Chapter 38 - Conservation Zone 38.1.7.3.5 Crossings River crossings are to be stable and maintained as suitable for fish passage. 38.1.7.3.6 Riparian Areas Except for direct approaches to bridges, crossings and fords; maintenance of rail and public roads; and trenching for cable laying, no excavation or filling must take place within riparian management zones as specified in the schedule of water bodies and Table 1 in Appendix I and as mapped in Ecology Maps in Volume Three, or in a manner and location where the General Conditions for Land Disturbance above can not be complied with. 38.1.7.3.7 Slope Any excavation or filling on land greater than 20º and less than 35º slope, provided the activity complies with Rules 38.1.1.7.3.1 to 38.1.1.7.3.6 above and not more than 1,000 m³ may be excavated/filled in any two year period. 38.1.7.3.8 Backfilling All earth not required to be placed in a trench shall be removed from the land disturbance site, and placed in a stable location. Where a resource consent is required for placement of the fill, this shall be obtained prior to the start of work. 38.1.7.4. Vegetation Clearance 38.1.7.4.1 Vegetation clearance is a Permitted Activity provided that: a) Blading or root-raking shall not be used to clear vegetation on slopes of more than 20°; b) Burning shall not be carried out on Class 7e or Class 8 land, when the Fire Weather Index Parameters for the burn are: - drought code - 200 or higher; or - build up index - 40 or higher; as notified by the Rural Fire Authority for the burn area, pursuant to the Forest and Rural Fires Act 1977; or c) The proposed vegetation clearance site is not within any Riparian Management Zone specified in Appendix I of Volume Two and the ecology maps in Volume Three of the Plan; and d) The vegetation clearance site shall be revegetated within 24 months of the end of the operation, to a level where the amount of bare ground is no more than 20% greater than prior to vegetation clearance taking place; e) Top soil shall not be removed to a depth greater than 20mm over more than 15% of any vegetation clearance site; f) No more than 0.2 hectare of coastal broadleaved scrub and shrubland is cleared, per Certificate of Title within any 12 month period; or g) No more than 0.2 hectare of indigenous vegetation on ultramafic substrate is cleared, per Certificate of Title within any 12 month period; or h) No more than 0.2 hectares of indigenous forest cleared, per Certificate of Title, within a 12 month period; or i) Naturally occurring indigenous wetland vegetation or naturally occurring indigenous duneland vegetation shall not be cleared; and 38 - 7