Cattle Lease on Dinner Island Ranch WMA, CaraCara Unit

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is issuing an Invitation to Bid for cattle grazing services on the Dinner Island Ranch Wildlife Management Area, Caracara Unit, comprising 16,868 acres in Hendry County, Florida. The primary objective is to utilize cattle grazing for managing plant community composition and structure across the property. Prospective bidders must attend a mandatory pre-bid conference call on April 16, 2026, at 10:00 AM ET and conduct a mandatory site visit to the property located at 27600 Dooley Grade Road, Clewiston, Florida 33440. Written questions must be submitted by April 23, 2026, at 5:00 PM ET, with responses posted by April 28, 2026. Sealed bids are due May 5, 2026, at 2:30 PM ET, with public opening conducted the same day and an anticipated award date of May 8, 2026. Bidders must provide annual pricing per animal grazing unit for both the initial five-year term and the potential five-year renewal term, with a stocking rate set at 1,053 Animal Units and semi-annual payments. Required qualifications include a minimum of three verifiable references for similar projects, registration in both MyFloridaMarketPlace and the SunBiz system prior to bid opening, and attestation of site visit attendance. The contractor will be evaluated based on the highest bid price submitted and must be deemed responsive and responsible.

The contractor will assume full responsibility for fence maintenance, holding pen maintenance, fire line disking (75 miles disked twice annually), supplemental feeding site rotation, and compliance with wildlife mitigation guidelines for imperiled species, with subcontracting not permitted. A performance bond is required, calculated based on total annual income plus estimated fence maintenance costs of $10,000 annually and fire line disking costs at $60 per mile, rounded to the nearest $5,000 increment. The contract term spans five years from execution or August 6, 2026, whichever is later, with an option to renew for an additional five-year period under the same terms and conditions. No incumbent contractor information has been provided in the documentation, nor have specific set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises been identified. The bid documentation does not specify a budget range or award value; instead, the contract will be awarded to the bidder offering the highest annual pricing per animal grazing unit, with financial terms varying based on submitted proposals.