25 26 Sand Beach Salvage Timber Sale

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, through the Florida Forest Service, is soliciting sealed bids for the salvage harvest of approximately 71 acres of wildfire-damaged timber on the Apalachicola River Wildlife and Environmental Area in Franklin County, Florida. The sale includes 38 acres of planted slash pine requiring immediate clearcutting and a 33-acre contingency area that may be added at the discretion of the Forester-in-Charge. Harvesting is confined to boundaries marked by roads, firelines, natural timber type transitions, or painted and flagged lines, with no volume estimate provided. The successful bidder must begin operations within two weeks of contract execution and is prohibited from suspending work for more than 72 hours without written approval. The contract has a fixed duration of six months, during which the purchaser is solely responsible for making and maintaining all access roads to ensure safe and continued logging operations. Timber products include salvage pine pulpwood and salvage pine chip-n-saw & better, with no specifications for product grading, moisture content, or other quality metrics beyond merchantability within the defined area. Bids are due by May 20, 2026, at 10:00 AM EDT and must be submitted in sealed format to 865 Geddie Road, Tallahassee, FL 32304; electronic submissions are not accepted. The contract is not subject to Federal Acquisition Regulation clauses, as it is a state-level procurement with no federal compliance, socioeconomic, or certification requirements. The award will likely go to the lowest responsive bid meeting minimum operational requirements, consistent with standard sealed bid timber sale practices, though the basis of award is not explicitly stated. The Florida Forest Service reserves the right to reject any or all bids and waive irregularities. Primary point of contact for bid information is Tanner Copeland, with supplemental oversight provided by Chris Colburn and the Forester-in-Charge. No payment, invoicing, or accounting details are included, and inspections are implied to occur on-site by government representatives rather than at a designated facility.