250000002923 ILWLAG land clearing_specs.docx

INVASIVE TREE AND SHRUB LAND CLEARING

Island lake, HIghland and Waterloo RECREATION Areas and Algonac State park

REQUIRED INVASIVE SPECIES PRE-QUALIFICATION CATEGORy:

Land Clearing

BID # 250000002895

BID DUE DATE: Friday, October 10, 2025, 9:30 A.M. EST

WORK STATEMENT

A BACKGROUND/PROBLEM STATEMENT

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Parks & Recreation Division, Stewardship Unit is seeking bids for control of the invasive trees and shrubs by means of land clearing within Highland Recreation Area (Oakland County), Waterloo Recreation Area (Washtenaw/Jackson Counties), Island Lake Recreation Area located just east of Brighton, Michigan (Livingston County) and Algonac State Park (Algonac, MI/ St. Clair County). All work areas in Island Lake, Highland and Waterloo are in the process of being restored to an oak barrens landscape, which is characterized by native prairie vegetation with scattered oak trees. This landscape will be representative of the natural oak barrens/savannas that were common in southern Michigan prior to widespread European settlement. The work zones at Algonac State Park are being restored to prairie openings. The restoration at these three sites requires landscape level structural changes to the vegetation. The general goal of this project is to remove invasive or otherwise non-native trees and brush such as black locust, pine, black cherry, poplar, autumn olive and honeysuckle in treatment zones. This work may be accomplished by a combination of whole-tree chipping, firewood removal and chipping of tops, mowing with a hydro-ax or other heavy-duty forestry mower, and/or other methods.

The work will be bid as lump sum prices for each of the treatment areas, with the number of areas awarded dependent upon bid prices and time of completion. Bidders may bid on any combination of treatment areas. A pre-bid meeting will be held at each park. Prospective bidders are required to attend the pre-bid meeting in order to submit a bid.

B OBJECTIVE

The objective of this project is to control several species of invasive woody plants in multiple treatment areas, thereby reducing the presence of these species, restore structure to the landscape thereby creating an environment that favors the presence of native vegetation. Specifically at Waterloo Recreation Area the main objective is to reduce large trees and surrounding dense brush to allow mowing, herbicide and prescribed fire to further control woody encroachment. At Island Lake Recreation Area the main objective is to remove large stands of mature pine in several treatment areas and some previously girdled stands of black locust in others to create a barrens structure. At Algonac State Park the main objective is to remove woody vegetation to expand the Blazing Star Prairie. At Highland Recreation Area the main objective is to remove a black locust stand. This work may be accomplished by a combination of whole-tree chipping, firewood and/or log removal with chipping of tops. Mowing with a hydro-ax, large forestry mower, or other heavy-duty brush cutter and/or other methods will also be necessary.

In work zones scheduled for the growing season contractors must be highly vigilant to not damage living oak trees or damage/disturb the ground with equipment, or the large trees being felled, grinded and/or moved within and off the site. This is true year-round, but more so during the growing season due to oak wilt and non-frozen ground.

1. A. In ALL Treatment Areas (except Algonac zone 1 and Island Lake zones 7 and 13): Cut or mow all trees, shrubs, and other brush (live or dead), except oaks and hickories over 3 inches diameter at breast height (DBH).

Cut vegetation to as low of a stump height as possible, no greater than three (3) inches above ground level. All stumps and other debris must be sufficiently cut or shredded so that a standard tractor-mounted brush-hog mower with mower deck at 8-inch height can traverse the site to maintain it in the future. It is preferred that locust stumps greater than 6 inches (at ground level) be cut 1-2 inches from ground and left intact to allow for herbicide treatments. In addition, all downed woody debris (tree boles, tree tops, branches, and shrubs) must be removed as specified in C#2 below. All oaks over three inches DBH must be left uncut and undamaged, unless otherwise instructed by the DNR project manager. No trees or shrubs are to be damaged outside the designated treatment areas. Project manager reserves the right to mark the occasional tree to be left uncut in addition to the specified oaks and hickories.

