CDCR Wasco State Prison Agricultural Ground Lease Opportunity

The California Department of General Services (DGS) on the behalf of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), collectively referred to as ¿State¿, welcomes farming and land management lease proposals for approximately 353.4 acres at Wasco State Prison (WSP). The CDCR identified State-owned land available for farming activities at WSP. The current land use includes a farming operation utilizing approximately 273 acres to grow, rotate, maintain, and harvest sellable fodder crops. The WSP land available for farming is identified in ¿Attachment A¿ (WSP Farmable Land). This opportunity requires Bidders to submit a ¿Sustainable Land Management Plan¿ (SLMP), the terms of which are negotiable provided the plan includes farming and land management activities on all WSP open space, identified in ¿Attachment B¿ (WSP Open Space). Bidders are not required to lease the WSP Open Space in its entirety, but the SLMP must identify WSP Open Space as being managed and maintained by the Lessee. A Bidder will be considered a ¿Qualified Bidder¿ after meeting all the Bidder requirements outlined in this RFP including, but not limited to, following instructions for submission, meeting established timelines, clearing a security background check, attending the mandatory walkthrough, and providing a SLMP that identifies how the Lessee will: 1) manage the WSP Open Space in its entirety to eliminate maintenance and weed abatement costs for CDCR; and 2) Identify the Lessee¿s plan to grow, rotate, maintain, and harvest sellable fodder crops. Irrigation water is sourced by WSP recycled effluent disposal. The State does not guarantee water availability, quality, or quantity. The State requires the Lessee to provide comprehensive, sustainable land management, and maintenance. Land management shall include weed abatement for fire control and mosquito abatement on all WSP Open Space, whether farmed, grazed, vacant, leased, or not leased.