Coalara Park Colty Downs 2025

Coalara Park Colty Downs 2025 is a plantation forestry project located in the locality of Badgingarra, approximately 20km east of the Badgingarra township and 25km north of Dandaragan in Western Australia. Registered in August 2025, the project covers 1,046 hectares of land historically used for mixed farming operations, including broadacre cropping and livestock grazing. The project area is situated within the Shire of Dandaragan, a region synonymous with the West Australian Wheatbelt.

The project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative, Plantation Forestry) Methodology Determination 2022. This specific methodology allows for the establishment of new plantation forests on land where no forest has existed for at least seven years. Unlike environmental plantings which are permanent and protected from harvest, plantation forestry projects are designed to sequester carbon while allowing for the commercial harvesting of wood products. This dual-purpose approach supports both climate mitigation goals and the sustainable production of timber or biomass.

Environmentally, the Badgingarra region is characterized by a Mediterranean climate with cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers. The soils in the project area are typical of the local sandplains, featuring a mix of sandy loams, lateritic gravels, and pale sands. These well-drained soil types are well-suited to forestry species often used in the region, such as Sandalwood or Eucalypts.

Property records indicate that "Coalara Park" was sold in early 2021 to corporate interests with reported plans to develop a sandalwood plantation. The proponent, INPEX New Energy Business Australia, has been active in the region through initiatives like "Wheatbelt Connect," which aims to integrate native revegetation and carbon farming with existing agricultural systems to support decarbonization and potentially produce renewable biofuels.