†
443
HR 2419 EAS
‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Funding provided for the
program under subsection (f) shall be used in not less
than 30 small watersheds—
‘‘(A) to provide technical assistance;
‘‘(B) to provide and assess financial incen-
tives to agricultural producers implementing
conservation practices that reduce nutrient losses
to surface waters;
‘‘(C) to monitor the performance and costs
of alternative nutrient management techniques,
including soil tests, stalk tests, cover crops, soil
amendments, buffers, and tillage practices; and
‘‘(D) to share the cost of data collection,
monitoring, and analysis.
‘‘(2) PROHIBITION.—None of the funds made
available to carry out the program for each fiscal
year may be used for administrative expenses.
‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are
authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary
to carry out this section.’’.
SEC. 2398. EMERGENCY LANDSCAPE RESTORATION PRO-
GRAM.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 5 of subtitle D of the Food
Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb et seq.) (as amend-
†
444
HR 2419 EAS
ed by section 2386) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘SEC. 1240R. EMERGENCY LANDSCAPE RESTORATION PRO-
GRAM.
‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT.—In this
section, the term ‘eligible recipient’ means—
‘‘(1) an organization that is eligible for technical
assistance and cost-share payments under this section
and assists working agricultural land and nonindus-
trial private forest land, including—
‘‘(A) a community-based association; and
‘‘(B) a city, county, or regional government,
including a watershed council and a conserva-
tion district; and
‘‘(2) an individual who is eligible for technical
assistance and cost-share payments under this section,
including—
‘‘(A) a producer;
‘‘(B) a rancher;
‘‘(C) an operator;
‘‘(D) a nonindustrial private forest land-
owner; and
‘‘(E) a landlord on working agricultural
land.
†
445
HR 2419 EAS
‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the emergency land-
scape restoration program is to rehabilitate watersheds,
nonindustrial private forest land, and working agricultural
land adversely affected by natural catastrophic events, by—
‘‘(1) providing a source of assistance for restora-
tion of the land back to a productive state;
‘‘(2) preventing further impairment of land and
water, including prevention through the purchase of
floodplain easements; and
‘‘(3) providing further protection of natural re-
sources.
‘‘(c) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting through
the Natural Resources Conservation Service, shall carry out
an emergency landscape restoration program under which
technical assistance and cost-share payments are made
available to eligible recipients to carry out remedial activi-
ties to restore landscapes damaged by—
‘‘(1) fire;
‘‘(2) drought;
‘‘(3) flood;
‘‘(4) hurricane force or excessive winds;
‘‘(5) ice storms or blizzards; or
‘‘(6) other resource-impacting natural events, as
determined by the Secretary.
†
446
HR 2419 EAS
‘‘(d) PRIORITIZATION.—The Secretary shall provide
the highest priority for those activities that protect human
health and safety.
‘‘(e) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND COST-SHARE PAY-
MENTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide
technical assistance and cost-share payments in
amounts of up to 75 percent of the cost of remedial
activities described in paragraph (2) to rehabilitate
watersheds, nonindustrial private forest land, and
working agricultural land.
‘‘(2) REMEDIAL
ACTIVITIES.—Remedial activi-
ties that are eligible for technical assistance and cost-
share payments under this section include—
‘‘(A) removal of debris from streams, agri-
cultural land, and nonindustrial forest land,
including—
‘‘(i) the restoration of natural hydrol-
ogy; and
‘‘(ii) the removal of barriers for aquat-
ic species;;
‘‘(B) 
restoration 
of 
destabilized
streambanks;
‘‘(C) establishment of cover on critically
eroding land;
†
447
HR 2419 EAS
‘‘(D) restoration of fences;
‘‘(E) construction of conservation structures;
‘‘(F) provision of water for livestock in
drought situations;
‘‘(G) rehabilitation of farm or ranch land;
‘‘(H) restoration of damaged nonindustrial
private forest land, including—
‘‘(i) the removal of damaged standing
trees and downed timber; and
‘‘(ii) site preparation, tree planting,
direct seeding, and firebreaks;
‘‘(I) the carrying out of emergency water
conservation measures;
‘‘(J) restoration of wildlife habitat and cor-
ridors;
‘‘(K) livestock carcass removal and disposal;
and
‘‘(L) such other remedial activities as are
determined by the Secretary.
‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out
this section such sums as are necessary for each of fiscal
years 2008 through 2012, to remain available until ex-
pended.
†
448
HR 2419 EAS
‘‘(g) TEMPORARY ADMINISTRATION
OF EMERGENCY
LANDSCAPE RESTORATION PROGRAM.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—During the period beginning
on the date of enactment of this section and ending
on the termination date described in paragraph (2),
to ensure that technical assistance, cost-share pay-
ments, and other payments continue to be adminis-
tered in an orderly manner until the date on which
final regulations are promulgated to implement the
emergency landscape restoration program, the Sec-
retary shall, to the extent the terms and conditions of
the programs described in clauses (i) and (ii) of sub-
paragraph (A) are consistent with the emergency
landscape restoration program, continue to—
‘‘(A) provide technical assistance, cost-share
payments, and other payments under the terms
and conditions of—
‘‘(i) the emergency conservation pro-
gram established under title IV of the Agri-
cultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2201
et seq.); and
‘‘(ii) the emergency watershed protec-
tion program established under section 403
of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16
U.S.C. 2203); and
†
449
HR 2419 EAS
‘‘(B) use for those purposes—
‘‘(i) any funds made available under
those programs; and
‘‘(ii) as the Secretary determines to be
necessary, any funds made available to
carry out the emergency landscape restora-
tion program.
‘‘(2) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—The author-
ity of the Secretary to carry out paragraph (1) shall
terminate on the effective date of final regulations to
implement the emergency landscape restoration pro-
gram.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(1) Effective on the effective date of final regula-
tions to implement the emergency landscape restora-
tion program under section 1240R of the Food Secu-
rity Act of 1985 (as added by subsection (a)), title IV
of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C.
2201 et seq.) is repealed.
(2) Section 1211(a)(3)(C) of the Food Security
Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3811(a)(3)(C)) is amended by
inserting ‘‘section 1240R or’’ after ‘‘a payment
under’’.
(3) Section 1221(b)(3)(C) of the Food Security
Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3821(b)(3)(C)) is amended by
†
450
HR 2419 EAS
inserting ‘‘section 1240R or’’ after ‘‘A payment
under’’.
SEC. 2399. VOLUNTARY PUBLIC ACCESS AND HABITAT IN-
CENTIVE PROGRAM.
Chapter 5 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security
Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb et seq.) (as amended by sec-
tion 2387(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘SEC. 1240S. VOLUNTARY PUBLIC ACCESS AND HABITAT IN-
CENTIVE PROGRAM.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a
voluntary public access program under which States and
tribal governments may apply for grants to encourage own-
ers and operators of privately-held farm, ranch, and forest
land to voluntarily make that land available for access by
the public for wildlife-dependent recreation, including hunt-
ing or fishing under programs administered by the States
and tribal governments.
‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS.—In submitting applications for a
grant under the program, a State or tribal government shall
describe—
‘‘(1) the benefits that the State or tribal govern-
ment intends to achieve by encouraging public access
to private farm and ranch land for—
‘‘(A) hunting and fishing; and
†
451
HR 2419 EAS
‘‘(B) to the maximum extent practicable,
other recreational purposes; and
‘‘(2) the methods that will be used to achieve
those benefits.
‘‘(c) PRIORITY.—In approving applications and
awarding grants under the program, the Secretary shall
give priority to States and tribal governments that
propose—
‘‘(1) to maximize participation by offering a
program the terms of which are likely to meet with
widespread acceptance among landowners;
‘‘(2) to ensure that land enrolled under the State
or tribal government program has appropriate wild-
life habitat;
‘‘(3) to strengthen wildlife habitat improvement
efforts on land enrolled in a special conservation re-
serve enhancement program described in section
1234(f)(3) by providing incentives to increase public
hunting and other recreational access on that land;
‘‘(4) to use additional Federal, State, tribal gov-
ernment, or private resources in carrying out the pro-
gram; and
‘‘(5) to make available to the public the location
of land enrolled.
†
452
HR 2419 EAS
‘‘(d) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in
this section preempts a State or tribal government law (in-
cluding any State or tribal government liability law).
‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall promulgate
such regulations as are necessary to carry out this section.’’.
Subtitle E—Funding and
Administration
SEC. 2401. FUNDING AND ADMINISTRATION.
