A. 
Agricultural activities. Agriculture and agricultural activities shall be permitted in all development areas in the critical area, subject to applicable provisions of the Queen Anne's County Code, and provided that:
(1) 
The landowner proposing to locate or practice agricultural activities within the critical area has in place and is implementing an approved soil conservation and water quality plan which shall specify best management practices within the critical area and which shall have been approved by the Soil Conservation District.
(2) 
The creation of new agricultural lands shall not be accomplished by diking, draining or filling palustrine nontidal wetlands.
(3) 
The creation of new agricultural land shall not be accomplished by clearing forests or woodlands on steep slopes or erodible soils; by clearing existing natural vegetation within the Buffer; or by clearing existing natural vegetation if it will adversely affect water quality or destroy plant and wildlife.
(4) 
Best management practices shall be used to control nutrients, animal wastes, pesticides and sediment runoff to minimize contamination of surface water and groundwater and minimize adverse effects on plants, fish and wildlife resources.
(5) 
The feeding and watering of livestock shall not be permitted within 50 feet of the mean high water line of tidal waters or tributary streams, or from the edge of tidal wetlands, whichever is further inland.
(6) 
Agricultural activities are permitted in the Buffer if, as a minimum best management practice, a twenty-five-foot vegetated filter strip measured landward from the mean high water line of tidal waters or tributary streams (excluding drainage ditches), or from the edge of tidal wetlands, whichever is further inland, shall be established prior to the commencement of any such agricultural activities. The filter strip shall conform to the following minimum standards:
(a) 
The filter strip shall be composed of either trees with a dense ground cover or a thick sod of grass.
(b) 
The filter strip shall be expanded a distance of four feet for every 1% of slope, for slopes greater than 6%.
(c) 
The filter strip shall be maintained until such time as the landowner is implementing, under an approved soil conservation and water quality plan, a program of best management practices for the specific purpose of improving water quality and protecting plant and wildlife habitat; and provided that the portion of the soil conservation and water quality plan being implemented achieves the water quality and habitat protection objectives of the filter strip.
B. 
Clearing and cutting of trees. The clearing and cutting of trees in any forest or developed woodland shall be subject to the following conditions and restrictions:
(1) 
A timber harvest plan and performance guarantees as prescribed in Article XVI of Part 7 of this Chapter 14:1 shall be required for all timber harvesting occurring within any one-year interval and affecting one or more acres in forest and developed woodland in the critical area. The plans shall be prepared by a registered professional forester and be reviewed and approved by the Maryland Forest Service through the District Forestry Boards and the project forester and filed with the Queen Anne's County Department of Planning and Zoning. Plans shall include measures to protect surface and groundwater quality and shall identify whether the activities will disturb or affect habitat protection areas and incorporate protection measures for these areas as specified by the Department of Planning and Zoning. To provide for the continuity of habitat, the plans shall address mitigation through forest management techniques which include scheduling, size, timing and intensity of harvest cut, afforestation and reforestation.
(2) 
A sediment control plan and performance guarantees as prescribed in Article XVI of Part 7 of this Chapter 14:1 shall be required for all timber harvests of 5,000 square feet or more in the critical area, including harvesting timber on agricultural lands. This plan shall be developed according to the state guidelines entitled "Standard Erosion and Sediment Control Plan for Harvest Operations." The operations shall be implemented in accordance with the Maryland Forest Service specifications and enforced by the Department of Natural Resources.
(3) 
The clearing and cutting of trees within the Buffer shall be prohibited, except that:
(a) 
Commercial harvesting of trees by selection or by the clear-cutting of loblolly pine and tulip poplar may be permitted to within 50 feet of the landward edge of the mean high water line of tidal waters and perennial tributary streams, or the edge of tidal wetlands, whichever is further inland, provided that this cutting does not occur in other habitat protection areas and that the cutting is conducted pursuant to a timber harvest plan, when required by Subsection B(1) of this section, and a Buffer management plan prepared by a registered, professional forester and approved by the Maryland Forest Service regardless of the size of the area to be cut, and performance guarantees as prescribed in Article XVI of Part 7 of this Chapter 14:1. The Buffer management plan shall contain the following minimum requirements:
[1] 
Disturbance to stream banks and shorelines shall be avoided;
[2] 
The area disturbed or cut shall be replanted, or allowed to regenerate in a manner that assures the availability of cover and breeding sites for wildlife, and reestablishes the wildlife corridor function of the Buffer; and
[3] 
The cutting does not involve the creation of logging roads and skid trails within the Buffer.
(b) 
Commercial harvesting of trees, by any method, may be permitted to the edge of intermittent streams that are not located within 300 feet of tidal waters or tidal wetlands, provided that the cutting is conducted pursuant to a timber harvest plan, where required by Subsection B(1) of this section, and a Buffer management plan, when required by Subsection B(3)(a) of this section.
(4) 
The clearing and cutting of trees associated with development in the LDA and RCA development areas shall also be subject to the conditions and restrictions of § 14:1-38D(6) of this Chapter 14:1.