Forest Development Contracts

• Contractor(s) shall supply all necessary transportation, equipment and materials necessary for the hand release of crop trees and the basal pruning of white pine
• Hand Release - Brush saws, chainsaws or hand tools are acceptable. Heavy duty brush saws are recommended
• Basal Pruning - Hand shears, hand saws or lopping shears are acceptable. Chain saws or other motorized equipment are prohibited
• Hand Release - Completely severing, within 6 inches of ground level, stems of all competing woody vegetation within a radius of 6 feet around all “crop trees”, as measured from the dripline, and found within designated sites. All severed competition must be laid down to a level not to exceed 2 feet above ground level and away from “crop trees”
• Basal Pruning - The removal of all side branches from the lower 1/3 of all white pine trees found within designated sites. This includes small shoots along bole and at ground level. Pruning shall remove the branch cleanly, by cutting the branch along the outside edge of the branch collar, leaving no stub nor cutting into the branch collar

Approximate Timelines (Please refer to bid/quote packet for exact dates):

Hand Release time period is contract execution thru December 1 of each year

Basal Pruning time period is contract execution thru May 1 and August 31 and thru December 1 of each year

BIDS SOLICITED IN JANUARY - PROJECT AND YEAR DEPENDENT

• Contractor and any employees must be licensed as a commercial pesticide applicator with categories in “Forest Spraying” and “General Ground” application as required by the MN Dept of Agriculture
• Contractor shall supply all necessary equipment and materials.
  This is a ground based application - distribution of herbicide using tractor, skidder, or track vehicle mounted application equipment is required. Pull-behind trailer mounted spraying equipment is allowed
• Equipment: 
  • Field operator’s mechanical ground spraying systems must be equipped with GPS navigation and mapping system when applying pesticides to State tax forfeited lands. The system must be capable of logging and downloading spray application data
  • Equipment must be capable of precise calibration to assure that the prescribed rate of herbicide is applied on each tract. Prescribed rates for each tract are specified on the Tract Summary/Bid Sheet and deviations shall not exceed 10% of this amount. In no cases should applied rates exceed the maximum rate indicated on the product label
  • Chemical injection equipment is an acceptable and preferred method to tank mix methods of chemical mixing and application
  • Liquid Holding Tanks carrying spray solution must possess and at all times have operating a self agitation system. To avoid unequal distribution of herbicide in the tank, tanks must be agitated and mixed for at least 10 minutes before spraying
  • A backflow prevention device or fixed air gap must be used on all chemical application equipment.
  • Dry Chemical shall be mixed into a slurry type of suspension prior to their addition to the Herbicide Holding Tanks
• Water for mixing chemical solution shall be brought to the spray site and be of acceptable ph, hardness, and organic material levels, or as approved by the County Land Department.
• A minimum of 15 gallons of spray solution shall be applied per acre

Approximate Timelines (Please refer to bid/quote packet for exact dates):

• Contractor shall supply all necessary equipment, its transportation, and materials for scarification by disc trenching or power disc trenching
• Scarification - The removal or displacement of slash, brush, or organic matter, thereby exposing the underlying mineral soil, the purpose being to reduce vegetative competition and improve the success of desired tree regeneration
• Power Disc Trenching - A mechanical scarification technique in which continuous furrows or trenches are made by applying downward hydraulic pressure to the disc being used, while “passive or disc trenching” allows the disc to “float”, with no downward force applied and no hydraulic disc rotation
• The adequacy of the scarification project will be determined by the County, under the following guidelines:
  • Disc Trenching shall provide continuous scarified trenches at a spacing of 8' on center across each entire project site unless otherwise indicated on Tract Summary/Bid Sheet
  • Site Scarification is designed to provide exposed mineral soil for better tree seedling survival and should not displace subsoil, remove or pile slash

Approximate Timelines (Please refer to bid/quote packet for exact dates):

    September 1 through November 1 of each year

BIDS SOLICITED MARCH OR APRIL

• Contractor shall supply all necessary equipment, its transportation, and materials necessary. Contractor must pick up, transport, use, and return the County’s large anchor chain/barrel scarifier for this contract
• Scarification - The removal or displacement of slash, brush, or organic matter, thereby exposing the underlying mineral soil, the purpose being to reduce vegetative competition and improve the success of desired tree regeneration
• Contractor must use the County’s large anchor chain/barrel scarifier in scarifying all acres on this contract. The large anchor chain is located in a gravel pit about ½ mile west of the Martin Road/Rice Lake Road intersection, Duluth, MN. Contractor must pick up the large anchor chain when beginning the contract, transport the chain from site to site, assemble and disassemble as needed for transportation, and deliver it, upon completion of the contract, back to the Land Department storage property on Martin Road, Duluth, MN
• Potential contractors are encouraged to inspect the large anchor chain before submitting quote. It is suggested that the equipment used for dragging the large anchor chain be a minimum of 180 horse power
• The anchor chain must be returned, in its original condition, as determined by the County, upon completion of this contract. Any necessary repair and/or maintenance to restore the anchor chain to its original condition is the responsibility of the Contractor. Any reimbursement of repair costs will be at the sole discretion of the County

