[Code of Federal Regulations] [Title 7, Volume 10] [Revised as of January 1, 2008] From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access [CITE: 7CFR1415.3] [Page 413-415] TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE CHAPTER XIV--COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE PART 1415_GRASSLAND RESERVE PROGRAM--Table of Contents Sec. 1415.3 Definitions. Administrator means the Administrator of the Farm Service Agency (FSA) or the person delegated authority to act for the Administrator. Chief means the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) or the person delegated authority to act for the Chief. Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) is a Government-owned and operated entity that was created to stabilize, support, and protect farm income and prices. CCC is managed by a Board of Directors, subject to the general supervision and direction of the Secretary of Agriculture, who is an ex-officio director and chairperson of the Board. The Chief and Administrator are Vice Presidents of CCC. CCC provides the funding for GRP, and FSA and NRCS administer the GRP on its behalf. Common grazing practices means those grazing practices, including those related to forage and seed production common to the area of the subject ranching or farming operation, and the application of routine management activities necessary to maintain the viability of forage resources, that are common to the locale of the subject ranching or farming operation. Conservation District means any district or unit of State, tribal, or local government formed under State, tribal, or territorial law for the express purpose of developing and carrying out a local soil and water conservation program. Such district or unit of government may be referred to as a ``conservation district,'' ``soil conservation district,'' ``resource conservation district,'' ``land conservation committee,'' or similar name. Conservation plan means a record of the GRP participants' decisions and supporting information for protection and treatment of a land unit or water as a result of the planning process, that meets NRCS Field Office Technical Guide criteria for each natural resource concern (soil, water, air, plants, and animals) and takes into account economic and social considerations. The plan describes the conservation values of the grassland and schedule of operations and activities required to solve identified natural resource problems and take advantage of opportunities at a conservation management system level. The needs of the participant, the resources, Federal, State, and local requirements will be met by carrying out the plan. Conservation practice means a specified treatment, such as a structural or land management practice, that is planned and applied according to NRCS standards and specifications. Conservation values means those natural resource attributes identified by USDA as having significant importance to maintaining the natural functions and values of the grassland area, including but not limited to, habitat for declining species of grassland-dependent birds and animals. Cultural practice means those practices such as the installation of fences, watering, feeding, and sheltering facilities necessary for the raising of livestock, including related forage and seed production. Department means United States Department of Agriculture. Easement means a conservation easement, which is an interest in land defined and delineated in a deed whereby the landowner conveys certain rights, title, and interests in a property to the United States for the purpose of protecting the grassland and other conservation values of the property. Under GRP, the property rights are conveyed in a ``conservation 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 GRP. [[Page 414]] Enhancement means to increase or improve the viability of grassland resources, including habitat for declining species of grassland- dependent birds and animals. Field Office Technical Guide means the official local NRCS source of resource information and interpretations of guidelines, criteria, and standards for planning and applying conservation treatments and conservation management systems. It contains detailed information for the conservation of soil, water, air, plant, and animal resources applicable to the local area for which it is prepared. Forb means any herbaceous plant other than those in the grass family. Grantor is the term used for the landowner who is transferring land rights to the United States through an easement. Grassland means land on which the vegetation is dominated by grasses, grass-like plants, shrubs, and forbs. The definition of grassland as used in the context of this rule includes shrubland, land that contains forbs, pastureland, and rangeland. Grazing value is a term used in the calculation of compensation for both rental agreements and easements. For easements, this value is determined through an appraisal process. For rental agreements, USDA determines the grazing value based upon an administrative process. Improved grassland, pasture, or rangeland means grazing land permanently producing naturalized forage species that receives varying degrees of periodic cultural treatment to enhance forage quality and yields and is primarily harvested by grazing animals. Landowner means a person or persons holding fee title to the land. Native means a species that is a part of the original fauna or flora of the area. Naturalized means an introduced, desirable forage species that is ecologically adapted to the site and can perpetuate itself in the community without cultural treatment. For the purposes of this regulation, the term ``naturalized'' does not include noxious weeds. Participant means a landowner, operator, or tenant who is a party to a GRP agreement. The term ``agreement'' in this context refers to GRP rental agreements and option agreements to purchase easements. Landowners of land subject to a GRP easement are also considered participants regardless of whether such landowner conveyed the easement to the Federal Government. Pastureland means a land cover/use category of land managed primarily for the production of desirable, introduced, perennial forage plants for grazing animals. Pastureland cover may consist of a single species in a pure stand, a grass mixture, or a grass-legume mixture. Management usually consists of cultural treatments: fertilization, weed control, renovation, and control of grazing. Permanent easement means an easement that lasts in perpetuity. Private land means land that is not owned by a governmental entity. Rangeland means a land cover/use category on which the climax or potential plant cover is composed principally of native grasses, grass- like plants, forbs, or shrubs suitable for grazing and browsing, and introduced forage species that are managed like rangeland. Rangeland includes lands re-vegetated naturally or artificially when routine management of that vegetation is accomplished mainly through manipulation of grazing. This term would include areas where introduced hardy and persistent grasses, such as crested wheatgrass, are planted and such practices as deferred grazing, burning, chaining, and rotational grazing are used, with little or no chemicals or fertilizer being applied. Grasslands, savannas, many wetlands, some deserts, and tundra are considered to be rangeland. Certain communities of low forbs and shrubs, such as mesquite, chaparral, mountain shrub, and pinyon- juniper, are also included as rangeland. Rental agreement means an agreement where the participant will be paid annual rental payments for the length of the agreement to maintain and/or restore grassland functions and values under the Grassland Reserve Program. Restoration means implementing any conservation practice (vegetative, [[Page 415]] management, or structural) that restores functions and values of grassland and shrubland (native and naturalized plant communities). Restoration agreement means an agreement between the program participant and the United States Department of Agriculture to restore or improve the functions and values of grassland and shrubland. Restored grassland means land that is reestablished through vegetative, management, or structural practices, to grassland and shrubland, according to criteria in the NRCS Field Office Technical Guide. Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture. Shrubland means land that the dominant plant species is shrubs, which are plants that are persistent, have woody stems, a relatively low growth habitat, and generally produces several basal shoots instead of a single bole. Significant decline means a decrease of a species population to such an extent that it merits direct intervention to halt further decline, as determined by the NRCS State Conservationist in consultation with the State Technical Committee. Similar function and value means plants that are alike in growth habitat, environmental requirements, and provide substantially the same ecological benefits. State technical committee means a committee established by the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture in a State pursuant to 16 U.S.C. Sec. 3861. USDA means the Chief, NRCS, and the Administrator, FSA.