Wilderness and Cheboygan Invasive Herbaceous Project

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Parks & Recreation Division, Stewardship Unit is issuing a Request for Proposal for invasive herbaceous plant control services at two state parks: Wilderness State Park (Emmet County) and Cheboygan State Park (Cheboygan County). The procurement seeks contractors to control invasive species including spotted knapweed, sweet clover, baby's breadth, and reed canary grass across 11 treatment areas at Wilderness State Park (435 acres) and 8 treatment areas at Cheboygan State Park (173.4 acres), totaling approximately 641.4 acres. Work must be completed using a combination of hand pulling and targeted herbicide application, with all knapweed, sweet clover, and baby's breadth treatments completed between June 1 and August 31, 2025, and reed canary grass second treatments by September 16, 2025. Two complete treatments of all zones and species are required as deliverables. Bidders may respond for one or both parks and are strongly encouraged to conduct site visits prior to submission. Contractors must be pre-qualified in both herbaceous control and herbicide categories and evaluated on technical pass/fail criteria regarding work plans, personnel qualifications, and prior experience, with pricing evaluated only for those passing technical review. Bid responses are due April 29, 2025, at 9:30 a.m. EST, with questions required by April 22, 2025, at 5 p.m. EST. The contractor is responsible for all equipment, labor, herbicides, transportation, obtaining necessary permits (ANC and NPDES), posting signage, notifying cabin renters, maintaining equipment cleanliness, and submitting comprehensive reports with GPS data and mapping updates within two weeks of project completion.

The Request for Proposal structure indicates no specific set-aside designations or restrictions mentioned in the available documentation, though pre-qualification requirements in herbaceous control and herbicide application categories effectively limit eligible respondents. Pricing must be submitted on a lump-sum basis by park with no additional charges permitted beyond the original bid price, and all costs for equipment, labor, herbicide, and transportation must be included in the fixed-price agreement. Bidders may offer discounts for completing multiple treatment areas. No incumbent vendors or existing contractors are identified in the procurement documents, and no specific budget range or award value is disclosed in the available materials. The State reserves the right to award the contract in full or in part based on its determination of best interest, with bid pricing remaining valid for 30 days from the due date of April 29, 2025. Award dates and the specific contract term are not specified in the provided documentation.