Ray Station Human Induced Regeneration Project

The Ray Station Human Induced Regeneration Project is a large-scale carbon farming initiative located on the historic Ray Station pastoral lease, approximately 70km northwest of Quilpie in South West Queensland. Registered in September 2023, the project encompasses a substantial area of 35,854 hectares. The surrounding region, situated within the Shire of Quilpie, is traditionally used for extensive cattle and sheep grazing and is geographically associated with the Mulga Lands and the Channel Country bioregions.

This project operates under the Human-Induced Regeneration (HIR) methodology, which focuses on regenerating native forests on land where vegetation has been suppressed for at least ten years. The primary activities involve changes in land management, such as managing the timing and extent of grazing by livestock and ceasing mechanical or chemical clearing. By reducing grazing pressure and allowing native species, typically Mulga (Acacia aneura) and Gidgee in this region, to regrow, the project sequester carbon in the recovering forest biomass.

Environmentally, the site is characterized by a semi-arid climate with a mean annual rainfall of approximately 350mm. The landscape typically features red earth soils and stony ridges common to the Mulga Lands, interspersed with grey cracking clays in lower-lying floodplains. A notable aspect of this project is the property itself; Ray Station is a heritage-rich station settled in 1874 by the Tully family, relatives of the famous pastoralist Durack family, and it remains one of the few properties in Australia to have stayed in the same family since European settlement. The project proponent, Terra Carbon Pty Limited, is a subsidiary of the major carbon market developer GreenCollar.