Specifications include, but are not limited to: A. Marking Ownership. The Contractor shall mark all cattle with the Contractor’s brand, tag, or other owner identification before releasing the cattle for grazing on the above Commission land. The Contractor shall mark all calves born in the grazing lands at the first gathering after their births, which shall be undertaken within six months of such births. All cattle grazed under this Contract shall be the property of the Contractor and therefore the sole responsibility of the Contractor. B. Fence Maintenance and Holding Pens. The Contractor shall maintain all grazing lands, exterior and interior fences, cattle guards and holding pens in good and operable condition. The Contractor shall preform necessary fence replacement and repair in accordance with specifications for fence construction detailed in Exhibit I, attached hereto. All fences, gates, and cattle guards must be maintained in a manner to prevent egress of cattle to areas outside the contracted property to the standards of the attached fence specifications (Exhibit 1). Contractor shall maintain all holding pens in good condition and vegetation free. Replacement and\or repair of all posts, cattle guards, gates, holding pens, material and labor shall be the sole and exclusive expense of the Contractor, except stated under “COMMISSION RESPONSIBILITIES”. The fencing shall be inspected regularly including one complete annual inspection with repairs during the dry season (January – April). The Contractor will provide FWC (Contract Manager and Lead Area Biologist) documentation of the regular and annual inspections including the location of the repairs and what repairs were performed no later than one week after the regular and annual inspection is performed. Each annual inspection must include the tightening of any loose wire, replacement of any missing staples, replacement of any missing or rotten wire, replacement of any rotten posts and rehang any malfunctioning gates. The Contractor shall promptly remove storm debris from fencing and make the appropriate repairs. The Contractor shall relinquish all fences, including posts, gates, cattle guards, and holding pens in good working condition, to the Commission upon termination of this Contract. Furthermore, the Contractor shall be required to use only the Commission’s furnished key or combination locks for said gates. Failure of the Contractor to properly maintain the holding pens and fences shall allow the Commission to make a claim on the Performance Bond. In the event of such a claim, the Contractor shall provide the monies from the Performance Bond to the Commission immediately upon notification by the Commission. C. Grazing Accoutrements. The Contractor shall be required to have the Commission’s Contract Manager’s written permission to construct or make any physical alterations or improvements to the grazing lands. The Contractor shall be required to maintain all fences within authorized grazing units in accordance with specifications in Exhibit I and other constructed physical alterations or improvements to the grazing lands that are necessary to the Contractor’s grazing operations, and which are necessary for the Contractor to fulfill the covenants to which he or she is bound. The Contractor shall not cross-fence the grazing lands without prior written approval of the Commission. Hay shall not be brought onto the property for supplemental feeding. Pellets, minerals and liquid feeds are allowed. All supplemental feeding sites shall be rotated every 90 days unless written approval is given by the Commission. All supplemental feeding sites shall be located to avoid imperiled species and the locations shall be approved by the Project Manager. All approved cross fences and related constructed physical alterations or improvements constructed solely at the expense of the Contractor shall remain the property of the Contractor and the Contractor shall expeditiously remove same upon termination of this Contract and shall reasonably restore such grazing lands to the condition existing prior to the construction of such physical alterations and improvements, except as otherwise approved in writing by the Commission.