Section 1241(a) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16
U.S.C. 3841(a)) is amended—
(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by
striking ‘‘2007’’ and inserting ‘‘2012’’; and
(2) by striking paragraphs (3) through (7) and
inserting the following:
‘‘(3) The conservation security program under
subchapter A of chapter 2, using $2,317,000,000 to
administer contracts entered into as of the day before
the date of enactment of the Food and Energy Secu-
rity Act of 2007, to remain available until expended.
‘‘(4) The conservation stewardship program
under subchapter B of chapter 6.
‘‘(5) The farmland protection program under
subchapter B of chapter 2, using, to the maximum ex-
tent practicable, $97,000,000 for each of fiscal years
2008 through 2012.
†
453
HR 2419 EAS
‘‘(6) The grassland reserve program under sub-
chapter C of chapter 2, using, to the maximum extent
practicable, $240,000,000 for the period of fiscal years
2008 through 2012.
‘‘(7) The environmental quality incentives pro-
gram under chapter 4, using, to the maximum extent
practicable—
‘‘(A) $1,270,000,000 for each of fiscal years
2008 and 2009; and
‘‘(B) $1,300,000,000 for each of fiscal years
2010 through 2012.
‘‘(8) The wildlife habitat incentives program
under section 1240N, using, to the maximum extent
practicable, $85,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008
through 2012.
‘‘(9) The voluntary public access program under
section 1240S, using, to the maximum extent prac-
ticable, $20,000,000 in each of fiscal years 2008
through 2012.’’.
SEC. 2402. REGIONAL EQUITY.
Section 1241 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16
U.S.C. 3841) is amended by striking subsection (d) and in-
serting the following:
‘‘(d) REGIONAL EQUITY.—
†
454
HR 2419 EAS
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Before April 1 of each fiscal
year, the Secretary shall give priority for funding
under the conservation programs under subtitle D
and the agricultural management assistance program
under section 524(b) of the Federal Crop Insurance
Act (7 U.S.C. 1524(b)) (excluding the conservation re-
serve program under subchapter B of chapter 1 and
the wetlands reserve program under subchapter C of
chapter 1) to approved applications in any State that
has not received, for the fiscal year, an aggregate
amount of at least $15,000,000 for those conservation
programs.
‘‘(e) SPECIFIC FUNDING ALLOCATIONS.—In deter-
mining the specific funding allocations for each State under
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consider the respective
demand for each program in each State.
‘‘(f) ALLOCATIONS REVIEW AND UPDATE.—
‘‘(1) REVIEW.—Not later than January 1, 2012,
the Secretary shall conduct a review of conservation
program allocation formulas to determine the suffi-
ciency of the formulas in accounting for State-level
economic factors, level of agricultural infrastructure,
or related factors that affect conservation program
costs.
†
455
HR 2419 EAS
‘‘(2) UPDATE.—The Secretary shall improve con-
servation program allocation formulas as necessary to
ensure that the formulas adequately reflect the costs of
carrying out the conservation programs.’’.
SEC. 2403. CONSERVATION ACCESS.
Section 1241 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16
U.S.C. 3841) (as amended by section 2402) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
‘‘(g) CONSERVATION ACCESS.—
‘‘(1) ASSISTANCE
TO
ELIGIBLE
FARMERS
OR
RANCHERS.—
‘‘(A) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE FARMER OR
RANCHER.—In this paragraph, the term ‘eligible
farmer or rancher’ means a farmer or rancher
that, as determined by the Secretary—
‘‘(i) derives or expects to derive at least
$15,000 in gross sales from agriculture (not
including payments under the conservation
reserve program established under sub-
chapter B of chapter 1 of subtitle D); and
‘‘(ii) is—
‘‘(I) a beginning farmer or ranch-
er (as defined in section 343 of the
Consolidated Farm and Rural Devel-
opment Act (7 U.S.C. 1991)), except
†
456
HR 2419 EAS
that in determining whether the farmer
or rancher qualifies as a beginning
farmer 
or 
rancher, 
the 
Secretary
may—
‘‘(aa) employ a fair and rea-
sonable test of net worth; and
‘‘(bb) use such other criteria
as the Secretary determines to be
appropriate; or
‘‘(II) a socially disadvantaged
farmer or rancher (as defined in sec-
tion 355(e) of the Consolidated Farm
and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C.