B. Algonac zone 1 and Island Lake zones 7 and 13 are forestry mowing only zones.

2. All cut material, including boles, limbs, and tops must be removed from the site. The trees may be cut into firewood, or logs followed by chipping of the remainder of the tree, or whole trees may be chipped. Chips, logs, firewood, and all other material must be disposed of by the contractor off site. Slash left on the ground by a hydro-ax mower, forestry mower, or similar brush cutter must be sufficiently ground and not more than two inches thick. Large amounts of thick shredded wood and chips may not be left over large areas. Large diameter debris (3 inch or greater branches/wood pieces may not be left. Large up-rooted stumps may not be left. If this type of material remains contractor will be required to rake and scoop debris into piles and then remove from site.

3. Alternative methods for removing large trees such as hand cutting, piling and burning of material on site will be considered if it is in the best interest of the resource, cost and safety to park visitors. Piling for burning must be done in a manner that does not impact ground or soil. No soil may be in piles. Logs must be cut into no more than eight-foot lengths and mixed equally with tops such that material can be consumed by fire easily. Large slash piles and windrow piles are not allowed. Location, footprint and size of pile must not impact quality native vegetation on the ground or surrounding trees via flames or radiant heat due to proximity to non-target trees.

4. Contractor would be encouraged to burn all that they cut within the same contract work period. Additional stipulations would be required for burning such as ground must be sufficiently covered in snow, ice or bare dirt around the pile such that embers will not start a ground fire. Wind speed and direction for proper smoke management must also be adhered to. If contractors are interested in this method of tree removal/disposal they should explain in detail how they would accomplish this and in what zones they feel are appropriate for this method. Contractors will also be asked to bid on burning all piles separately from their bid to clear. If burning conditions do not present themselves during the contracted time frame.

5. At the completion of the project, any residual wood chips left in staging areas must be removed as much as possible, no more than one inch deep and spread out evenly within the staging area. Staging areas may not be on native high-quality vegetation. It may be required that staging areas be within treatment area/zone (cut area).

6. Growing Season Zones: NO OAK trees are to be wounded or damaged in any way during the growing season to prevent increased risk of Oak Wilt. If an oak were to be damaged DNR contract manager will make the determination to repair tree (clean cut limb, paint open wound immediately, etc.) or remove the tree completely. Growing season zones were selected with this in mind, but if contractor feels they cannot protect oak in a zone, or portion of a zone, it will have to be treated/completed in the dormant season removal time period. This can be identified at the time of bidding if known or anytime during the clearing work.

7. Prior to the start of work in each treatment area/zone the equipment staging area and equipment access routes will be mutually agreed to by the contractor and the DNR project manager or his designee. All treatment areas include and/or are surrounded by high quality prairie vegetation. Access routes and staging areas will be limited to defined areas. Access by large chip trucks and semis may be limited to certain areas and access points at ILRA.

8. Contractor must minimize use of equipment on steep slopes – avoid operating equipment (harvesting, skidding, etc.) over quality prairie areas and on steep slopes unless absolutely necessary. Where cutting in these areas is required contractor will select the appropriate time of year to work in these zones. DNR project manager will approve all contractor work plans.

9. Alternative means and methods will be considered but must be proposed during prebid meetings, so all prospective bidders have the same opportunity to understand what is acceptable and what is not.

10. Extreme care must be taken when moving equipment from treatment area to treatment area to protect high quality prairie and savanna remnants, park roads and other infrastructure, as well as natural areas around each treatment area. Growing season zones were selected with this in mind as well. If a treatment zone cannot be accessed without ensuring safety of the public, sensitive habitat, or park infrastructure this should be noted in the bid or immediately upon determination during clearing work.

