Statewide Natural Areas Management - 4 year contract

MKC Ecological Services was awarded a four-year Statewide Natural Areas Management contract by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), Office of Resource Conservation, with an award value of $8,223,000.00. The contract period runs from July 16, 2026, through July 15, 2030, and covers natural areas management services across multiple geographic zones spanning Illinois counties including Adams, Brown, Cass, Fulton, Hancock, Henderson, Knox, Logan, Mason, McDonough, Menard, Peoria, Schuyler, Tazewell, Warren, Woodford, Champaign, DeWitt, Ford, Iroquois, Kankakee, Livingston, McLean, Piatt, Vermilion, Calhoun, Christian, Greene, Jersey, Macoupin, Montgomery, Morgan, Pike, Scott, Sangamon, Clark, Clay, Cumberland, Coles, Crawford, Douglas, Edgar, Edwards, Effingham, Fayette, Jasper, Jefferson, Lawrence, Macon, Marion, Moultrie, Richland, Shelby, Wabash, Wayne, Bond, Clinton, Monroe, Madison, Perry, Randolph, Saint Clair, Washington, Alexander, Franklin, Gallatin, Hardin, Hamilton, Jackson, Johnson, Massac, Pope, Pulaski, Saline, Union, White, and Williamson.

The contract deliverables encompass hand-cutting and treatment of woody vegetation in sensitive and non-sensitive sites using chainsaws, brushcutters, hand tools, stump treatment, and herbicide application methods (hack and squirt, basal bark, and foliar application); grinder and forestry mowing operations in non-sensitive sites requiring two-person crews for grinding and stump treatment; and firebreak maintenance consisting of cutting, clearing, and debris removal without herbicide treatment. Work is organized by service zones with hourly rate compensation structured by work item and geographic location. The contract was awarded through an open market competitive sealed bidding process and includes federal funding provisions from the State Wildlife Grants Federal Assistance Program (CFDA #15.634), administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.