Forest Inventory LiDAR Development and Validation

The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) Trust Lands Forest Management Bureau is seeking to develop a remotely sensed forest inventory for 793,000 acres of forested state trust lands through a potential sole source contract. The project aims to create a comprehensive forest inventory dataset to support multiple critical functions, including timber sale development, marketing, environmental review, forest plan compliance, habitat modeling, and sustained yield calculations. The solicitation, identified as DNRC-SolSour-2024-1129TBH, is currently open and will close on November 14, 2023, at 2:00 PM MST. Interested vendors are required to submit written comments and evidence of technical capabilities through the eMACS system, with the potential for a competitive solicitation if multiple qualified vendors are identified. The project requires expertise in forest inventory modeling tools like FVS and Woodstock, and vendors must demonstrate comprehensive understanding of forest data analysis. Primary contact for the opportunity is Trenton Hatch, reachable at Trenton.Hatch@mt.gov or 406-444-3315, and prerequisites include reviewing and accepting the Single Point of Contact information, Q&A Board details, and Scope of Work.

The current intent is to award the contract to Mason, Bruce & Girard (MB&G), who have previously conducted annual sustainable yield calculations for the state and possess recommended expertise in forest inventory analysis. No specific set-aside designations or restrictions on organizational types were explicitly mentioned in the documentation. The estimated contract value is $42,000.00, and the state retains discretion to either proceed with MB&G or issue a competitive solicitation based on responses received. The DNRC's determination for a sole source contract is predicated on several factors, including this being their first attempt at this level of data analysis, no alternative companies identified through internet searches and personal contacts, and MB&G's prior successful work and recommended expertise. The project falls under multiple commodity codes, including environmental services and forest-related services, and aims to support the state's objective of sustainably managing Montana's forest trust lands to maximize long-term revenue while promoting healthy and diverse forest ecosystems.