PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

The Secretary of Agriculture must set up an agricultural conservation easement program to protect eligible land and natural resources by buying easements or other land rights. The program combines three older programs (wetlands, grassland, and farmland protection) as they stood the day before February 7, 2014, and aims to restore and protect wetlands, keep land available for farming by limiting harmful nonfarm uses, and protect grazing and related conservation values.

Title 16, §3865

Conservation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Establishment

The Secretary shall establish an agricultural conservation easement program for the conservation of eligible land and natural resources through easements or other interests in land.

(b)Purposes

The purposes of the program are to—

(1)combine the purposes and coordinate the functions of the wetlands reserve program established under section 3837 of this title, the grassland reserve program established under section 3838n of this title, and the farmland protection program established under section 3838i of this title, as such sections were in effect on the day before February 7, 2014;

(2)restore, protect, and enhance wetlands on eligible land;

(3)protect the agricultural use and future viability, and related conservation values, of eligible land by limiting nonagricultural uses of that land that negatively affect the agricultural uses and conservation values; and

(4)protect grazing uses and related conservation values by restoring or conserving eligible land.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 3837, 3838n, and 3838i of this title, referred to in subsec. (b)(1), were repealed by Pub. L. 113–79, title II, §§ 2703(a), 2704(a), 2705(a), Feb. 7, 2014, 128 Stat. 767, 768.

Amendments

2018—Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2601(1), inserted “that negatively affect the agricultural uses and conservation values” after “uses of that land”. Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 115–334, § 2601(2), substituted “restoring or conserving” for “restoring and conserving”.

§3865 Establishment and Purposes