Leawah NFMR Project

Leawah NFMR Project is a Native Forest from Managed Regrowth project located on Leawah Station, roughly 30km east of Bollon and 80km west of St George in southern Queensland. It was registered in March 2024 and covers 14,780.17 hectares.

Native Forest from Managed Regrowth (NFMR) projects involve ceasing the clearing of native vegetation on land historically subjected to comprehensive clearing for pastoral use, allowing native forests to naturally regenerate. Standard requirements generally dictate that the regenerating forest must reach a "forest cover" status, meaning it achieves a minimum of 20% crown cover and trees grow to at least 2 metres in height. In this project, activities explicitly involve stopping the mechanical or chemical destruction of regrowth and managing the timing and extent of grazing by livestock to ensure the native vegetation is no longer suppressed.

The Bollon and St George region is heavily utilised for agricultural operations, particularly the breeding and grazing of cattle, sheep, and rangeland goats. The area is considered a semi-arid environment with mostly summer-dominated rainfall. Soils in this part of Queensland generally consist of sandy to loamy Kandosols that grade into porous sandy clays, alongside grey Vertosol clays found across the large river floodplains.

This project was established to show how permanent native forests can be developed through assisted regeneration using resilient, in-situ seed sources like rootstock and lignotubers. Leawah Station was acquired by Pastoral Partners Australia, an operator focused on transforming historically cleared land into high-integrity carbon projects that concurrently improve the productivity and sustainability of traditional grazing properties.