SA Cattle Conservation HIR Project #01112022 TP

SA Cattle Conservation HIR Project #01112022 TP is a Human-Induced Regeneration project located at Tieyon Station, situated approximately 120km north of Marla and 350km south of Alice Springs in the far north of South Australia. It was registered in March 2023 and covers an expansive 653,070.27 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 implementing specific changes to land management practices on land where regrowth was historically suppressed. For this project, management of the timing and extent of livestock grazing will be used to allow native vegetation to recover and reach forest cover standards.

The Tieyon Station region is deeply ingrained in pastoral cattle grazing operations, particularly Black Angus breeding and fattening. The environment is considered arid to semi-arid, characterised by a highly variable, summer-dominant rainfall that averages only 200mm per year. The landscape encompasses a diverse range of land types, including mulga country, low tablelands, and sand ridges extending from the Pedirka Desert, and features a mix of red sands, loams, granitic, and clay soils.

This project operates alongside an Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) with the Walka Wani Aboriginal Corporation. Notably, the underlying pastoral lease at Tieyon Station has been managed by the Smith family for over 100 years, where they employ tailored grazing strategies to balance commercial cattle production with the recovery and resilience of native vegetation in a challenging desert environment.