Isis Downs Regeneration Project

Isis Downs Regeneration Project is a Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) project located at the historic Isis Downs station, approximately 20km east of Isisford and 88km west of Blackall in Central Western Queensland. It was registered in September 2023 and covers an extensive 66,564.96 hectares.

Human-Induced Regeneration projects involve ceasing destructive land management practices to allow native forests to naturally regenerate from in-situ seed sources, including rootstocks and lignotubers, until they achieve a native forest canopy. Standard requirements for this methodology dictate that the land must have been cleared of vegetation and its regrowth continuously suppressed for at least 10 years before the project's commencement. Project activities for this site specifically include ceasing the mechanical and chemical destruction of regrowth, controlling non-native plants, and carefully managing the timing and extent of livestock grazing.

The Isisford and Blackall region is heavily dominated by large-scale pastoral land use, specifically cattle and sheep grazing. The area features a semi-arid climate with variable, low annual rainfall. The local environment is characterised by open Mitchell grass downs, red loams, and clay-rich vertosol cracking soils, with highly productive alluvial floodplains situated along the nearby Barcoo River.

This project is situated on one of Australia's most iconic pastoral stations, originally established in 1867. The property is currently owned by the proponent, Consolidated Pastoral Company (CPC), which transitioned the station entirely from sheep to a massive cattle breeding operation in 2004, running herds of Angus and Charolais. Historically, Isis Downs housed a famous semi-circular shearing shed built in 1914 using steel prefabricated by Dorman Long and Co., the exact same engineering firm responsible for constructing the Sydney Harbour Bridge.