Kennabate Human Induced Regeneration Project

Kennabate Human Induced Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located at the historic Bulla Bulla Station, approximately 125 kilometres west of Cobar on the Barrier Highway in New South Wales. Registered in May 2023, the project spans an expansive 79,771 hectares.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects involve establishing permanent native forests through assisted regeneration from in-situ seed sources, such as rootstock and lignotubers. A key requirement of the HIR methodology is that the project land must have been previously cleared of vegetation, with regrowth suppressed for at least 10 years prior to the project's commencement. To achieve the required forest cover, this project undertakes specific management activities, primarily the careful management of the timing and extent of livestock grazing, as well as the humane management of feral animals.

The Cobar Shire region features a semi-arid climate characterized by low rainfall, low humidity, and high evaporation rates. Soils across the region are predominantly red earths, classified as kandosols and dermosols, typically consisting of sandy clay loams that support native mulga and edible scrub.

Historically, the area, and specifically the Bulla Bulla Station, has operated as large-scale, open grazing pastoral country. The station has been heavily involved in sheep breeding, notably running Meatmaster and White Dorper composite shedding sheep. By actively controlling feral animal populations and managing the grazing pressure from their sheep flocks, the Kennabate project aims to relieve suppression on the natural environment. This will allow the native woodland on the station to regenerate into a permanent even-aged native forest, generating Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) while simultaneously enhancing regional biodiversity.