Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 122.djvu/1790

 12 2 STA T . 1 76 7 PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 2 4 6 —J U NE 1 8, 2008 SEC.2 2 06 . W E TLAND S R ESER V EEN H ANCE M ENT P R OG RAM AND RESERVED R I GHTS PILOT PROGRAM. Section1237A o f t h e F oo d Sec ur it y Actof1 985( 1 6U. S. C . 3837 a) i s a m ended b y addin g at the end the fo l lo w ing new sub - section

‘(h) WETLANDSR ESE RV E E N H AN C E M ENT P R OG RAM. — ‘‘(1) PROGRAM A U THOR IZ ED.— T he Secretary may enter into 1 or more agreements with a State (including a p olitical subdi v i- sion or agency of a State) , nongovernmental organi z ation, or I ndian tribe to carry out a special wetlands reserve enhance- ment program that the Secretary determines would advance the purposes of this subchapter. ‘‘(2) RESERVED RIGHTS P ILOT PROGRAM.— ‘‘(A) RESERVATION O F GRAZING RIGHTS.—As part of the wetlands reserve enhancement program, the Secretary shall carry out a pilot program for land in which a land- owner may reserve grazing rights in the warranty easement deed restriction if the Secretary determines that the res- ervation and use of the grazing rights— ‘‘(i) is compatible with the land sub j ect to the ease- ment ‘‘(ii) is consistent with the long-term wetland protection and enhancement goals for which the ease- ment was established; and ‘‘(iii) complies with a conservation plan. ‘‘( B ) D URATION.—The pilot program established under this paragraph shall terminate on September 3 0, 2012. ’ ’. SEC. 220 7 . D U TIES O F SECRETAR Y OF AGRICULTURE UNDER WET - LANDS RESERVE PROGRAM. Section 1237C of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3837c) is amended— (1) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting ‘‘including necessary maintenance activities,’’ after ‘‘values,’’; and (2) by stri k ing subsection (c) and inserting the following new subsection: ‘‘(c) RAN K ING OF O FFERS.— ‘‘(1) CONSERVATION B ENEFITS AND FUNDING CONSIDER- ATIONS.—When evaluating offers from landowners, the Sec- retary may consider— ‘‘(A) the conservation benefits of obtaining an easement or other interest in the land; ‘‘(B) the cost-effectiveness of each easement or other interest in eligible land, so as to ma x imize the environ- mental benefits per dollar expended; and ‘‘(C) whether the landowner or another person is offering to contribute financially to the cost of the easement or other interest in the land to leverage Federal funds. ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining the acceptability of easement offers, the Secretary may take into consideration— ‘‘(A) the extent to which the purposes of the easement program would be achieved on the land; ‘‘(B) the productivity of the land; and ‘‘(C) the on-farm and off-farm environmental threats if the land is used for the production of agricultural commodities.’’.

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