Sandlin BAY #10 timber sale

The Suwannee River Water Management District is issuing an Invitation to Bid (ITB 25/26-007 OPS) for the Sandlin Bay #10 Timber Sale, a timber harvesting procurement encompassing approximately 232 acres in Columbia County, Florida. The sale consists of two distinct harvest areas: Area 1 involves an unmarked logger select second thinning on 37 acres of 1988-planted slash pine, and Area 2 involves a third-row logger select first thinning on 195 acres of 1990, 1992, and 1997-planted slash pine. The purchaser must leave 50 square feet of basal area per acre of the largest, best-formed trees in residual stands and scatter logging slash back through the stands as required. Bidders must specify diameter, top diameter, and minimum length requirements for products, with pricing based on per-ton rates for pine pulpwood and pine construction and specialty grades. All loggers must hold current Master Logger designation and maintain routine on-site availability. Prospective bidders must comply with Florida Forest Service Silviculture Best Management Practices, invasive species protocols, equipment fluid management, and ecological requirements. The bid opening is scheduled for February 4, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. EST at 9225 CR 49, Live Oak, Florida 32060, with bids submitted electronically through DemandStar prior to opening, and the winning bidder must enter into a firm contract within 10 days of award.

There are no noted set-aside designations or restrictions limiting participation to specific organizational types. However, all prospective bidders must demonstrate current workers' compensation insurance, motor vehicular liability insurance with minimum $1,000,000 combined single limits, and general liability insurance with minimums of $1,000,000 personal and advertising injury and $1,000,000 general aggregate before contract execution. The timber sale operates on a 12-month contract basis with per-unit rates paid as cut, requiring an advance payment of $20,000 and a damage/security deposit of $10,000 from the purchaser. Weekly settlements are calculated with credits applied against the advance payment at 100 percent of weekly gross harvest, with payments to the owner beginning after the advance payment is fully utilized. The bidder submitting the highest total sale value, as calculated by the District's estimated product volumes during bid opening, will be recommended for award. The purchaser is responsible for road maintenance and must return roads to pre-harvest condition or better at their expense, and a mandatory pre-harvest meeting must occur before logging commences.