[Code of Federal Regulations] [Title 7, Volume 10] [Revised as of January 1, 2004] From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access [CITE: 7CFR1467.3] [Page 629-630] TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE CHAPTER XIV--COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE PART 1467--WETLANDS RESERVE PROGRAM--Table of Contents Sec. 1467.3 Definitions. The following definitions shall be applicable to this part: Agricultural commodity means any crop planted and produced by annual tilling of the soil or on an annual basis by one trip planters, or alfalfa and other multi-year grasses and legumes in rotation as approved by the Secretary. Land shall be considered planted to an agricultural commodity during a crop year if, as determined by the Department, an action of the Secretary prevented land from being planted to the commodity during the crop year. Chief means the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service or the person delegated authority to act for the Chief. Commenced conversion wetland means a wetland or converted wetland for which the Farm Service Agency has determined that the wetland manipulation was contracted for, started, or for which financial obligation was incurred before December 23, 1985. Conservation District is a subdivision of a State government organized pursuant to applicable State law to promote and undertake actions for the conservation of soil, water, and other natural resources. Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) means the program administered by the Commodity Credit Corporation pursuant to 16 U.S.C. 3831-3836. Contract means the document that specifies the obligations and rights of any person who has been accepted for participation in the program. Converted wetland means a wetland that has been drained, dredged, filled, leveled, or otherwise manipulated (including the removal of woody vegetation, or any activity that results in impairing or reducing the flow, circulation, or reach of water) for the purpose, or that has the effect, of making the production of an agricultural commodity possible if such production would not have been possible but for such action. Cost-share payment means the payment made by the Department to achieve the restoration of the wetland functions and values of the easement area in accordance with the WRPO. Department means the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and includes the Commodity Credit Corporation or any USDA agency or instrumentality delegated program responsibility by the Secretary of Agriculture. Easement means a reserved interest easement which is an interest in land defined and delineated in a deed whereby the landowner conveys all rights, title, and interests in a property to the grantee, but the landowner retains those rights, title, and interests in the property which are specifically reserved to the landowner in the easement deed. Easement area means the land encumbered by an easement. Easement payment means the consideration paid to a landowner for an easement conveyed to the United States under the WRP. Farm Service Agency (FSA) is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture. Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture. [[Page 630]] Landowner means a person or persons having legal ownership of farmland, including those who may be buying farmland under a purchase agreement. Landowner may include all forms of collective ownership including joint tenants, tenants in common, and life tenants and remaindermen in a farm property. Lands substantially altered by flooding means areas where flooding has created wetland hydrologic conditions which, with a high degree of certainty, will develop wetland soil and vegetation characteristics over time. Natural Resources Conservation Service (Department) is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture, formerly called the Soil Conservation Service. Permanent easement means an easement that lasts in perpetuity. Person means an individual, partnership, association, corporation, estate or trust, or other business enterprise or other legal entity and, whenever applicable, a State, a political subdivision of a State, or any agency thereof. Practice means a restoration measure necessary or desirable to accomplish the desired program objectives. Riparian areas means areas of land that occur along streams, channels, rivers, and other water bodies. These areas are normally distinctly different from the surrounding lands because of unique soil and vegetation characteristics, may be identified by distinctive vegatative communities which are reflective of soil conditions normally wetter than adjacent soils, and generally provide a corridor for the movement of wildlife. State Technical Committee means a committee established by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in a State pursuant to 16 U.S.C. 3861. For the purposes of the WRP, the State Conservationist will be the chairperson of the State Technical Committee. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is an agency of the United States Department of the Interior. Wetland means land that: (1) Has a predominance of hydric soils; (2) Is inundated or saturated by surface or groundwater at a frequency and duration sufficient to support a prevalence of hydrophytic vegetation typically adapted for life in saturated soil conditions; and (3) Does support a prevalence of such vegetation under normal circumstances. For purposes of WRP, wetland shall also refer to adjacent lands that contribute to wetland functions and values. Wetland functions and values means the hydrological and biological characteristics of wetlands and the socioeconomic value placed upon these characteristics, including: (1) Habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife, in particular at risk species; (2) Protection and improvement of water quality; (3) Attenuation of water flows due to flood; (4) The recharge of ground water; (5) Protection and enhancement of open space and aesthetic quality; (6) Protection of flora and fauna which contributes to the Nation's natural heritage; and (7) Contribution to educational and scientific scholarship. Wetland restoration means the rehabilitation of degraded or lost habitat in a manner such that: (1) The original vegetation community and hydrology are, to the extent practical, re-established; or (2) A community different from what likely existed prior to degradation of the site is established. The hydrology and native self- sustaining vegetation being established will substantially replace original habitat functions and values but does not involve more than 30 percent of the wetland restoration area. WRP means the Wetlands Reserve Program. WRPO means the Wetlands Reserve Plan of Operations. [60 FR 28514, June 1, 1995; 60 FR 33034, June 26, 1995. Redesignated and amended at 61 FR 42141, Aug. 14, 1996]