubers on land that had been cleared and where regrowth was suppressed for at least 10 years prior. The project activities integrate modern carbon farming with traditional land use on the historic Salisbury Downs sheep station, a property dating back to the 1880s that was famously acquired by prominent Australian pastoralist Sidney Kidman in 1914.