Steinhatchee springs #26 timber sale

This Invitation to Bid (ITB) is issued by the Suwannee River Water Management District for a timber sale on the Steinhatchee Springs Tract in Dixie County, Florida. The procurement encompasses an 84-acre clearcut of 2005 planted Slash Pine with an additional 24 acres of dead timber containing merchantable trees available for harvest at the buyer's discretion. The deliverable consists of pine pulpwood and pine CNS (cut-n-split) and better grades to be harvested under a mandatory three-month contract period due to high mortality risk in the harvest area, with provisions allowing additional high-risk areas to be added with mutual approval. Key qualifications include employment of a Master Logger with current designation who remains routinely available on-site, compliance with Florida Forest Service Best Management Practices, adherence to "Come Clean, Leave Clean" invasive species protocols, and implementation of ecological protections including gopher tortoise avoidance. Required insurance coverage includes workers' compensation, motor vehicular liability of at least $1,000,000 combined single limit, and general liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence and aggregate. Bidding will be conducted on a per-unit rate basis (dollars per ton) as a "pay as cut" sale, with the highest total sale value determining the winning bidder as calculated by the District's estimated product volumes. The bid opening is scheduled for April 22, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. EDT, with electronic submission through DemandStar required prior to the opening time, and site inspections are available at the bidder's convenience via Highway 19 south of Tennille, Florida.

Minority-owned and veteran-owned business enterprises receive preference consideration when service providers are ranked equally. A $10,000 damage and security deposit is required, and an advance payment of $0 is required at closing, with weekly settlements credited against the advance payment at 100 percent of weekly gross harvest; once the advance payment is exhausted, the purchaser makes direct payments to the owner. The purchaser is responsible for road maintenance and restoration to pre-harvest condition or better, and a pre-harvest meeting with the successful bidder and their logger is required before operations commence to address harvest plans, best management practices, logging decks, and ecological concerns. The winning bidder must execute the contract within ten days of award. No incumbent vendors or existing infrastructure integration requirements are identified in this solicitation. The award value is not specified in the ITB; however, it will be determined by the highest total sale value calculated based on the District's estimated product volumes multiplied by the per-ton bid rates submitted by respondents.