Land Clearing

Background
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Parks & Recreation Division, Stewardship Unit is seeking bids for the control of invasive trees and shrubs through land clearing within three recreation areas: Waterloo Recreation Area, Island Lake Recreation Area, and Fort Custer Recreation Area.

The goal is to restore these areas to an oak barrens landscape characterized by native prairie vegetation with scattered oak trees. This restoration requires significant structural changes to the existing vegetation by removing invasive or non-native species such as black locust, pine, black cherry, poplar, autumn olive, and honeysuckle.

Work Details
The contractor will employ various techniques including whole-tree chipping, firewood removal, chipping of tops, and mowing with heavy-duty forestry mowers. Specific tasks include cutting or mowing all trees and shrubs except for oaks and hickories over 3 inches in diameter at breast height (DBH). Stumps must be cut no higher than three inches above ground level.

All cut material must be removed from the site, including boles, limbs, and tops. Alternative methods such as hand cutting and burning may be proposed if they are in the best interest of resource management. The contractor must also ensure that no damage occurs to living oak trees during the growing season to prevent oak wilt.

The project includes multiple treatment areas across the three parks with specific objectives for each area: reducing large trees and dense brush at Waterloo RA; removing mature pine stands at Island Lake RA; and clearing a stand of black locust at Fort Custer RA.

Period of Performance
The work is scheduled to occur between September 2024 and March 15, 2025. Some zones may only be worked on from November 1 to March 15 due to seasonal restrictions.

Place of Performance
The contract will be performed at three locations: Waterloo Recreation Area (Washtenaw/Jackson Counties), Island Lake Recreation Area (Livingston County), and Fort Custer Recreation Area (Kalamazoo County).