Upper snowmass PCT

The State of Montana's Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) is seeking a contractor to perform pre-commercial thinning services for the Upper Snowmass PCT project located in multiple units across 126 total acres. The project involves hand thinning of conifer trees between 2-6 inches in diameter, with specific requirements for tree selection and spacing, focusing on removing overstocked understory trees and reducing potential beetle outbreak risks. Contractors must thin trees to achieve target stocking between 222-436 trees per acre, with prioritization of species like Western white pine, Ponderosa pine, and Western larch. Of the total project area, 19.8 acres will require hand piling of thinning slash, while 140.2 acres will have slash lopped and scattered. The solicitation was issued on August 3, 2023, with bid responses due by August 23, 2023, at 3:00 PM MDT. Contractors are required to conduct a site walk-through before bidding and must comply with specific operational restrictions, including no operations between April 1 and June 15 due to DNRC restrictions. The contract period is set from September 1, 2023, to September 1, 2025, with award criteria based on the lowest responsive and responsible bidder.

The procurement appears to be open to all qualified contractors, with no specific set-aside designations mentioned. Bidders must provide detailed information including federal tax ID, contact person details, and authorized contract signatory information. Contractors are required to comply with Montana prevailing wage laws, workers' compensation regulations, and carry specific insurance coverage of $1M per occurrence and $2M aggregate liability. The solicitation uses commodity code 2105 for Forest Related Services - Logging/Cutting/Thinning, and payment terms are Net 30 with 0% down. While no specific budget range is explicitly stated, the contract will be awarded on an all-or-none basis, meaning bidders must provide pricing for all line items. The primary contact for the solicitation is Gwenette Ungerman from the DNRC, who can be reached at ungermang@mt.gov or +1 406-444-6724. Contractors must ensure that 90% of each unit area meets the target stocking to receive full payment, with the project located in Sections 4 and 9 of Township 16N, Range 15W in Big Horn County, Montana.