Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 122.djvu/1831

 12 2 STA T . 1 80 8 PUBLIC LA W 110 – 2 46—J U NE 18, 2008 ‘ ‘ (1)INCE N TIV E SAU T HOR I Z E D.— I ncar r yi n gout any con -se r v ation p rogra m a d ministered b yt h e S ecretary , the Secretary may provide to a person or entity speci f ied in paragraph ( 2 ) incentives to participate in the conservation program— ‘‘( A ) to foster ne w farming and ranching opportunities and ‘‘( B ) to enhance l ong-term environmental goals. ‘‘(2) C OVERED P ERSONS.—Incentives authori z ed by para- graph (1) may be provided to the following

‘‘(A) Beginning farmers or ranchers. ‘‘(B) Socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers. ‘‘(C) L imited resource farmers or ranchers. ‘‘( D ) Indian tribes. ’ ’; and (2) by adding at the end the following new subsections: ‘‘(f) ACREA G ELI M ITATIONS.— ‘‘(1) LIMITATIONS.— ‘‘(A) E NRO L LMENTS.— T he Secretary shall not enroll more than 2 5 percent of the cropland in any county in the programs administered under subchapters B and C of chapter 1 of subtitle D. ‘‘(B) EASEMENTS.— N ot more than 1 0 percent of the cropland in a country may be sub j ect to an easement ac q uired under subchapter C of chapter 1 of subtitle D. ‘‘(2) E X CEPTIONS.—The Secretary may e x ceed the limitation in paragraph (1)(A), if the Secretary determines that— ‘‘(A) the action would not adversely affect the local economy of a county; and ‘‘(B) operators in the county are having difficulties complying with conservation plans implemented under sec- tion 1212. ‘‘( 3 ) W AIVER TO EXCLUDE CERTAIN ACREAGE.—The Secretary may grant a waiver to exclude acreage enrolled under sub- section (c)(2)(B) or (f)( 4 ) of section 1234 from the limitations in paragraph (1)(A) with the concurrence of the county govern- ment of the county involved. ‘‘(4) SHELTER B ELTS AND W INDBREA K S.—The limitations established under paragraph (1) shall not apply to cropland that is subject to an easement under subchapter C of chapter 1 that is used for the establishment of shelterbelts and windbrea k s. ‘‘(g) COMPLIANCE AND P ER F ORMANCE.— F or each conservation program under subtitle D, the Secretary shall develop procedures— ‘‘(1) to monitor compliance with program requirements; ‘‘(2) to measure program performance; ‘‘(3) to demonstrate whether the long-term conservation benefits of the program are being achieved; ‘‘(4) to track participation by crop and livestock types; and ‘‘(5) to coordinate activities described in this subsection with the national conservation program authorized under sec- tion 5 of the Soil and Water R esources Conservation Act of 1 97 7(1 6U .S.C. 2004). ‘‘(h) ENCOURAGEMENT OF POLLINATOR H ABITAT DEVELOPMENT AND PROTECTION.—In carrying out any conservation program administered by the Secretary, the Secretary may, as appropriate, encourage— ‘‘(1) the development of habitat for native and managed pollinators; and Procedu re s.

