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‘‘(2) TENANT PROTECTION.—Except for a person
who is a tenant on land that is subject to a conserva-
tion reserve contract that has been extended by the
Secretary, the Secretary shall provide adequate safe-
guards to protect the interests of tenants and share-
croppers, including provisions for sharing, on a fair
and equitable basis, in payments under the programs
established under this subtitle and subtitles B and C.
‘‘(3) PROVISION OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE BY
OTHER SOURCES.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the preparation and
application of a conservation compliance plan
under subtitle B or similar plan required as a
condition for assistance from the Department of
Agriculture, the Secretary shall permit persons
to secure technical assistance from approved
sources, as determined by the Secretary, other
than the Natural Resources Conservation Serv-
ice.
‘‘(B) REJECTION.—If the Secretary rejects a
technical determination made by a source de-
scribed in subparagraph (A), the basis of the de-
termination of the Secretary shall be supported
by documented evidence.
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‘‘(4) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days
after the date of enactment of the Food and Energy
Security Act of 2007, the Secretary shall promulgate
regulations to implement the conservation reserve and
wetlands reserve programs established under this
chapter.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(1) Section 1243 of the Food Security Act of
1985 (16 U.S.C. 3843) is repealed.
(2) Section 1222(g) of the Food Security Act of
1985 (16 U.S.C. 3822(g)) is amended by striking
‘‘1243’’ and inserting ‘‘1230(c)’’.
(3) Section 1231(k)(3)(C)(i) of the Food Security
Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831(k)(3)(C)(i)) is amended
by striking ‘‘1243(b)’’ and inserting ‘‘1230(c)(1)’’.
Subchapter B—Conservation Reserve
SEC. 2311. CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1231(a) of the Food Secu-
rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831(a)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘2007’’ and inserting ‘‘2012’’;
and
(2) by striking ‘‘and wildlife’’ and inserting
‘‘wildlife, and pollinator habitat’’.
(b) ELIGIBLE LAND.—Section 1231(b) of the Food Se-
curity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831(b)) is amended—
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(1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking the period
at the end and inserting a semicolon;
(2) in paragraph (4)—
(A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘; or’’
and inserting a semicolon;
(B) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘and’’
at the end and inserting ‘‘or’’; and
(C) in subparagraph (E), by inserting ‘‘in
the case of alfalfa or other forage crops,’’ before
‘‘enrollment’’;
(3) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at
the end and inserting a semicolon; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(6) marginal pasture land or hay land that is
otherwise ineligible, if the land—
‘‘(A) is to be devoted to native vegetation
appropriate to the ecological site; and
‘‘(B) would contribute to the restoration of
a long-leaf pine forest or other declining forest
ecosystem, as defined by the Secretary; or
‘‘(7) land that is enrolled in the flooded farm-
land program established under section 1235B.’’.
(c) ENROLLMENT.—Section 1231(d) of the Food Secu-
rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831(d)) is amended by striking
‘‘up to’’ and all that follows through ‘‘2007’’ and inserting
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‘‘up to 39,200,000 acres in the conservation reserve at any
1 time during the 2008 through 2012’’.
(d) 
CONSERVATION
PRIORITY
AREAS.—Section
1231(f)(1) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C.
3831(f)(1)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘(Pennsylvania, Maryland, and
Virginia)’’; and
(2) by inserting ‘‘the Prairie Pothole Region, the
Grand Lake St. Mary’s Watershed, the Eastern Snake
Plain Aquifer,’’ after ‘‘Sound Region,’’.
(e) PILOT PROGRAM FOR ENROLLMENT OF WETLAND
AND BUFFER ACREAGE IN CONSERVATION RESERVE.—Sec-
tion 1231 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831)
is amended by striking subsection (h) and inserting the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(h) PILOT PROGRAM FOR ENROLLMENT OF WET-
LAND, SHALLOW WATER AREAS, AND BUFFER ACREAGE IN
CONSERVATION RESERVE.—
‘‘(1) PROGRAM.—
‘‘(A) 
IN
GENERAL.—During 
the 
2008
through 2012 calendar years, the Secretary shall
carry out a program in each State under which
the Secretary shall enroll eligible acreage de-
scribed in paragraph (2).
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‘‘(B) PARTICIPATION AMONG STATES.—The
Secretary shall ensure, to the maximum extent
practicable, that owners and operators in each
State have an equitable opportunity to partici-
pate in the pilot program established under this
subsection.
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ACREAGE.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-
graphs (B) through (E), an owner or operator
may enroll in the conservation reserve under this
subsection—
‘‘(i)(I) a wetland (including a con-
verted 
wetland 
described 
in 
section
1222(b)(1)(A)) that had a cropping history
during at least 3 of the immediately pre-
ceding 10 crop years;
‘‘(II) a shallow water area that was
devoted to a commercial pond-raised aqua-
culture operation any year during the pe-
riod of calendar years 2002 through 2007;
or
‘‘(III) an agriculture drainage water
treatment that receives flow from a row
crop agriculture drainage system and is de-
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signed to provide nitrogen removal in addi-
tion to other wetland functions; and
‘‘(ii) buffer acreage that—
‘‘(I) is contiguous to a wetland or
shallow water area described in clause
(i);
‘‘(II) is used to protect the wet-
land or shallow water area described
in clause (i); and
‘‘(III) is of such width as the Sec-
retary determines is necessary to pro-
tect the wetland or shallow water area
described in clause (i) or to enhance
the wildlife benefits, including through
restriction of bottomland hardwood
habitat, taking into consideration and
accommodating the farming practices
(including the straightening of bound-
aries to accommodate machinery) used
with respect to the cropland that sur-
rounds the wetland or shallow water
area.
