Honeymah NFMR Project

Honeymah NFMR Project is a native forest regeneration project located on the "Honeymah" pastoral station, approximately 70km northwest of Dirranbandi and 83km southwest of St George in southern Queensland. Registered in March 2024, the project covers a significant area of 17,705 hectares within the Balonne Shire. This region is traditionally dominated by extensive grazing operations for cattle and sheep, characterised by flat, semi-arid plains.

The project operates under the Native Forest from Managed Regrowth (NFMR) methodology. Unlike environmental planting projects which involve active tree planting, NFMR projects rely on regenerating native forests from in-situ seed sources like rootstock and lignotubers. The core activity involves a change in land management, specifically, the cessation of mechanical or chemical land clearing that was previously done to maintain pasture for livestock. The proponent must also manage the timing and extent of grazing to ensure it does not suppress the emerging regrowth, allowing the forest to return to a mature state over time.

Environmentally, the Honeymah property is situated in a semi-arid zone with an average annual rainfall of approximately 450mm to 475mm. The landscape features a mix of soil types, ranging from heavy cracking clays (black soil) to lighter red earths typical of the Mulga lands. The vegetation naturally occurring in this area often includes species such as Poplar Box and Mulga, which have been historically cleared to encourage buffel grass for grazing.

The project is managed by Pastoral Partners Australia, a corporate agricultural fund backed by infrastructure investor Morrison & Co. They acquired the Honeymah aggregation in late 2023 as part of a strategy to integrate commercial livestock farming with large-scale carbon sequestration. This approach aims to maintain agricultural productivity while generating Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) through the natural regeneration of the landscape.