Herbicide Application Services - Peace River State Forest

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS or Department) seeks to obtain competitive bids for herbicide application services targeting invasive exotic plants encompassing approximately 107 acres within Peace River State Forest located in DeSoto County, Florida.

The Department intends to make a single award or to make no award, as determined to be in the best interest of the State.

This ITB requests competitive bids for herbicide application services targeting invasive exotic plants in an area encompassing approximately 107 acres within Peace River State Forest. The Contractor shall perform initial herbicide treatment of all Florida Invasive Species Council (FISC, formerly the Exotic Pest Plant Council [FLEPPC]) Category 1 non-native plants within the identified treatment area.

The project must be completed no later than **June 10, 2027**.

The Contractor must treat the entire project area. [...] The Contractor shall provide all transportation, labor, materials, equipment, tools, personnel, supervision, and personal protective equipment (PPE) necessary to successfully complete the required herbicide treatment.

The Contractor shall supply all herbicides, non-ionic surfactant, as needed, and blue or red marking dye. [...] The entire project area must be treated to achieve 100% coverage, and at least 95% of the treated plants must be dead within three (3) months of project completion.

The Contractor is responsible for collecting the following data: treatment date, treatment location (treatment area worked in longitude and latitude); control method; herbicide mix, and volume used; number of applicators; hours worked and weather conditions. The Contractor shall collect GPS data information detailing the area worked each day in the form of GPS tracks.

Upon completion of services, the Contractor shall remove all trash, debris and rinse water generated from the project site and leave area in same condition as provided by the Department.

**Sealed bids due** December 1, 2026, 5:00 PM ET. Bids may be sent by U.S. mail, courier, overnight or hand delivered to: Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, 407 S. Calhoun Street, SB-8 Mayo Building, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0800. Electronic (email/fax) submission of bids will not be accepted for the ITB. All bids must be submitted in a sealed envelope/package with the relevant ITB number clearly marked on the outside of the envelope/package. Late bids will not be accepted.

An award shall be made to the responsive and responsible vendor with the lowest Initial Term Grand Total Price, as specified in *Attachment E - Price Sheet*.

The Department anticipates issuing a purchase order as a result of this ITB for an initial one (1) year term. Upon mutual agreement of both Parties, the purchase order may be renewed in one-year increments, at the same terms and conditions, not to exceed three (3) renewal years in addition to the initial one-year term.

The Contractor must possess and provide proof of a certified commercial applicators license in either the natural areas weed management or the aquatic category.

**Mandatory** pre-bid site visit: November 12, 2026, 9:30 AM (ET). Any bid received from a prospective vendor that did not attend the mandatory pre-bid conference will be deemed non-responsive.

The public bid opening is December 2, 2026, 10:00 AM.