Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 119.djvu/2769

 PUBLIC LAW 109–148—DEC. 30, 2005

119 STAT. 2751

‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ACREAGE.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subparagraph (B) and the availability of funds under subparagraph (G), an owner or operator may enroll private nonindustrial forest land in the conservation reserve under this subsection. ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION OF DAMAGES.—Eligibility for enrollment shall be limited to owners and operators of private nonindustrial forest land that have experienced a loss of 35 percent or more of merchantable timber in a county affected by hurricanes during the 2005 calendar year. ‘‘(C) EXEMPTIONS.—Acreage enrolled in the conservation reserve under this subsection shall not count toward— ‘‘(i) county acreage limitations described in section 1243(b); or ‘‘(ii) the maximum enrollment described in subsection (d). ‘‘(D) DUTIES OF OWNERS AND OPERATORS.—As a condition of entering into a contract under this subsection, during the term of the contract, the owner or operator of private nonindustrial forest land shall agree— ‘‘(i) to restore the land, through site preparation and planting of similar species as existing prior to hurricane damages or to the maximum extent practicable with other native species, as determined by the Secretary; and ‘‘(ii) to establish temporary vegetative cover the purpose of which is to prevent soil erosion on the eligible acreage, as determined by the Secretary. ‘‘(E) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.— ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In return for a contract entered into by an owner or operator of private nonindustrial forest land under this subsection, the Secretary shall provide, at the option of the landowner— ‘‘(I) notwithstanding the limitation in section 1234(f)(1), a lump sum payment; or ‘‘(II) annual rental payments. ‘‘(ii) CALCULATION OF LUMP SUM PAYMENT.—The lump sum payment described in clause (i)(I) shall be calculated using a net present value formula, as determined by the Secretary, based on the total amount a producer would receive over the duration of the contract. ‘‘(iii) CALCULATION OF ANNUAL RENTAL PAYMENTS.—The annual rental payment described in clause (i)(II) shall be equal to the average rental rate for conservation reserve contracts in the county in which the land is located. ‘‘(iv) ROLLING SIGNUP.—The Secretary shall offer a rolling signup for contracts under this subsection. ‘‘(v) DURATION OF CONTRACTS.—A contract entered into under this subsection shall have a term of 10 years. ‘‘(F) BALANCE OF NATURAL RESOURCES.—In determining the acceptability of contract offers under this subsection, the Secretary shall consider an equitable balance among the purposes of soil erosion prevention, water quality

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