It was first authorized as a pilot program in Title XI of the FY2001 agriculture appropriations legislation (P.L. 106-387) to enroll up to 500,000 acres (2,000 km2) of farmable wetlands smaller than 5 acres (20,000 m2) in six Upper Midwest states (with no more than 150,000 acres (610 km2) in a single state) into the Conservation Reserve Program. The 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171, Sec. 2101) made this a 2-million-acre (8,100 km2) national program (with an enrollment limit of 100,000 acres (400 km2) per state), and made changes in eligibility requirements, such as increasing the maximum size of eligible wetlands from 5 acres (20,000 m2) to 10 acres (40,000 m2).[2]
