Vermilion County Nature Preserves Invasive Vegetation Control

The State of Illinois, Department of Natural Resources, through its Office of Resource Conservation (RESCONSERV422), awarded an Open Market Small Purchase contract to NexGen Land Solutions, LLC on May 5, 2026, for invasive species control services across seven nature preserves located in Vermilion County, Illinois. The contract, valued at $25,632.00, encompasses up to 356 billable hours of work at a rate of $72 per hour and is scheduled for completion by December 31, 2027. The designated work sites include Windfall Prairie Nature Preserve, Russell M. Duffin Nature Preserve, Forest Glen Seep Nature Preserve, Howards Hollow Seep Nature Preserve, Kickapoo Hill Prairie Land and Water Reserve, Kickapoo Woods Land and Water Reserve, and Middle Fork Woods Nature Preserve.

NexGen Land Solutions, LLC will perform invasive vegetation control through hand cutting, power tool cutting, and herbicide applications using specified chemical treatments via cut-stump and basal bark methods. Performance requirements include achieving an 85 percent kill rate on treated stems, maintaining commercial herbicide applicator licenses, demonstrating a minimum of two years of professional natural area management experience, and providing comprehensive liability insurance coverage of $1,000,000 per occurrence. The contractor is obligated to submit weekly progress reports, maintain detailed work logs and geographic data files, and conduct follow-up site visits to verify treatment effectiveness. Work is distributed proportionally across the seven sites, with the largest allocation directed to Windfall Prairie Nature Preserve at 30 percent of total hours.