BD26-64 Beaver Creek Hand Cut & Pile

The State of Utah Division of Purchasing, on behalf of the Division of Forestry, Fire and State Land, is issuing an Invitation for Bids (IFB) for tree thinning services designated BD26-64 Beaver Creek Hand Cut & Pile. The procurement seeks a single contractor to perform hand cutting and pile operations across 216 acres located approximately 9 miles northwest of Helper, Utah, in the Beaver Creek area near Carbon County. The project scope requires the contractor to remove all live and dead conifer trees measuring 15 inches or less in diameter at breast height, except those designated as leave trees by government officials, with all cut slash exceeding 1 inch in diameter piled in minimum 6-foot tall, teepee-shaped formations that are tightly compacted and strategically placed in the largest openings. The work must be completed between April 15, 2026, and June 20, 2026, with contract time non-extendable due to timing and environmental stipulations. Bidding is on a per-acre and total cost basis, with all bids required to include mobilization, operational costs, equipment, labor, and materials necessary for project completion. The contractor must provide a minimum 10-person crew equipped with fully operational chainsaws, GPS units or smartphones with PDF map applications, and either a 4-wheel or 2-wheel drive vehicle for site access, along with an on-site English-literate supervisor for crew management. The bid due date is April 13, 2026, and while no mandatory site visit is required, potential bidders are strongly encouraged to conduct independent site inspections to assess general and local conditions affecting project costs. Award will be made to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, with evaluation based on bid price and prior performance references provided by the bidder and evaluated at the government's sole discretion. Payment shall be provided as one lump-sum final payment following final inspection of completed acres, with partial payments requiring prior written approval. Vendors will be evaluated using a rangeland contract performance evaluation framework assessing Quality of Product or Service (weighted by 8), Timeliness of Performance (weighted by 8), and Contract Management (weighted by 4), with scores rated on a scale of 1 to 5 and a maximum overall rating of 100 points.

No set-aside designations or specific restrictions limiting responses to designated disadvantaged enterprises are described in the solicitation documentation. All vendors must certify that they have read and agree to all provisions outlined in the solicitation documents and must comply with all mandatory minimum requirements, with any bids containing exceptions or additions to the Standard Terms and Conditions subject to rejection and disqualification. Vendors are prohibited from communicating with procurement staff except through the designated State of Utah Division of Purchasing procurement officer, and all questions must be submitted through U3P during the designated question and answer period. Vendors must guarantee their pricing through project completion, with no fuel surcharges or price adjustments to be negotiated, and the government will furnish no materials or property. No incumbent vendors or existing contractors are identified in the available documentation, and no award values or budget ranges are disclosed in the solicitation materials. The contractor bears sole responsibility for equipment protection, site cleanup, restoration of damaged access roads, hazardous materials disposal, and compliance with all environmental, cultural resource protection, and fire prevention regulations.