I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1689
To amend the Food Security Act of 1985, to establish a grassland reserve
program to assist owners in restoring and conserving grassland.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 2, 2001
Mr. SCHAFFER (for himself, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. DEAL of Geor-
gia, Mr. CLEMENT, Mr. MCINNIS, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. DOOLEY of Cali-
fornia, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Mr. SHOWS, Mr. HILL-
IARD, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr.
OTTER, and Mr. WICKER) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Agriculture
A BILL
To amend the Food Security Act of 1985, to establish a
grassland reserve program to assist owners in restoring
and conserving grassland.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Grassland Reserve
Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Vast grassland once provided critical habi-
tat for complex plant and animal communities
throughout much of North America.
(2) Today, grassland areas have been largely
converted to other uses, threatening and eliminating
plant and animal communities unique to North
America.
(3) A significant portion of the remaining
grassland is on working ranches.
(4) Ranchers have an economic interest in pre-
serving the remaining grassland as forage for their
livestock.
(5) Many ranchers are also concerned about
losing the open spaces and ‘‘big sky’’ central to the
ranching way of life.
(6) Apart from the loss of grassland, ranches
themselves have steadily disappeared through the
years and are likely to disappear at a faster rate in
the immediate decade as a generation of ranchers
reach retirement age.
(7) Ranch land provides important open-space
buffers for animal and plant habitat.
(8) Ranching forms the economic backbone for
much of the rural area of the western United States.
(9) Currently, there are no Federal programs
that conserve grassland, ranch land, or other land
with comparable high resource value, other than wet-
land, on a national scale.
(10) A grassland reserve program would pro-
vide important economic assistance to ranchers and
other agricultural producers who may be struggling
financially and who may voluntarily decide that par-
ticipating in the program would be to their advan-
tage.
SEC. 3. GRASSLAND RESERVE PROGRAM.
Chapter 1 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Secu-
rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3830 et seq.) is amended by
adding at the end the following new subchapter:
‘‘Subchapter D—Grassland Reserve Program
‘‘SEC. 1238. GRASSLAND RESERVE PROGRAM.
‘‘(a) 
ESTABLISHMENT.—The 
Secretary, 
acting
through the Natural Resource Conservation Service, shall
establish a grassland reserve program (referred to in this
subchapter as the ‘program’) to assist owners in restoring
and conserving eligible land described in subsection (c).
‘‘(b) ENROLLMENT CONDITIONS.—
‘‘(1) MAXIMUM ENROLLMENT.—The total num-
ber of acres enrolled in the program shall not exceed
1,000,000 acres.
‘‘(2) METHODS
OF
ENROLLMENT.—The Sec-
retary shall enroll in the program for a willing owner
not less than 100 contiguous acres of land west of
the 90th meridian or not less than 50 contiguous
acres of land east of the 90th meridian through—
‘‘(A) permanent easements or 30-year
easements; or
‘‘(B) in a State that imposes a maximum
duration for such an easement, an easement for
the maximum duration allowed under State law.
‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE LAND.—Land shall be eligible to be
enrolled in the program if the Secretary determines that
the land is—
‘‘(1) natural grass or shrubland;
‘‘(2) land that—
‘‘(A) is located in an area that has been
historically dominated by natural grass or
shrubland; and
‘‘(B) has potential to serve as habitat for
animal or plant populations of significant eco-
logical value if the land is restored to natural
grass or shrubland; or
‘‘(3) land that is incidental to land described in
paragraph (1) or (2), if that incidental land is deter-
mined by the Secretary to be necessary for the effi-
cient administration of the easement.
‘‘SEC. 1238A. EASEMENTS AND AGREEMENTS.
‘‘(a) REQUIREMENTS OF LANDOWNER.—To be eligi-
ble to enroll land in the program, the owner of the land
shall—
‘‘(1) grant an easement that runs with the land
to the Secretary;
‘‘(2) create and record an appropriate deed re-
striction in accordance with applicable State law to
reflect the easement;
‘‘(3) provide a written statement of consent to
the easement signed by persons holding a security
interest or any vested interest in the land;
‘‘(4) provide proof of unencumbered title to the
underlying fee interest in the land that is the subject
of the easement;
‘‘(5) agree to comply with the terms of the
easement and related restoration agreements; and
‘‘(6) agree to the permanent retirement of any
existing cropland base and allotment history for the
land under any program administered by the Sec-
retary.
‘‘(b) TERMS OF EASEMENT.—An easement under
subsection (a) shall—
‘‘(1) permit—
‘‘(A) common grazing practices on the land
in a manner that is consistent with maintaining
the viability of natural grass and shrub species
indigenous to that locality;
‘‘(B) haying, mowing, or haying for seed
production, except that such uses shall not be
permitted until after the end of the nesting sea-
son for birds in the local area which are in sig-
nificant decline or are conserved pursuant to
State or Federal law, as determined by the Nat-
ural Resources Conservation Service State con-
servationist; and
‘‘(C) construction of fire breaks and
fences, including placement of the posts nec-
essary for fences;
‘‘(2) prohibit—
‘‘(A) the production of row-crops, fruit
trees, vineyards, or any other agricultural com-
modity that requires breaking the soil surface;
and
‘‘(B) the conduct of any other activities
that would disturb the surface of the land cov-
ered by the easement, including—
‘‘(i) plowing; and
‘‘(ii) disking; and
‘‘(3) include such additional provisions as the
Secretary determines are appropriate to carry out or
facilitate the administration of this subchapter.
