Cedar Highlands BLM Fuel Break Maintenance Cut and Pile

The State of Utah Division of Purchasing and Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands issued an Invitation for Bids (IFB) solicitation #JH20-162 for the Cedar Highlands BLM Fuel Break Maintenance Cut and Pile project in Iron County. The procurement seeks a contractor to perform wildfire hazard reduction by hand cutting and stacking live and dead Pinyon pine and Juniper trees and saplings across approximately 240 acres near the Cedar Highlands Subdivision, southeast of Cedar City. Bidders were required to demonstrate at least two years of experience in cut and pile treatments through a minimum of two references. The project requires cutting all standing Juniper and dead Pinyon Pine trees, as well as saplings 8 feet tall or less, and creating burn piles according to specific specifications. Contractors must provide their own chainsaws, qualified operators, and GPS or smartphone mapping capabilities. The bid was opened on 6/25/2020 at 11:00 AM MDT and closed on 7/8/2020 at 2:00 PM MDT, with a contract completion deadline of October 31, 2020. Evaluation criteria included the lowest cost responsive and responsible bid, with strict guidelines for equipment cleaning, pile placement, and preservation of specific tree species.

Mountain View Reforestation, LLC was awarded the contract as the lowest responsive bidder. No specific set-aside designations or restrictions on organizational types were mentioned in the solicitation. Contractors were prohibited from communicating with procurement unit staff except through the designated procurement officer. The project requires adherence to specific guidelines, including washing equipment to prevent spreading noxious weeds, creating burn piles at least 15 feet from leave trees, and preserving specific tree species like Ponderosa Pine and live browse species. No government property will be furnished for this project, and the contract will result in a single purchase order. While a specific budget range was not disclosed, the procurement was structured as a lowest-cost bid selection process. The project appears to be focused on wildfire hazard reduction and forest management in the Cedar Highlands area of Iron County, Utah.