| Grassland Reserve Act
(Introduced in the House)
HR 1689 IH
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 Georgia, Mr. Clement, Mr. McInnis,
Mr. Sessions, Mr. Dooley of California, Ms. DeGette, Mr. Udall of Colorado,
Mr. Shows, Mr. Hilliard, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. Boucher, Mr.
Simpson, Mr. Otter, and Mr. Wicker) introduced the following bill; which
was referred 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 Representatives 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 habitat 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 preserving 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 wetland, on a national
scale.
(10) A grassland reserve
program would provide important economic assistance to ranchers and other
agricultural producers who may be struggling financially and who may voluntarily
decide that participating in the program would be to their advantage.
SEC. 3. GRASSLAND RESERVE PROGRAM.
Chapter 1 of subtitle D
of title XII of the Food Security 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 number of acres enrolled in the program shall not exceed 1,000,000
acres.
`(2) METHODS OF ENROLLMENT-
The Secretary 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;
`(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 ecological 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 determined
by the Secretary to be necessary for the efficient administration of the
easement.
`SEC. 1238A. EASEMENTS AND AGREEMENTS.
`(a) REQUIREMENTS OF LANDOWNER-
To be eligible 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 restriction 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 Secretary.
`(b) TERMS OF EASEMENT-
An easement under subsection (a) shall--
`(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 season for birds in the local area which
are in significant decline or are conserved pursuant to State or Federal
law, as determined by the Natural Resources Conservation Service State
conservationist; and
`(C) construction of fire
breaks and fences, including placement of the posts necessary for fences;
`(A) the production of row-crops,
fruit trees, vineyards, or any other agricultural commodity that requires
breaking the soil surface; and
`(B) the conduct of any
other activities that would disturb the surface of the land covered by
the easement, including--
`(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 Secretary, in conjunction with State technical committees, shall establish
criteria to evaluate and rank applications 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 subject
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.
`(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 interest 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 adequate 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
Secretary shall make easement payments and payments of the Federal share
of restoration and provide technical assistance to the owner in accordance
with this section.
`(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 grazing value of the
land encumbered by the easement; 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
payments may be provided in not less than one payment nor more than 10
annual payments of equal or unequal amount, as agreed to by the Secretary
and the owner.
`(c) FEDERAL SHARE OF RESTORATION-
The Secretary shall make payments to the owner of not more than 75 percent
of the costs of carrying out measures and practices 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 entitled 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 completes 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 received by an owner under this subchapter shall be in addition
to, and not affect, the total amount of payments that the owner is otherwise
eligible to receive under other Federal 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 granting such permission is likely to promote grassland conservation;
and
`(B) the landowner agrees
to allow the private conservation or land trust organization or a State
agency to hold and enforce the easement.
`(2) APPLICATION- An organization
that desires to hold an easement under this subchapter shall apply to the
Secretary for approval.
`(3) APPROVAL BY SECRETARY-
The Secretary shall approve an organization under this subchapter that
is constituted for conservation or ranching purposes and is competent to
administer grassland easements.
`(4) REASSIGNMENT- If an
organization holding 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 reassignment
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
`subchapter C' and inserting `subchapters C and D'.
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