Wairau/ Awatere Resource Management Plan Consent may be required for land disturbance activities on land over 20° slope, depending on performance standards listed in rules. Council Activity To implement the 1993 Council Management Plan for the Wither Hills property, including designating this reserve land as required for soil conservation purposes. Education Information and education programmes will be prepared to address land disturbance issues. A guide for land disturbance activity will be produced containing information relating to the effects of land disturbance on the soil resource, surrounding environment, and wetlands, rivers, lakes and the sea. Information relating to less disruptive techniques for disturbing land and means to minimise the effects of land disturbance will also be included. The Council will make this available to farmers, foresters, site developers and the like. Monitoring To ensure monitoring of specific land disturbance consents occurs. To monitor by aerial photography and other means the vegetative cover of erodable land (the Wither Hills Conservation farm in particular) to measure sedimentation and gravel build up in streams and rivers downstream of erodable catchments. Guidelines Provide information on appropriate land use practices and encourage use of voluntary guidelines and best practices. An element of land disturbance must be provided for to enable utilisation of the land resource. The rules will provide certainty as to what is and is not acceptable. Land disturbance is undertaken by farmers, foresters, roading contractors and developers of residential, and other urban, sites. Those people who undertake land disturbance may have little knowledge of the effects of their activities on the soil resource being disturbed or the surrounding environment. This includes the effects on the fresh water draining the area, and wetlands, lakes and rivers and the sea receiving that drainage water. Often people who understand the effects of their activities will respond to new information by altering their activity to avoid or reduce adverse effects which could prevent sustainable management of the land and water resources of the Plan area. 14.5 Anticipated Environmental Results Implementation of the policies and methods in relation to soil conservation will result in: • Maintenance and enhancement, where appropriate, of the natural quality of soil on areas disturbed for farming, forestry and site development; • The natural clarity of any permanently flowing river, lake, wetland or sea not being conspicuously reduced due to sediment laden run-off water originating from the site of a land disturbance operation; 14 - 4