The Northland Regional Council has released a draft of the plan that will eventually set out how the region's water, air, land and coast are managed.
The council said the release would give Northlanders an early chance to comment on the plan before it goes into the formal consultation process.
Council policy development manager Ben Lee said the Draft Regional Plan was effectively a rule book designed to replace three existing regional plans that are now more than 10 years old.
The new draft took into account important changes over the past decade, such as new national direction and policies made by the Government. It also reflected improved knowledge of Northland's environment, Mr Lee said.
"We've attempted to strike a balance between protecting the things that Northlanders value, like clean water and air, while providing for our important economic activities - farming, horticulture, forestry, tourism and marine enterprise."