Sec. 2. Findings
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Congress finds that— the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program established by the Secretary of Agriculture under subchapter B of chapter 1 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 ( 16 U.S.C. 3831 et seq.) (referred to in this Act as the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program ) has been successfully used across the United States to protect and restore environmentally sensitive landscapes; the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program targets regionally or nationally significant resource concerns identified by local, State, or Tribal governments, including wildlife habitat, water quality, water conservation and recharge, soil conservation and health, air quality, at-risk species habitat, rare and declining habitat, and drinking water and source water protection;
Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program agreements provide meaningful partnership between the Department of Agriculture and non-Federal partners, such as State or Tribal governments, and nongovernmental organizations, such as farm, conservation, and environmental organizations; Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program agreements tailor conservation practices and incentives under the conservation reserve program established under subchapter B of chapter 1 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 ( 16 U.S.C. 3831 et seq.) to specific geographic target areas to address regionally or nationally significant resource concerns; the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program and other voluntary conservation efforts have helped farmers and ranchers voluntarily implement conservation practices aimed at improving water quality, which may help avoid the need for regulatory requirements aimed at improving water quality; the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program is critical to meeting State and Federal resource protection goals, such as— State nutrient reduction strategies to address hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico; compliance with State watershed implementation plans to restore Chesapeake Bay water quality; voluntary local or regional efforts to protect candidate species habitat to prevent the need to list as endangered species sage-grouse, lesser prairie-chickens, or other species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.);
State water conservation plans, compacts, or other vehicles to protect and recharge overtaxed surface water or groundwater supplies, including the Ogallala Aquifer and the Rio Grande River; and numerous local and State watershed management plans and total maximum daily loads, including the protection of water quality in the Great Lakes and the tributaries of the Great Lakes; a renewed commitment and willingness to play a leadership role is needed from Federal, State, and local partners to increase enrollment in the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program; nongovernmental entities have significant experience in implementing conservation practices and are well positioned to help increase the adoption of Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program conservation practices in agricultural landscapes, depending on the areas of expertise and relationships of the nongovernmental entities; the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program has worked best where strong partnerships are involved; and flexibility and decisionmaking at the local level can facilitate increased landowner participation in voluntary conservation practices and environmental benefits consistent with the purposes of the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program.
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