‘‘(B) EXCLUSIONS.—Except for a shallow
water area described in paragraph (2)(A)(i), an
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owner or operator may not enroll in the con-
servation reserve under this subsection—
‘‘(i) any wetland, or land on a flood-
plain, that is, or is adjacent to, a perennial
riverine system wetland identified on the
final national wetland inventory map of the
Secretary of the Interior; or
‘‘(ii) in the case of an area that is not
covered by the final national inventory
map, any wetland, or land on a floodplain,
that is adjacent to a perennial stream iden-
tified on a 1–24,000 scale map of the
United States Geological Survey.
‘‘(C) PROGRAM LIMITATIONS.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may
enroll in the conservation reserve under this
subsection not more than—
‘‘(I) 100,000 acres in any 1 State
referred to in paragraph (1); and
‘‘(II) not more than a total of
1,000,000 acres.
‘‘(ii) RELATIONSHIP TO PROGRAM MAX-
IMUM.—Subject to clause (iii), for the pur-
poses of subsection (d), any acreage enrolled
in the conservation reserve under this sub-
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section shall be considered acres maintained
in the conservation reserve.
‘‘(iii) RELATIONSHIP
TO
OTHER
EN-
ROLLED ACREAGE.—Acreage enrolled under
this subsection shall not affect for any fiscal
year the quantity of—
‘‘(I) acreage enrolled to establish
conservation buffers as part of the pro-
gram announced on March 24, 1998
(63 Fed. Reg. 14109); or
‘‘(II) acreage enrolled into the
conservation reserve enhancement pro-
gram announced on May 27, 1998 (63
Fed. Reg. 28965).
‘‘(iv) REVIEW; POTENTIAL INCREASE IN
ENROLLMENT ACREAGE.—Not later than 3
years after the date of enactment of the
Food and Energy Security Act of 2007, the
Secretary shall—
‘‘(I) conduct a review of the pro-
gram under this subsection with re-
spect to each State that has enrolled
land in the program; and
‘‘(II) 
notwithstanding 
clause
(i)(I), increase the number of acres
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that may be enrolled by a State under
clause (i)(I) to not more than 150,000
acres, as determined by the Secretary.
‘‘(D) OWNER OR OPERATOR LIMITATIONS.—
‘‘(i) WETLAND.—
‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Except for a
shallow water area described in para-
graph (2)(A)(i), the maximum size of
any wetland described in subpara-
graph (A)(i) of an owner or operator
enrolled in the conservation reserve
under this subsection shall be 40 con-
tiguous acres.
‘‘(II) COVERAGE.—All acres de-
scribed in subclause (I) (including
acres that are ineligible for payment)
shall be covered by the conservation
contract.
‘‘(ii) BUFFER
ACREAGE.—The max-
imum size of any buffer acreage described
in subparagraph (A)(ii) of an owner or op-
erator enrolled in the conservation reserve
under this subsection shall be determined by
the Secretary in consultation with the State
Technical Committee.
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‘‘(iii) TRACTS.—Except for a shallow
water area described in paragraph (2)(A)(i)
and buffer acreage, the maximum size of
any eligible acreage described in subpara-
graph (A) in a tract (as determined by the
Secretary) of an owner or operator enrolled
in the conservation reserve under this sub-
section shall be 40 acres.
‘‘(3) DUTIES
OF
OWNERS
AND
OPERATORS.—
Under a contract entered into under this subsection,
during the term of the contract, an owner or operator
of a farm or ranch shall agree—
‘‘(A) to restore the hydrology of the wetland
within the eligible acreage to the maximum ex-
tent practicable, as determined by the Secretary;
‘‘(B) to establish vegetative cover (which
may include emerging vegetation in water and
bottomland hardwoods, cypress, and other appro-
priate tree species in shallow water areas) on the
eligible acreage, as determined by the Secretary;
‘‘(C) to a general prohibition of commercial
use of the enrolled land; and
‘‘(D) to carry out other duties described in
section 1232.
‘‘(4) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.—
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‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in
subparagraphs (B) and (C), in return for a con-
tract entered into by an owner or operator under
this subsection, the Secretary shall make pay-
ments based on rental rates for cropland and
provide assistance to the owner or operator in
accordance with sections 1233 and 1234.
‘‘(B) CONTINUOUS SIGNUP.—The Secretary
shall use continuous signup under section
1234(c)(2)(B) to determine the acceptability of
contract offers and the amount of rental pay-
ments under this subsection.
‘‘(C) INCENTIVES.—The amounts payable to
owners and operators in the form of rental pay-
ments under contracts entered into under this
subsection shall reflect incentives that are pro-
vided to owners and operators to enroll
filterstrips in the conservation reserve under sec-
tion 1234.’’.
(f) BALANCE OF NATURAL RESOURCE PURPOSES.—
Section 1231(j) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C.
3831(j)) is amended by striking ‘‘and wildlife’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘wildlife, and pollinator’’.