Pitcher Plant 25/26 Timber Sale

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Florida Forest Service, is seeking sealed bids for the Pitcher Plant 25/26 Timber Sale, a fourth-row, operator-select thinning project on approximately 319 acres of planted slash pine located on the Ates Creek Tract of Belmore State Forest in Clay County. The procurement involves harvesting timber, specifically targeting every fourth row for access and selecting trees from leave rows that are diseased, deformed, suppressed, or forked, along with a portion of intermediate and co-dominant trees to achieve a residual basal area of 60-70 square feet per acre. The estimated timber volume to be removed is 11,803 tons of pine pulpwood and 2,735 tons of pine chip and saw or better. Interested parties must obtain complete bid information by contacting Lindsey Bessent at (904) 529-2357. The sealed bids will be opened on December 17, 2025, at 10:00 AM EST at 7247 Big Oaks Road, Bryceville, Florida 32009, with a contract duration of 12 months. All loading decks and skid trails require prior approval from the Forester-in-Charge, and sale boundaries are defined by forest roads, fire lines, obvious timber changes, and property boundaries.

The solicitation does not specify any set-aside designations, disadvantaged enterprise requirements, or restrictions on the types of organizations that can respond to the bid. No incumbent vendors or current contractors are mentioned in the documentation. The procurement appears to be an open competition for timber harvesting services, with the Florida Forest Service reserving the right to reject any and all bids and waive any irregularities in the received bids. While specific pricing terms are not detailed, the estimated timber volume suggests a potential contract value based on current market rates for pine pulpwood and chip and saw timber. The project aims to support forest health objectives through selective thinning operations, focusing on removing underperforming or damaged trees to improve the overall forest stand quality. Prospective bidders should carefully review the attached maps and sale advertisement to understand the full scope of the timber sale and prepare their bids accordingly.