11. No work may occur within 30 feet of old building foundations.

12. Equipment may work immediately adjacent to wetlands provided there is no disturbance of streams, stream banks, or wetlands soils by equipment or by fallen trees, and no ruts are created.

13. The contractor is responsible for maintaining safety within and immediately surrounding the treatment areas, including on the adjacent roads and trails while trees are being felled, mowed, during log transport and loading as well as all equipment movement in and out of work zones. The contractor must work with the recreation area supervisor (or their designee) to properly block, close, or sign all roadways and trails that may be impacted by the land clearing work or equipment loading, unloading, and staging. The treatment area must be signed (and often barricaded) to warn pedestrians on roads and trails to stay clear of the area while work is in progress. Some trails may need to be temporarily occupied by a live person to prevent public access.

14. The contractor will be provided with treatment area boundaries via GPS Exchange format (.gpx) file and will be expected to navigate and find treatment area boundaries in the field using GPS. Boundaries can also be viewed in the field via the web viewer through a phone App (Arc Field Maps). The DNR project manager will provide clarification, including ground marking (i.e. flagging/paint) as needed.

15. If any ruts or holes four inches or deeper, or mounds of dirt four inches or higher, are created by the contractor anywhere on site, these must be repaired by the contractor prior to completion of the contract. If damage to the ground cannot be avoided project manager may require work to be postponed until ground is better suited for work (i.e. drier or frozen).

16. The Contractor is responsible for supplying all equipment needed to complete the job, including land clearing equipment, safety equipment, fuel, and transportation.

17. Equipment Moving and Weed Seed Contamination All equipment, footwear, clothing, and all other materials brought to each park (and in some cases sites within each park) for this project must be completely clean and free of ALL plant material, organisms and soil (seeds, pieces of vegetation, chunks of soil, etc.) prior to arrival at each park location. This includes both inside and outside of all vehicles. Power washing and/or similar methods must be used as needed, for all undercarriages, metal and rubber tracks, tires (chained and unchained), and all other parts of vehicles brought to each park to ensure they are clean and free of seed, plant materials and soil. These precautions are critical to preventing the spread of invasive plants, disease causing organisms and vectors as well as contamination of genetic material (seeds) from locations outside of each state park.

All footwear, clothing, and equipment must be checked and cleaned of seeds, other plant fragments, and soil again before moving between work areas of differing ecological quality to prevent the spread of invasive plants between relatively un-infested areas and heavily infested areas. Travel routes and order of work between treatment areas may be dictated by the DNR project manager to further prevent the possible spread of invasive seed and plant material.

18. The contractor must obtain prior approval from the DNR project manager to work on Saturdays or Sundays due to high park visitor use. Other specific dates may be unavailable for work due to special events. The contractor will be notified of any such dates a minimum of two weeks in advance.

19. All equipment must be removed from the site within one (1) week following completion of work under this contract.

20. The contractor must make it known to the public its presence through signage, vehicle logos, uniforms, or some other means of identifying the ongoing work whenever workers and equipment are present on-site including individuals actively providing precautionary awareness and warnings of on-going work when warranted.

21. Mowing, clearing, chipping and log removal must occur in a consolidated manner regardless of season work is performed. All work must be performed between October 15, 2025 and March 15, 2026. Payment will not be made for work that occurs outside these windows unless permission is given in writing. Extensions beyond these date ranges may be granted if ground conditions, risk of oak wilt, risk of ground/other vegetation damage, or wildlife concerns prevent contractor’s good faith effort to complete the work on time.

D DESCRIPTION OF TREATMENT AREAS

All treatment areas can be viewed at the following web link. Acreages can be viewed by clicking on a desired polygon. Maps can be created from this site if desired. There is also a chart below that lists the park, zone number and acreage.

https://midnr.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=70c5ddeeb3dd403ba006b3f9fb902924

The treatment areas within the Algonac State Park are in two distinct management units. Zone 1 is accessible by camp road and a paved pedestrian bike path. Species for removal include maple, black cherry, buckthorn and bittersweet. Zone two is Lakeplain prairie where the goal of this project is to manage buckthorn.

