Premium Content Subscriber only A local natural resource management group has been chosen to be part of a new pilot program which will see farmers being paid for the biodiversity benefits of mixed-species tree plantings. Burnett Mary Regional Group is one of just six natural resource management groups across Australia to have been selected for the Carbon + Biodiversity Pilot. Launched last week, the program is being delivered under the government's Agricultural Stewardship Package. As part of the pilot, the Australian National University has created the processes and protocols that measure and reward farmers for undertaking the plantings, delivering a system that will be respected by international markets.