BD26-69 wolf creek ranch big pole & herd hollow forest health thinning

The State of Utah Division of Forestry, Fire, & State Lands, conducting procurement through the Division of Purchasing, is issuing an Invitation for Bids (IFB) for forest health thinning services under solicitation BD26-69 titled Wolf Creek Ranch Big Pole & Herd Hollow Forest Health Thinning. The project encompasses Cut & Pile services on 32 acres of private property located in Wasatch County, divided into two units: Big Pole Unit 1 (13.5 acres) and Herd Hollow Unit 2 (18.5 acres). The contractor must provide comprehensive services including removal of standing dead trees, downed woody debris, and selective live tree felling, with all material cut to specified lengths, bucked, and stacked into burn piles. The contractor is responsible for supplying a chainsaw crew of at least 10 members, four-wheel-drive vehicles including UTVs, all equipment, labor, supervision, transportation, and camping arrangements. The project performance window is May 18 through June 30, 2026, with no contract extensions permitted due to wildlife habitat timing stipulations and fire weather concerns. A mandatory, in-person site visit is required on Tuesday, May 5, 2026 at 9:30 a.m. at the LDS Church (6250 E 1200 S Heber, UT 84032), where bidders will follow the project manager via 4x4 vehicles to the project site; failure to attend or arriving late will result in automatic disqualification. The solicitation is due May 12, 2026, with contract award to be made to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder based on price per acre, with compensation determined exclusively by the actual number of acres completed, inspected, and formally accepted by FFSL, and up to one billing permitted during the contract term using GPS/GIS technology on a horizontal plane.

Participation in this solicitation is strictly limited to prequalified contractors currently listed on the State of Utah's Rangeland Pre-qualification list; non-prequalified contractors are explicitly prohibited from submitting bids. To maintain eligibility on the Rangeland Pre-Qualification list, vendors must achieve a minimum average performance score of 60, evaluated across three categories—Quality of Product or Service (8 points), Timeliness of Performance (8 points), and Contract Management (4 points)—on a scale of 1 to 5. Vendors whose performance scores drop below 60 are removed from the pre-qualification list for that specific treatment/acreage category and all larger acreage within that same treatment category, though they may submit bids on Open Bid solicitations and reapply at the next open RFSQ. No incumbent vendors or current contractors are listed in the procurement documents, and no government-furnished equipment or property is provided. The contractor assumes full responsibility for site conditions, equipment security, environmental compliance, cultural resource protection, and fire prevention, including liability for suppression costs of any fires caused by operations. Specific award values or budget ranges are not disclosed in the available procurement documents; however, compensation structure is based on a price-per-acre basis with acreage calculations determined using GPS/GIS technology.