report on the program’s effectiveness in accomplishing 
its purposes, and shall submit such evaluations to 
Congress triennially. 
‘‘(11) For projects that rank equally under the 
guidelines, priority shall be given to projects that le-
verage a higher percentage of non-Federal matching 
funds. 
‘‘(d) LIMITATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) A grant awarded under this section may be 
used to purchase land or an interest in land, includ-
ing an easement, only from a willing seller. 
‘‘(2) All acquisitions of land with a grant under 
this section shall be made in a voluntary manner and 
shall not be the result of a forced taking. 
‘‘(3) Any interest in land, including any ease-
ment, acquired with a grant under this section shall 
not be considered to create any liability, or have any 
effect on liability under any other law, of any private 
property owner with respect to any person injured on 
the private property. 
‘‘(e) PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTIONS.—Nothing in 
this title— 
‘‘(1) requires a private property owner to par-
ticipate in the program under this section; 
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‘‘(2) requires any private property owner to 
allow public access (including Federal, State, or local 
government access) to the private property; or 
‘‘(3) modifies the application of any provision of 
Federal, State, or local law with regard to public ac-
cess to or use of private property, except as provided 
by a voluntary agreement entered into by the owner 
or custodian of the property. 
‘‘(f) RECOGNITION OF AUTHORITY TO CONTROL LAND 
USE.—Nothing in this title modifies the authority of Fed-
eral, State, or local governments to regulate land use. 
‘‘(g) MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may not make 
a grant under the program unless the Federal funds 
are matched by non-Federal funds in accordance with 
this subsection. 
‘‘(2) COST SHARE REQUIREMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Grant funds under the 
program shall require a 100 percent match from 
other non-Federal sources. 
‘‘(B) WAIVER OF REQUIREMENT.—The Sec-
retary may grant a waiver of subparagraph (A) 
for underserved communities, communities that 
have an inability to draw on other sources of 
funding because of the small population or low 
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income of the community, or for other reasons 
the Secretary deems appropriate and consistent 
with the purposes of the program. 
‘‘(3) OTHER FEDERAL FUNDS.—Where financial 
assistance awarded under this section represents only 
a portion of the total cost of a project, funding from 
other Federal sources may be applied to the cost of the 
project. Each portion shall be subject to match re-
quirements under the applicable provision of law. 
‘‘(4) SOURCE OF MATCHING COST SHARE.—For 
purposes of paragraph (2)(A), the non-Federal cost 
share for a project may be determined by taking into 
account the following: 
‘‘(A) The value of land or a conservation 
easement may be used by a project applicant as 
non-Federal match, if the Secretary determines 
that— 
‘‘(i) the land meets the criteria set 
forth in section 2(b) and is acquired in the 
period beginning 3 years before the date of 
the submission of the grant application and 
ending 3 years after the date of the award 
of the grant; 
‘‘(ii) the value of the land or easement 
is held by a non-governmental organization 
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included in the grant application in per-
petuity for conservation purposes of the pro-
gram; and 
‘‘(iii) the land or easement is connected 
either physically or through a conservation 
planning process to the land or easement 
that would be acquired. 
‘‘(B) The appraised value of the land or 
conservation easement at the time of the grant 
closing will be considered and applied as the 
non-Federal cost share. 
‘‘(C) Costs associated with land acquisition, 
land management planning, remediation, res-
toration, and enhancement may be used as non- 
Federal match if the activities are identified in 
the plan and expenses are incurred within the 
period of the grant award, or, for lands described 
in (A), within the same time limits described 
therein. These costs may include either cash or 
in-kind contributions. 
‘‘(h) RESERVATION OF FUNDS FOR NATIONAL ESTUA-
RINE RESEARCH RESERVE SITES.—No less than 15 percent 
of funds made available under this section shall be available 
for acquisitions benefitting National Estuarine Research 
Reserves. 
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‘‘(i) LIMIT
ON ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—No more 
than 5 percent of the funds made available to the Secretary 
under this section shall be used by the Secretary for plan-
ning or administration of the program. The Secretary shall 
provide a report to Congress with an account of all expendi-
tures under this section for fiscal year 2009 and triennially 
thereafter. 
‘‘(j) TITLE AND MANAGEMENT OF ACQUIRED PROP-
ERTY.—If any property is acquired in whole or in part 
with funds made available through a grant under this sec-
tion, the grant recipient shall provide— 
‘‘(1) such assurances as the Secretary may re-
quire that— 
‘‘(A) the title to the property will be held by 
the grant recipient or another appropriate public 
agency designated by the recipient in perpetuity; 
‘‘(B) the property will be managed in a 
manner that is consistent with the purposes for 
which the land entered into the program and 
shall not convert such property to other uses; and 
‘‘(C) if the property or interest in land is 
sold, exchanged, or divested, funds equal to the 
current value will be returned to the Secretary in 
accordance with applicable Federal law for re-
distribution in the grant process; and 
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