12 2 STA T . 1 078PUBLIC LA W 110 – 2 34—M A Y 22 , 2008 ‘ ‘ (2)EXCLUDE D PROG R AMS.—TheInit i a ti v e s ha l ln o tin c l ud e the f ollo w in gpr ogra m s
‘‘( A ) C onservation reserve program. ‘‘( B ) W etlands reserve program. ‘‘(C) F armland protection program ‘‘( D ) G rassland reserve program. ‘‘(d) EL I GI B LE P AR TN ERS.—The S ecretar y may enter into a part - nership under the Initiative with one or more of the following: ‘‘( 1 ) States and local governments. ‘‘(2) Indian tri b es. ‘‘( 3 ) Producer associations. ‘‘( 4 ) Farmer cooperatives. ‘‘( 5 ) Institutions of higher education. ‘‘( 6 ) N ongovernmental organi z ations with a history of wor k ing cooperatively with producers to effectively address con- servation priorities related to agricultural production and non- industrial private forest land. ‘‘(e) IMPLEMENTATION AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary shall carry out the Initiative— ‘‘(1) by selecting , through a competitive process, eligible partners from among applications submitted under subsection (f)
and ‘‘(2) by entering into multi-year agreements with eligible partners so selected for a period not to e x ceed 5 years. ‘‘(f) APPLICATIONS.— ‘‘(1) R E Q UIRED IN F ORMATION.—An application to enter into a partnership agreement under the Initiative shall include the following: ‘‘(A) A description of the area covered by the agreement, conservation priorities in the area, conservation ob j ectives to be achieved, and the expected level of participation by agricultural producers and nonindustrial private forest landowners. ‘‘(B) A description of the partner, or partners, collabo- rating to achieve the objectives of the agreement, and the roles, responsibilities, and capabilities of the partner. ‘‘(C) A description of the resources that are re q uested from the Secretary, and the non-Federal resources that will be leveraged by the Federal contribution. ‘‘(D) A description of the plan for monitoring, evalu- ating, and reporting on progress made towards achieving the objectives of the agreement. ‘‘(E) Such other information that may be required by the Secretary. ‘‘(2) PRIORITIES.—The Secretary shall give priority to applications for agreements that— ‘‘(A) have a high percentage of producers involved and working agricultural or nonindustrial private forest land included in the area covered by the agreement; ‘‘(B) significantly leverage non-Federal financial and technical resources and coordinate with other local, State, or Federal efforts; ‘‘(C) deliver high percentages of applied conservation to address water quality, water conservation, or State, regional, or national conservation initiatives;
�
