Project Information

Bid Title

V-BLADE TREE PLANTING SERVICES

Issuing Agency

Suwannee River Water Management District

Location

Florida

Published Date

May 27, 2026

Closing Date

Jun 10, 2026

Government Level

State & Local

Status

Closed

Ref. #

NO. 25/26-014 OPS

Original Source

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Bid Documents

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Project Description

Bid Number:	NO. 25/26-014 OPS
Bid Title:	V-BLADE TREE PLANTING SERVICES
Category:	Bids, Proposals and Qualifications
Status:	Open
Bid Recipient:	Kelly Landis

Description: The Suwannee River Water Management District (District) owns and manages approximately 162,000 acres of forestland in North-Central Florida for the protection of floodplains and their associated habitats. The District’s Land Management Program directs land management staff to manage and, if necessary, restore lands titled to the Governing Board. Reforestation of pine lands with healthy, vigorous seedlings is conducive to accomplishing this goal. The District is requesting bids to V-blade plant containerized longleaf pine seedlings on approximately 371 acres in the winter of 2026-2027. Tree planting activities will occur on the Withlacoochee Quail Farm, Holton Creek, Mattair Springs, and Woods Ferry Tracts in Suwannee and Hamilton Counties. The purpose of planting is to reforest areas with site appropriate pine trees to help meet District Land Management Plan (DLMP) objectives. Publication Date/Time: 5/27/2026 11:00 AM Closing Date/Time: 6/10/2026 10:00 AM Submittal Information: Through Demand Star Contact Person: Kelly Landis Related Documents: ITB 2526-014 OPS V Blade Tree Planting Services ITB Final

Attachment Preview

SUWANNEE RIVER WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT

INVITATION TO BID

NO. 25/26-014 OPS

V-BLADE TREE PLANTING SERVICES

Section

1

2

3

4

5

6

Table of Contents

Title

Introduction

Proposed Schedule

Instructions to Bidders

Key Points

Scope of Work

Response Form

Page

2

2

2

3

8

11

Suwannee River Water Management District

9225 CR 49

Live Oak, FL 32060

386.362.1001

800.226.1066 (Florida only)

www.mysuwanneeriver.com

SECTION 1 – INTRODUCTION

The Suwannee River Water Management District (District) owns and manages approximately

162,000 acres of forestland in North-Central Florida for the protection of floodplains and their

associated habitats. The District’s Land Management Program directs land management staff to

manage and, if necessary, restore lands titled to the Governing Board. Reforestation of pine

lands with healthy, vigorous seedlings is conducive to accomplishing this goal.

The District is requesting bids to V-blade plant containerized longleaf pine seedlings on

approximately 371 acres in the winter of 2026-2027. Tree planting activities will occur on the

Withlacoochee Quail Farm, Holton Creek, Mattair Springs, and Woods Ferry Tracts in

Suwannee and Hamilton Counties. The purpose of planting is to reforest areas with site

appropriate pine trees to help meet District Land Management Plan (DLMP) objectives.

SECTION 2 – PROPOSED SCHEDULE

May 27, 2026

Release of Invitation to Bid

June 10, 2026

Bids due prior to 10:00 a.m. Opening will occur at this time. *

December 1, 2026

Anticipated start date.

* Denotes a public meeting. All times denote Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). All times denote Eastern Standard Time

(EST).

SECTION 3 - INSTRUCTION TO BIDDERS

Delivery of Bid:

Submit Bids Electronically through DemandStar.

https://www.demandstar.com/app/agencies/florida/suwannee-river-water-management-

district/procurement.

For articles and videos to assist you through the DemandStar registry and uploading of

documents visit the DemandStar business support page at:

https://network.demandstar.com/business-support/.

If you are unfamiliar with DemandStar, please submit your bid far enough in advance to work

through any complications you may have with the system.

Bids are to be uploaded to the platform prior to 10:00 a.m. on June 10, 2026. Bids received

after this time, for any reason, will be rejected.

ADA Compliance: All bids submitted in electronic/digital format must include a certification by

the Vendor that the electronic submission and all supporting documents are accessible

according to 282.603 Florida Statutes and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 relating

to the creation and use of electronic documents. This requirement applies to editable formats,

such as Microsoft Word, as well as portable document formats (PDF).

Additional bid packages may be obtained by logging on to www.mysuwanneeriver.com.

Bidders must submit the forms provided in Sections 6. Additional pages of documentation

may be submitted to further clarify the information in Sections 6, but no bid will be considered that

does not include a previous work history and confirm the use of the approved equipment. All

entries on the bid form shall be typed or legibly printed in ink.

Bidder shall submit a document that illustrates the Firm’s understanding of the work requested,

which includes the items below.

 Qualifications: List at least three (3) projects of a similar nature specified in this Scope

of Work over the past three (3) years.

 List shall include a brief description of the project, name, and contact information for

the company the services were performed for, or a contact person and phone number

of the same companies.

 Provide Equipment List.

SECTION 4 – KEY POINTS

Evaluation by District: In accordance with subsection 287.057(1)(a) 4, the contract shall be

awarded to the responsible and responsive vendor who submits the lowest bid.

Challenge of Solicitation Process: If a potential bidder protests any provisions of this ITB, a

notice of intent to protest shall be filed with the District in writing within 72 hours after the posting

of the invitation to bid on the District’s website. “Failure to file a protest within the time

prescribed in Section 120.57(3) Florida Statutes shall constitute a waiver of proceedings under

Chapter 120 of Florida Statutes.”

Challenge of District’s Intent to Award Contract: If a bidder intends to protest District’s intent

to award a contract, the notice of intent to protest must be filed in writing within 72 hours after

posting of a notice of intent to award a contract and the bidder shall file a formal written protest

within ten (10) days after filing of a notice of intent to protest. Any bidder who files a formal

written protest pursuant to Chapter 28-110, Florida Administrative Code, and Section 120.57(3),

Florida Statutes shall post with the District at the time of filing the formal written protest, a bond

pursuant to Section 287.042(2) (c), Florida Statutes (2013).

Failure to file a notice of intent to protest or failure to file a formal written protest within the time

prescribed in Chapter 28-110, Florida Administrative Code and Section 120.57(3), Florida

Statutes, or failure to post the bond or other security required by law within the time allowed for

filing a bond shall constitute a waiver of proceedings under Chapter 120, Florida Statutes. More

specifically, “Failure to file a protest within the time prescribed in Section 120.57(3) Florida

Statutes shall constitute a waiver of proceedings under Chapter 120 of Florida Statutes.”

Americans with Disabilities Act: The District does not discriminate upon the basis of any

individual’s disability status. This nondiscrimination policy involves every aspect of the District’s

functions including one’s access to, participation, employment, or treatment in its programs or

activities. Anyone requiring reasonable accommodation as provided for in the Americans with

Disabilities Act should contact Sharon Hingson, Records and Contracts Manager, at

386.362.1001 or 800.226.1066 (Florida only).

Minority Business Enterprises: The District recognizes fair and open competition as a basic

tenet of public procurement. Bidders doing business with the District are prohibited from

discriminating on the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, handicap, age, or sex. The

District encourages participation by minority business enterprises. Whenever two or more

service providers are ranked equally, a minority business enterprise shall be given preference in

the award process.

Veteran’s Preference: In the absence of a minority business enterprise, whenever two or more

service providers are ranked equally, a veteran-owned business enterprise shall be given

preference in the award process.

Drug Free Workplace Act: The selected bidder(s) shall certify that it has established a drug

free workplace.

Public Entity Crime: Section 287.133(2)(a), Florida Statutes, states “A person or affiliate who

has been placed on the convicted vendor list following a conviction for a public entity crime may

not submit a bid on a contract to provide any goods or services to a public entity, may not

submit a bid on a contract with a public entity for the construction or repair of a public building or

public work, may not submit bids on leases of real property to a public entity, may not be

awarded or perform work as a contractor, supplier, subcontractor, or consultant under a contract

with any public entity, and may not transact business with any public entity in excess of the

threshold amount provided in s.287.017 for CATEGORY TWO for a period of 36 months from

the date of being placed on the convicted vendor list.”

Scrutinized Company: Section 287.135, Florida Statutes, states “A company is ineligible to,

and may not, bid on, submit a proposal for, or enter into or renew a contract with an agency or

local governmental entity for goods or services of:

a. Any amount if, at the time of bidding on, submitting a proposal for, or entering

into or renewing such contract, the company is on the Scrutinized Companies

that Boycott Israel List, created pursuant to s. 215.4725, or is engaged in a

boycott of Israel; or

b. One million dollars or more if, at the time of bidding on, submitting a proposal for,

or entering into or renewing such contract, the company:

1. Is on the Scrutinized Companies with Activities in Sudan List or the Scrutinized

Companies with Activities in the Iran Petroleum Energy Sector List, created

pursuant to s. 215.473; or

2. Is engaged in business operations in Cuba or Syria.”

Insurance Requirements: If awarded, BIDDERS shall represent and guarantee that all

employees, agents, servants, or representatives of the bidder, and all employees, agents,

servants, or representatives of subcontractors are covered by workers' compensation insurance.

Prior to entering into a contract with the District, bidder agrees to furnish the District certificates

of insurance on all insurance, naming District as additional insured for items 2 and 3 below,

providing evidence that bidder has in full force and effect the following minimum insurance with

insurers authorized to do business in the State of Florida:

1) Workers' compensation insurance as required above.

2) Motor vehicular liability insurance with limits of not less than $1,000,000 combined single

limit which insurance shall be applicable to any and all vehicles utilized by bidder to

provide the services requested by District.

3) General liability insurance for all services rendered by bidder for the requested services

with a minimum of $1,000,000 personal and advertising injury and $1,000,000 general

aggregate.

The certificate of insurance shall also provide that District shall be notified in writing by the

carrier at least 30 days prior to any cancellation of said insurance.

Rejection of Responses: The District reserves the right to reject any and all bids or other bids

submitted in response to the District invitation. The District also reserves the right to waive any

minor deviations or obvious scrivener’s errors in an otherwise valid bid.

Qualifications of Bidders – *To Submit with Bid* It is the bidder’s responsibility to completely

fill in all items in Section 6, the Equipment List with the information listed below in the response.

Items that are in bold will be used to determine the low-price component of assessment where

applicable. Other items that can be provided should be filled in and can be included in the contract

at the option of the District. Failure to provide these items may result in the bid being considered

non-responsive.

The minimum requirements necessary to meet the qualifications for this contract are as follows:

a) Have three (3) years’ experience for the task(s) being proposed (project experience must be

by the individual(s), firm, or project manager(s) assigned to the project). Bidders shall include

information that demonstrates their ability to meet this requirement; and

b) Have completed at least three (3) projects of the nature specified in the applicable Scope of

Services over the past three (3) years. (Bidders shall use the SIMILAR PROJECTS form

provided to list the names of the project(s), including the personnel assigned to each, and the

names of the agencies/companies (not including the District) for whom the work was

performed, including a contact person and telephone number.); and

c) Bidders must demonstrate their ability to provide all equipment necessary (either owned or

leased) with experienced operators (minimum three years) necessary to provide the required

work (fill in and return an “Equipment List”, with the bid).

d) A working email address with the ability to send and receive photographs; receive and print

color maps in jpeg or PDF format. District staff needs the ability to send the contractor task

work assessment, photographs, and project maps via email.

Each bidder shall submit the documentation stated above under Paragraphs ‘a’ - ‘d’ with the bid

package. Failure on the part of the bidders to include the above with the bid shall render the bid

non-responsive. Only responsive bids will be considered by the District.

Disqualification of bidders: Any of the following causes shall be considered as sufficient

grounds for the disqualification of a bidder and the rejection of his bid:

a) Submission of more than one bid for the same work by an individual, firm, partnership, or

corporation under the same or different names.

b) Evidence of collusion among bidders.

c) Incomplete work for which the bidder is committed by contract, which, in the judgment of the

District, might hinder or prevent the prompt completion of work under this contract if

awarded to bidder.

Commodity Codes

• NAICS 115310Support Activities for Forestry
• NAICS 561730Landscaping Services

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