Establishing priority for enrollment of properties.

CFR · 2024-01-01 · US · Title 7

(a) USDA, at the national level, will provide to NRCS State Conservationists and FSA State Executive Directors, national guidelines for establishing State-specific ranking criteria for selection of applications for funding. (b) NRCS State Conservationists and FSA State Executive Directors, with advice from State Technical Committees, establish criteria to evaluate and rank applications for easement and rental contract enrollment, including applications from eligible entities under § 1415.17, following the guidance established in paragraph (a) of this section. (c) Ranking criteria will emphasize support for: (1) Grazing operations; (2) Protection of grassland, land that contains forbs, and shrubland at the greatest risk from the threat of conversion to uses other than grazing; (3) Plant and animal biodiversity; and (4) In ranking parcels offered by eligible entities, these additional criteria will also be considered— (i) Leveraging of non-Federal funds, and (ii) Entity contributions in excess of 50 percent of the purchase price, as defined in § 1415.3. (d) When funding is available, NRCS State Conservationists and FSA State Executive Directors will periodically select for funding the highest ranked applications, including applications from entities under § 1415.17, based on applicant and land eligibility and the State-developed ranking criteria. (e) NRCS State Conservationists and FSA State Executive Directors may establish separate ranking pools to address, for example, speci

official document · source cfr-2024 · id 7:§ 1415.8