The Government continues to undertake Resource Management Act (RMA) reforms. Recent changes to the national RMA Stock Exclusion Regulations 2020 repealed the map of low slope land and removed some of the associated requirements. However, you must still:

• keep dairy cows and pigs at least three metres away from lakes and wide rivers (a river with a bed wider than 1m anywhere in a land parcel), regardless of terrain;
• keep intensively grazed beef cattle and deer at least three metres away from lakes and wide rivers, regardless of terrain; and
• exclude all stock from natural wetlands identified in a regional or district plan.

From July 2025, you must also:

• • exclude all stock from natural wetlands that support threatened species; and
  • keep dairy support cattle at least three metres away from lakes and wide rivers, regardless of terrain.

For more information, read the Ministry for the Environment Amendments to the Stock Exclusion Regulations factsheet

You also need to continue abiding by our regional plan rules for Northland, which have not changed. Under the regional rules:

• pigs and dairy cows must be excluded from natural wetlands greater than 500m2 and all continually flowing rivers, streams and artificial watercourses;
• beef cattle, dairy support cattle, and deer must be excluded from mapped lowland areas by the dates noted below – see maps;
• pigs, dairy cows, dairy support cattle, beef cattle, and deer must be excluded from lakes;
• from 1 January 2025, beef cattle, dairy support cattle, and deer must be excluded in mapped lowland areas from:
  • continually flowing rivers, streams and artificial watercourses greater than 1m wide; and
  • natural wetlands greater than 500m2.
• from 1 January 2030, beef cattle, dairy support cattle, and deer must be excluded, in mapped lowland areas, from all continually flowing rivers, streams and artificial watercourses.

Table: Regional stock exclusion rules

*Lowland areas have a slope of 0-15 degrees.
**Hill country areas have a slope of greater than 15 degrees.

In addition, under the regional rules, livestock (including sheep) must be effectively excluded from any inanga spawning sites. For more information about the regional rules, see rule C.8.1 Livestock Exclusion in the Proposed Regional Plan or visit the Keeping stock out of waterways page of our website.