2003(e)).
‘‘(B) ASSISTANCE.—In the case of each pro-
gram described in subsection (a), except as pro-
vided in paragraph (2), for each fiscal year in
which funding is made available for the pro-
gram, 10 percent of the funds available for the
fiscal year shall be used by the Secretary to as-
sist eligible farmers or ranchers.
‘‘(2) ACREAGE PROGRAMS.—In the case of the
conservation reserve and wetlands reserve programs,
10 percent of the acreage authorized to be enrolled in
†
457
HR 2419 EAS
any fiscal year shall be used to assist eligible farmers
or ranchers.
‘‘(3) REPOOLING.—In any fiscal year, amounts
not obligated under this subsection by a date deter-
mined by the Secretary shall be available for pay-
ments and technical assistance to all persons eligible
for payments or technical assistance in that fiscal
year under the program for which the amounts were
originally made available under this title.
‘‘(4) 
CONSERVATION
INNOVATION
GRANTS.—
Funding under paragraph (1) for conservation inno-
vation grants under section 1240H may, in addition
to purposes described in subsection (b) of that section,
be used for—
‘‘(A) technology transfer;
‘‘(B) farmer-to-farmer workshops; and
‘‘(C) demonstrations of innovative conserva-
tion practices.
‘‘(5) TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary
shall offer, to the maximum extent practicable, higher
levels of technical assistance to beginning farmers or
ranchers and socially disadvantaged farmers or
ranchers than are otherwise made available to pro-
ducers participating in programs under this title.
†
458
HR 2419 EAS
‘‘(6) COOPERATIVE
AGREEMENTS.—The Sec-
retary may develop and implement cooperative agree-
ments with entities (including government agencies,
extension entities, nongovernmental and community-
based organizations, and educational institutions)
with expertise in addressing the needs of beginning
farmers or ranchers and socially disadvantaged farm-
ers or ranchers to provide technical assistance, com-
prehensive conservation planning education, and sus-
tainable agriculture training.’’.
SEC. 2404. DELIVERY OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.
Section 1242 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16
U.S.C. 3842) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 1242. DELIVERY OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.
‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANT.—In this
section, the term ‘eligible participant’ means—
‘‘(1) an agricultural producer;
‘‘(2) an eligible entity;
‘‘(3) an eligible landowner; and
‘‘(4) an interested organization.
‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of technical assistance
authorized by this title is to provide eligible participants
with consistent, science-based, site-specific practices de-
signed to achieve conservation objectives on land active in
agricultural, forestry, or related uses.
†
459
HR 2419 EAS
‘‘(c) PROVISION
OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The
Secretary shall provide technical assistance under this title
to an eligible participant—
‘‘(1) directly;
‘‘(2) through a contract or agreement with a
third-party provider; or
‘‘(3) at the option of the eligible participant,
through a payment, as determined by the Secretary,
to the eligible participant for an approved third-
party provider, if available.
‘‘(d) CERTIFICATION OF THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall continue
to carry out the technical service provider program
established under regulations promulgated under sub-
section (b)(1) (as in existence on the day before the
date of enactment of this subsection).
‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the technical
service provider program shall be to increase the
availability and range of technical expertise available
to farmers, ranchers, and eligible landowners to plan
and implement conservation measures.
‘‘(3) EXPERTISE.—In promulgating regulations
to carry out this subsection, the Secretary shall—
‘‘(A) ensure that persons with expertise in
the technical aspects of conservation planning,
†
460
HR 2419 EAS
watershed planning, and environmental engi-
neering (including commercial entities, nonprofit
entities, State or local governments or agencies,
and other Federal agencies) are eligible to be-
come approved providers of the technical assist-
ance; and
‘‘(B) to the maximum extent practicable—
‘‘(i) provide national criteria for the
certification of technical service providers;
and
‘‘(ii) approve any unique certification
standards established at the State level.
‘‘(4) SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION.—
‘‘(A) FUNDING.—Effective for fiscal year
2008 and each subsequent fiscal year, funds of
the Commodity Credit Corporation that are
made available to carry out each of the programs
specified in section 1241 shall be available for
the provision of technical assistance from third-
party providers under this section.
‘‘(B) CONTRACT TERM.—A contract under
this section shall have a term that—
‘‘(i) at a minimum, is equal to the
period—