table and predictable than the current system, under 
which only a few watersheds are eligible each fiscal 
year. 
(3) The Conservation Security Program holds 
tremendous promise as a program that can help pro-
ducers effectively address priority resources of con-
cern, but the program must be improved and better 
implemented in order to fulfill that promise. 
(4) States must have the authority, with appro-
priate national guidance, to select priority ‘‘re-
sources of concern,’’ as currently defined by the 
Natural Resources Conservation Service, for specific 
areas within the State, and program payments 
should focus more on rewarding management inten-
sity and the degree to which a producer addresses 
resources of concern. 
(5) In order to ensure that the Conservation 
Security Program is an effective tool in helping pro-
ducers improve environmental quality, there must be 
a better balance between rewarding a producer’s ex-
isting level of resource stewardship and creating 
strong incentives for producers to implement addi-
tional practices and measures to improve environ-
mental performance. 
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(6) In general, the Conservation Security Pro-
gram should do a better job of helping producers en-
hance habitat for wildlife, particularly rare, threat-
ened, endangered and candidate species. 
(7) When the Conservation Security Program is 
used to address wildlife, it should be implemented to 
further the goals and objectives of the State com-
prehensive wildlife strategy. 
(8) It is critical that the Conservation Security 
Program provide adequate technical assistance to 
producers who need help applying to the program 
and implementing their contracts. 
SEC. 202. CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM. 
(a) EXTENSION OF PROGRAM.—Section 1231 of the 
Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831) is amend-
ed— 
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘2007’’ and 
inserting ‘‘2012’’; 
(2) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ‘‘2007’’ 
and inserting ‘‘2012’’; 
(3) in subsection (e)(3), by striking ‘‘2002’’ and 
inserting ‘‘2008’’; and 
(4) in subsection (h)(1), by striking ‘‘2007’’ 
and inserting ‘‘2012’’. 
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(b) ELIGIBLE LAND.—Section 1231(b) of such Act 
(16 U.S.C. 3831(b)) is amended— 
(1) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (1) and inserting a semicolon; 
(2) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 
end of subparagraph (C); 
(3) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (5) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 
(4) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(6) marginal pasture land or hay land that is 
otherwise ineligible, if the land is to be devoted to 
native vegetation appropriate to the locale and— 
‘‘(A) will provide suitable habitat for State 
or federally listed threatened or endangered 
species or species determined by the Secretary 
of the Interior to be species of concern; or 
‘‘(B) will contribute to the restoration of a 
critically endangered ecosystem or endangered 
ecosystem, as defined by the Secretary.’’. 
(c) USE OF GENERAL SIGNUP PROCESS.—Section 
1231(d) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3831(d)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘To the 
maximum extent practicable, the Secretary shall ensure 
that not more than 85 percent of the acres maintained 
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in the conservation reserve at any 1 time during the 2008 
through 2012 calendar years are acres that were enrolled 
through general signup under section 1234(c)(2)(A).’’. 
(d) DUTIES OF PARTICIPANTS.—Section 1232(a) of 
such Act (16 U.S.C. 3832(a)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (4)— 
(A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 
and (B) as subparagraphs (B) and (C), respec-
tively; and 
(B) by inserting before subparagraph (B), 
as so redesignated, the following new subpara-
graph: 
‘‘(A) approved vegetative cover shall not 
include vegetative cover inappropriate to the lo-
cale;’’; 
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (5) through 
(10) as paragraphs (6) through (11); respectively; 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
‘‘(5) to undertake appropriate management ac-
tivities on the land, including any necessary haying 
and grazing activities, as needed throughout the 
term of the contract to achieve the purposes of the 
conservation reserve program;’’; and 
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(4) in subparagraph (A)(i)(II) of paragraph (8), 
as redesignated by paragraph (2), by inserting after 
‘‘may be conducted’’ the following: ‘‘, taking into ac-
count grassland types and species, location, weather 
conditions, threats posed by invasive species in the 
locale, and other factors that determine to what ex-
tent harvesting and grazing activities will advance 
the conservation purposes of the program’’. 
(e) CONSERVATION PLAN.—Section 1232(b)(1)(A) of 
such Act (16 U.S.C. 3832(b)(1)(A)) is amended by insert-
ing before the semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘, in-
cluding appropriate management activities required by 
subsection (a)(5)’’. 
(f) COST-SHARE AND MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE.— 
Section 1234(b) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3834(b)) is 
amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting before the pe-
riod at the end the following: ‘‘, except that the Sec-
retary shall pay 75 percent of the cost of estab-
lishing measures and practices that will benefit a 
federally or State listed threatened or endangered 
species required under a contract entered into under 
this subchapter’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
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