Treatment areas at Island Lake Recreation Area are in two distinct management units of the park. Some units are relatively flat and some are more rolling hills. All units contain high-quality oak barrens/oak forest restoration areas. Access to some zones may be difficult for chipping and log removal equipment while other are directly adjacent to roads, parking area and similar. Mosquitoes, ticks, and other biting insects are abundant at this park. Poison ivy is common. The recreation area is heavily used by road bikers, mountain bikers, hikers, and many others. Public safety will be a key issue for both summer and winter work. Island Lake Recreation Area is located just east of Brighton in Livingston County. A majority of treatment zones are either all very mature pine or a mix of pine and previously treated locust. Some zones have at least a portion of understory of shrubs some zones need primarily mowing with scattered tree removal. Oak and hickory are found within most zones and will need to be protected from damage during clearing work.

The treatment area within the Waterloo Recreation Area is at the corner of M52 and Waterloo Road in Washtenaw County. Parking is limited to the area on the north side of Waterloo Road across from the work site. Treatment area abuts the two roadways to the north and east and a pedestrian bike path. Treatment area is sloped including a ravine within a portion of the zone. The autumn olive, honeysuckle shrubs along with the scattered larger trees are within high quality prairie remnants and scattered oak trees.

The treatment area within Highland Recreation Area is a large black locust stand accessible from Livingston Road. This stand has not been treated before.

E PROJECT CONTROL AND REPORTS

l. Project Control

a. The Contractor will carry out this project under the direction and control of the DNR project manager, who will be a representative of the Parks & Recreation Division, Stewardship Unit.

b. The Contractor must contact the DNR project manager within five (5) business days after the contract is awarded to provide an approximate schedule of work start and end dates.

c. The Contractor will notify both the DNR project manager and the appropriate Recreation Area supervisor a minimum of 24 hours prior to beginning on-site work at either of the recreation areas, and within 24 hours following final completion of all on-site work at either recreation area under this contract.

d. Once work begins on site, the Contractor will keep the DNR project manager informed of the progress of the work at least weekly and any real or anticipated problems (such as fuel leaks, chemical spills, injuries, etc.) as they arise. The Contractor will also inform the DNR project manager of any long-term breaks in work (longer than one week) during the course of the project.

e. The contractor will also notify the DNR project manager a minimum of 48 hours before the expected project completion date so that a final field inspection can be scheduled.

f. All follow-up procedures and deadlines specified in pre-qualification Exhibit A, Section 1.04 apply.

2. Reports

Within two weeks following the completion of the project, the contractor must submit one electronic copy of a brief report using the template provided. All information must be filled in completely on the report template.

The above report must be sent by email to:

Emily Leslie LeslieE1@Michigan.gov

F INFORMATION REQUIRED FROM BIDDERS

Return the “Contractor Bid Response” form with the following information:

1. Work Plan/Task Description Provide a brief technical plan (sequential summary and description of tasks) for accomplishing the work. Describe your proposed specific type of equipment to be used. Indicate the approximate number of days that are anticipated to complete the fieldwork and the estimated number of personnel expected to be working on site.

2. Project Staffing The contractor must be able to staff a project team (or individual) which possesses the talent and expertise necessary to complete the tasks associated with this project. Include names of each person/employee (grouped by job title) that will be employed in the work. If any people will be working on this project that were not listed in your company’s pre-qualification documents, they must be identified. The project manager/foreman must be identified.

3. Subcontractors List all subcontractors; include firm name and address, contact person, complete description of work to be subcontracted and equipment to be used by the subcontractor. Include descriptive information concerning subcontractor's organization and abilities. Any subcontractors to be used on this project must have already been named in your company’s approved pre-qualification.

