Houston Bush Hog

SCOPE & LOCATION The purpose of the project is to maintain the early successional habitat characteristics of designated wildlife openings. Contractor shall be able to identify and remove all unwanted woody vegetation 3-inches and less Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) in project area via mechanical mowing (i.e. bush hog). Contractor shall use a GPS device to stay within designated boundary area and access routes. Approximately 95.1 acres of early succession land may be awarded to be mowed.

Base amount is 43.6 acres (units # 1-17) with potential optional line items being awarded pending funds up to an additional 51.5 acres. Work may begin on July 1,2025 and run through November 30, 2025. BACKGROUND The project area occurs within Hoosier National Forest which includes streamside, roadside, steep/narrow trails, open-land, forest habitats and karst features (i.e. sink holes).

Wildlife openings unit 20,21,32,33 was last mowed in 2018, 1-15 and 17 were mowed in 2019. The rest of the units were mowed in 2020. Previous mowing specification in 2018, 2019 and 2020 were the same as current contract solicitation specifications. Access routes will be cleared by Forest Service (FS) personnel of any major logs blocking access before Start of the contract. Any trees that come down after will be the contractors’ responsibility.

FS personnel may be responsible if downed trees are complicated (i.e. large size, high volume or large clusters). Wildlife opening boundaries and access trails will not be flagged by FS personnel. This will all be determined by the use of a GPS device. Access routes may tend to wash out due to high volume of rains especially at creek crossings. FS personnel will have the access passable for machinery before start of contract.

If the access route washes out, the contractor shall get permission from the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) before implementing improvements to gain access safely. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE Begins July 1, 2025, and concluding end of day on November 30, 2025.