‘‘(c) RANKING EASEMENT APPLICATIONS.—
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF CRITERIA.—The Sec-
retary, in conjunction with State technical commit-
tees, shall establish criteria to evaluate and rank ap-
plications for easements under this subchapter.
‘‘(2) EMPHASIS.—In establishing the criteria,
the Secretary shall emphasize support for native
grass and shrubland, grazing operations, and plant
and animal biodiversity.
‘‘(d) RESTORATION AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary
shall prescribe the terms by which grassland that is sub-
ject to an easement under the program shall be restored.
The agreement shall include duties of the land owner and
the Secretary, including the Federal share of restoration
payments and technical assistance.
‘‘(e) VIOLATIONS.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—On the violation of the
terms or conditions of an easement or restoration
agreement entered into under this section—
‘‘(A) the easement shall remain in force;
and
‘‘(B) the Secretary may require the owner
to refund all or part of any payments received
by the owner under this subchapter, with inter-
est on the payments as determined appropriate
by the Secretary.
‘‘(2) PERIODIC
INSPECTIONS.—The Secretary
shall conduct periodic inspections of land subject to
easements under this subchapter to ensure that the
terms of the easements and restoration agreements
are being met, after providing the landowner ade-
quate notice of inspections. The Secretary may not
prohibit the landowner or a representative of the
landowner from being present during inspections.
‘‘SEC. 1238B. DUTIES OF SECRETARY.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In return for the granting of an
easement by an owner under this subchapter, the Sec-
retary shall make easement payments and payments of the
Federal share of restoration and provide technical assist-
ance to the owner in accordance with this section.
‘‘(b) EASEMENT PAYMENTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In return for the granting
of an easement by an owner under this subchapter,
the Secretary shall make easement payments to the
owner in an amount equal to—
‘‘(A) in the case of a permanent easement,
the fair market value of the land less the graz-
ing value of the land encumbered by the ease-
ment; and
‘‘(B) in the case of a 30-year easement or
an easement for the maximum duration allowed
under applicable State law, 30 percent of the
fair market value of the land less the grazing
value of the land for the period that the land
is encumbered by the easement.
‘‘(2) PAYMENT
SCHEDULE.—Easement pay-
ments may be provided in not less than one payment
nor more than 10 annual payments of equal or un-
equal amount, as agreed to by the Secretary and the
owner.
‘‘(c) FEDERAL SHARE OF RESTORATION.—The Sec-
retary shall make payments to the owner of not more than
75 percent of the costs of carrying out measures and prac-
tices necessary to restore grassland functions and values.
‘‘(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide
owners with technical assistance to execute easement
documents and restore the grassland.
‘‘(2) REIMBURSEMENT BY COMMODITY CREDIT
CORPORATION.—The Commodity Credit Corporation
shall reimburse the Secretary, acting through the
Natural Resources Conservation Service, for not
more than 10 percent of the cost of acquisition of
easement and the Federal share of the restoration
payments obligated for that fiscal year.
‘‘(e) PAYMENTS TO OTHERS.—If an owner who is en-
titled to a payment under this subchapter dies, becomes
incompetent, is otherwise unable to receive the payment,
or is succeeded by another person who renders or com-
pletes the required performance, the Secretary shall make
the payment, in accordance with regulations promulgated
by the Secretary and without regard to any other provision
of law, in such manner as the Secretary determines is fair
and reasonable in light of all the circumstances.
‘‘(f) OTHER PAYMENTS.—Easement payments re-
ceived by an owner under this subchapter shall be in addi-
tion to, and not affect, the total amount of payments that
the owner is otherwise eligible to receive under other Fed-
eral laws.
‘‘SEC. 1238C. ADMINISTRATION.
‘‘(a) DELEGATION TO PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS OR
STATE AGENCIES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall permit
a private conservation or land trust organization or
a State agency to hold and enforce an easement
under this subchapter, in lieu of the Secretary, if—
‘‘(A) the Secretary determines that grant-
ing such permission is likely to promote grass-
land conservation; and
‘‘(B) the landowner agrees to allow the pri-
vate conservation or land trust organization or
a State agency to hold and enforce the ease-
ment.
‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—An organization that de-
sires to hold an easement under this subchapter
shall apply to the Secretary for approval.
‘‘(3) APPROVAL
BY
SECRETARY.—The Sec-
retary shall approve an organization under this sub-
chapter that is constituted for conservation or
ranching purposes and is competent to administer
grassland easements.
‘‘(4) REASSIGNMENT.—If an organization hold-
ing an easement on land under this subchapter
terminates—
‘‘(A) the owner of the land shall reassign
the easement to another organization described
in paragraph (1) or to the Secretary; and
‘‘(B) the owner and the new organization
shall notify the Secretary in writing that a reas-
signment for termination has been made.
‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after
the date of enactment of this subchapter, the Secretary
shall issue such regulations as are necessary to carry out
this subchapter.’’.
SEC. 4. FUNDING.
Section 1241(a)(2) of the Food Security Act of 1985
(16 U.S.C. 3841(a)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘sub-
chapter C’’ and inserting ‘‘subchapters C and D’’.
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