Natural Resources Conservation Service January 14, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On May 17, 2006, NRCS published an interim final rule for the Healthy Forests Reserve Program (HFRP) and received 11 comment letters. NRCS proposes to amend this rule to incorporate changes associated with enactment of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (the 2008 Act). The 2008 Act authorizes $9,750,000 for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 2012 to carry out the program. As a result of the 2008 Act, NRCS will allow land enrollment through permanent easements, or easements for a maximum duration allowed under state law and continue to allow enrollment through 10-year cost-share agreements; and allow enrollment of land owned by tribes or members of tribes in 30-year contracts or 10-year cost-share agreements, or any combination of both. Forty percent of program expenditures in any fiscal year will be used for restoration cost-share agreement enrollment and 60 percent of program expenditures in any fiscal year will be for easement enrollment. In addition to changes associated with the 2008 Act, NRCS is addressing comments received on the interim final rule and proposing additional changes that improve program implementation based on the experience gained from the HRFP implementation under the interim final rule.