4. Prior Experience Provide three references who can verify prior experience of your company directly related to the specific work to be performed in this project. Include sufficient detail in the description of work performed to demonstrate the relevance of the experience to this project.

5. Price Proposal All pricing MUST be submitted through the Sigma website. See section G below.

The successful bidder will be a pre-qualified vendor who has experience clearing trees and brush in a manner similar to the specifications of this project, possesses a team (or individual) capable of carrying out the work effectively, and use the most cost-efficient technique(s) that are effective but cause the least amount of incidental damage to the site.

G PRICE PROPOSAL

All prices/rates quoted in bidder's response to this work statement will be firm for the duration of the Contract. No price changes will be permitted.

This project will be bid on a lump sum basis by treatment area. The price for each treatment area should reflect the complete cost of conducting treatments as specified for each area. This includes the cost of all equipment, labor, fuel, and transportation. NO additional charges (such as equipment repair) beyond the original bid price will be permitted.

Bidders may submit bids for any combination of treatment areas and line items. A different vendor may be awarded for different parks, areas or line item if price and overall proposal warrants. Indicate in your bid any price discounts that may apply for completing multiple treatment areas or line items by your company.

H REQUIRED PRE-BID INFORMATION

Three pre-bid meetings are scheduled, one at each recreation area. The purpose of each meeting is to briefly view the treatment areas with the DNR project manager (or another DNR Stewardship Unit representative) to understand the general layout of the land, the general size and density of the target invasive plants within each treatment area and access to the work areas which may vary depending on equipment used and time of year.

Only one pre-bid meeting will be held for each site so that all prospective bidders have the same opportunity to view the site and ask questions. Prospective vendors are required to attend the scheduled pre-bid meeting to be eligible to submit bids for the corresponding treatment areas. Vendors are also welcome to visit the treatment areas on their own time before or after the meeting to further formulate their bid. The meetings are scheduled as follows:

Island Lake Recreation Area: September 22, 2025 AT 9:00 AM. THE MEETING IS EXPECTED TO LAST ABOUT 3 HOURS. Meet at the Dodge Picnic Area at the far north end of the park road (the meeting location is approximately 15 minutes from the park entrance).

Highland Recreation Area: September 23, 2025 AT 9:00. THE MEETING IS EXPECTED TO LAST ABOUT 1 HOUR. Meet at the Silo field trail area. Parking lot is off East Livingston Road between Pettibone Lake and Beaumont Roads.

Waterloo Recreation Area: September 23, 2025 AT NOON. THE MEETING IS EXPECTED TO LAST ABOUT 1 HOUR. Meet at the corner of M52 and Waterloo Road. The dirt parking area is on the north side of Waterloo Road.

Algonac State Park: September 24, 2025 at 10:30 AM. THE MEETING IS EXPECTED TO LAST 2.5 HOURS. Meet at the park headquarters building.

Call Emily Leslie at 517-242-8760 if you need better directions or are running late for the pre-bid meeting.

BID DUE DATE IS October 10, 2025 9:30 a.m. EST. Pre-bid Q/A will be posted after all pre-bid meetings are concluded. Additional questions are due by 5:00 p.m. EST. on September 26, 2025 and sent to Amanda Pauly at paulya3@michigan.gov

If you are having difficulties with submitting your bid please contact the Sigma.vss help desk. If necessary to meet the submittal deadline you can email your bid to Amanda Pauly at paulya3@michigan.gov.

I EVALUATION/AWARD

The state will review all proposals and information provided by the Bidder in the Bidder Response Form and any additional attachments. Submissions will be evaluated for a technical pass/fail determination based upon proposed work plan for completing this project, personnel qualifications and prior experience. Pricing will be evaluated for only those contractors who pass the technical portion of the evaluation.

J PRE-QUALIFICATION TERMS

All terms and conditions included in the pre-qualification documents apply to this project unless specific variances are given in this work statement above. This includes review and acceptance of work, performance evaluation, payment, and liquidated damages clauses.