Statewide Natural Areas Management - 4 year contract

Mason Smith-Weyrich, operating as Ozark Koala Ecosystem Services, was awarded a statewide natural areas management contract by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Office of Resource Conservation, through open market competitive sealed bidding. The contract, identified as 26-422DNR-RESCO-P-98575, is valued at $2,949,190.00 with performance spanning from July 16, 2026, through July 15, 2030. The contract encompasses services across multiple Illinois counties organized into geographic work zones, with the contractor responsible for delivering natural areas management services on an indefinite quantity, as-needed basis through individual work order assignments throughout the four-year term.

The primary services deliverables include handwork vegetation management in both sensitive and non-sensitive sites, consisting of cutting woody vegetation with chainsaws and hand tools, treating cut stumps, conducting hack and squirt treatments, and applying basal bark and foliar herbicides via handheld, backpack, or UTV/ATV sprayers. Additional services include firebreak maintenance involving cutting, clearing, and debris removal without herbicide treatment. Work assignments are geographically distributed across Zone 9 (Bond, Clinton, Monroe, Madison, Perry, Randolph, St. Clair, and Washington Counties) and Zone 10 (Alexander, Franklin, Gallatin, Hardin, Hamilton, Jackson, Johnson, Massac, Pope, Pulaski, Saline, Union, White, and Williamson Counties). Hourly billing rates range from $53.75 to $61.95 depending on work type and geographic zone, with the contractor required to maintain specified insurance coverage, valid Illinois Commercial Pesticide Applicator Licenses, and crew experience documentation throughout contract performance.