Hill and high country means land that has a slope of more than 20 degrees or is more than 600 metres above sea level.

If you intend to burn land which is within the hill and high country, then you will need to comply with the conditions below in order to be considered as a permitted activity.

Hill and High Country Burning Conditions

1. Within the area to be burnt
   1. The extent of bare ground shall be less than 20%
   2. The slope of the land shall be less than 35 degrees
   3. The site shall be less than 900 metres above sea level
2. The burning shall be carried out between the 1st June and 31st October for bracken fern and between 1st July and 31st October for all other vegetation?
3. The burning shall not occur within 20 metres of a river, lake or wetland
4. The area to be burnt, shall not have had vegetation burnt within the last ten years
5. Once burning has occurred, the area shall comply with one of the following:
   1. Be spelled from grazing for a minimum of 6 months following burning
   2. Be sown with pasture seed within 3 month of burning if it is to be used for grazing or pest management of 6 months after burner for all other purposes
   3. Be planted with trees within one year of burning

If your burning complies with the above conditions, then you will not need a resource consent, but you will need to notify Environment Canterbury with details of your intended burn.

The information to be provided when notifying Environment Canterbury will depend on the reason(s) you are burning. Please complete the Notification of Intention to Burn form (pdf 144 kB) and send to ecinfo@ecan.govt.nz

Find out more information

Please contact our Customer Services team if you have further questions.