Cow Creek Wildfire Salvage C.pdf

This is a Scope of Work document for a timber salvage sale issued by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Florida Forest Service. The project involves the sale of salvage timber from approximately 303 acres located within the south and southeastern perimeter of the Cow Creek Wildfire area in the Black Prong and Cow Creek Tracts of Goethe State Forest in Levy County, Florida. The timber sale includes dead, dying, and green pine timber designated for removal. The harvest area is divided into two categories: a Primary area of approximately 138 acres designated for immediate harvest and a Contingency area of approximately 165 acres that will be monitored to determine if additional harvesting is required. All operations must commence within ten calendar days of contract execution. The sale is being advertised simultaneously with Cow Creek Road Salvage Sales A and B, with a stipulation that if the same bidder wins multiple sales, they must forfeit all but one sale to the next highest bidder to expedite operations. A mandatory site review with the Forester-in-Charge will be conducted before harvest operations begin to address exclusion areas around waterbodies and red-cockaded woodpecker cluster areas. The Forester-in-Charge will designate specific timber for removal and may include scattered clusters of infected or dying trees, though the buyer is not obligated to harvest non-merchantable timber or timber deemed undersized or economically unviable by the Forester-in-Charge.

No volume estimate is provided for this salvage timber sale. The buyer must exercise special care regarding sensitive environmental areas, including waterbodies and red-cockaded woodpecker habitat, with marked exclusion areas to be reviewed during the mandatory pre-harvest site visit. Sealed bids are being solicited, and the contract terms specify that operations must begin promptly following execution. Products for this sale include salvage pine pulpwood and potentially other timber products suitable for the damaged timber conditions.