Heart Island Timber Sale

The Governing Board of the St. Johns River Water Management District is requesting sealed bids for a per-ton timber sale on approximately 343.5 acres within the Heart Island Conservation Area, Volusia County, Florida, with bids due August 25, 2026 at 2:00 p.m.

The scope is a logger-select thinning operation within mature slash pine stands established in 2000. Bidders must remove every third row for access and selectively thin leave rows to achieve an average target density of 120 to 150 trees per acre or basal area of 40 to 50 square feet per acre. Harvesting priorities rank diseased, defective, and suppressed trees first; intermediate and co-dominant trees second to reach desired density; and exclude dominant trees from leave-row removal. The District estimates 6,223 tons of pine pulpwood and 103 tons of chip-n-saw timber, though the District does not guarantee that volume is present. Award goes to the responsive and responsible bidder submitting the highest per-ton bid for pine composite timber.

The logging crew supervisor must hold current Sustainable Forestry Initiative certification from an approved logger-training program such as Georgia's Master Timber Harvester, Florida's Master Logger, or Alabama's Professional Logging Manager. Bidders must provide proof of active E-Verify registration and authority to do business in Florida, and maintain workers' compensation insurance, general liability of not less than $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate, and automobile liability of $100,000/$300,000/$100,000. An advance payment of 20% of estimated timber value is required before execution and is non-refundable but credited against initial weekly payments; a $5,000 security deposit in company, certified, or bank check form is required and held until final payment. The contract term is 12 months from the Effective Date, with a requirement that 50% of acres be harvested within nine months if adequate harvesting conditions exist. Extensions may be granted for poor timber market conditions, tropical storms, hurricanes, or wildfires. Liquidated damages for violations include $50 per marked boundary-line tree cut and twice the compensation rate for undesignated trees cut. Site visits are authorized using a vehicular access letter valid through the bid opening date. Addendum 1, issued August 12, added georeferenced PDF maps for GPS-enabled mobile applications; bidders must acknowledge receipt of the addendum in their submittal. Contact Breanna Pierce, Procurement Specialist, at bpierce@sjrwmd.com with questions.