Approximate Timelines (Please refer to bid/quote packet for exact dates):

    August 1 through November 1 of each year

BIDS SOLICITED MARCH OR APRIL - PROJECT AND YEAR DEPENDENT

• Contractor shall supply all necessary equipment, its transportation, and materials necessary. Contractor must pick up, transport, use, and return the salmon blade for this contract
• Scarification - The removal or displacement of slash, brush, or organic matter, thereby exposing the underlying mineral soil, the purpose being to reduce vegetative competition and improve the success of desired tree regeneration
• Contractor must use the County’s salmon blade in scarifying all acres on this contract. The salmon blade is located at the Land & Minerals Department’s Pike Lake Office, 5713 Old Miller Trunk Highway, Duluth, MN 55811. Contractor must pick up the salmon blade when beginning the contract, attach the blade to contractor’s own equipment, transport mounted blade from site to site, and deliver it back to the Land Department’s Pike Lake Office upon completion of the contract
• Potential contractors are encouraged to inspect the salmon blade and mounting system before submitting quote. It is suggested the contractor mount the salmon blade onto a small to mid-sized bulldozer to accomplish this contract. The bulldozer should be large enough to accomplish the work (for example a John Deer 450) but too large a machine will make scarifying around trees difficult
• The salmon blade must be returned, in its original condition, as determined by the County, upon completion of this contract. Any necessary repair and/or maintenance to restore the salmon blade to its original condition must first be approved by the County. Responsibility of repair and associated costs will be determined by the County
• Sites to be scarified have not been harvested and contain full tree cover. Trees must not be damaged. Salmon Blade scarification must occur around trees.

Approximate Timelines (Please refer to bid/quote packet for exact dates):

    June 1 through November 1 of each year

BIDS SOLICITED FEBRUARY OR MARCH - YEAR AND PROJECT DEPENDENT

• Contractor shall supply all necessary equipment, materials, transportation and labor. The County may provide BUD CAPS for the bud capping of crop trees, unless contractor requests to supply own
• Crop Trees - All red pine, jack pine, and white pine found and identified on designated sites
• Bud Capping - The placement by the stapling of a “bud cap” over the terminal leader on above crop trees. Cap should be stapled securely enough to prevent removal by wind, rain, snow or animals yet not damage or break the terminal leader. Terminal leader must be adequately covered to prevent animal browse
• Equipment: transportation, stapler and staples, bud caps. Blaze orange hat and/or outer clothing above the waist per Minnesota Hunting Regulation recommended

Approximate Timelines (Please refer to bid/quote packet for exact dates):

    September 15 through November 1 of each year.

BIDS SOLICITED IN JULY

• The contractor will plant seedling trees of various species, supplied by St. Louis County, on various plantable acres located within the north and south parts of St. Louis County, Minnesota. Subcontracting is prohibited without the prior written approval of the Land & Minerals Department
• St. Louis County anticipates planting a minimum of 1000 acres in a given year
• Contractor will be required to start each year’s planting on or about April 25th , and complete each year’s planting no later than May 25th . A minimum of one half of the current years planting acreage must be completed by May 15th of each year to avoid penalties
• The contractor is responsible for loading seedlings daily from various storage facilities in St. Louis County. The contractor is responsible for hauling the seedlings daily to the planting areas designated by the Land & Minerals Department. The contractor is responsible for unloading and distribution of seedlings and gathering up of the seedling bags, seedling wrap, boxes and containers
• The contractor will return unplanted seedlings to the storage facility, and empty bags, wrap, boxes, and containers to the area designated by the Land & Minerals Department at the end of each day
• The contractor will provide supervision for their workers and shall provide a non-planting foreman for each site, and for each crew if there is more than one (1) crew on a site
• The non-planting foreman shall be present on site and be responsible for directing the planters in compliance with the contract's seedling care and planting specifications and area coverage. Crew size shall be a minimum of five planters plus a non-planting foreman
• After taking possession of seedling trees, the contractor shall plant such trees as quickly as possible. Storage time for such trees shall be as short as possible, especially at planting sites. No more than a one day supply of trees for planting may be removed each day, unless authorized by the Land & Minerals Department.

NEXT CONTRACT OFFER: Summer 2023