Round Mountain 2026 Timber Operations
YWI is seeking a Licensed Timber Operator (Class A) to implement a 40-acre timber harvest on private forestland at Round Mountain — cutting and hauling merchantable incense cedar, thinning sub-merchantable trees and brush, building mechanical burn piles, and constructing about 3,610 feet of fireline. A pre-proposal field meeting on August 24 is mandatory.
Project overview
The Round Mountain Landscape Resilience Project treats forestland on the ridge above the South Yuba River canyon, about three miles north of Nevada City. This solicitation covers a 40-acre timber harvest on private forestland on Merrimas Way, under a conservation easement held by Bear Yuba Land Trust. The intent is to enhance ecosystem resilience and old-growth characteristics by recruiting large, resilient trees — cutting trees of all size classes, merchantable and sub-merchantable, plus brush, to reduce competition and fuel continuity. Mechanical operations will be followed by prescribed fire under a separate contract.
Work is conducted under approved Modified Timber Harvest Plan (MTHP) #2-23-00126-NEV. The selected contractor must hold a valid Licensed Timber Operator Class A license and be amended onto the plan before operations begin.
YWI is the Timber Owner of record and holds the purchase order with SPI Oroville. Title to timber and logs never passes to the contractor, and YWI receives all log revenue and pays the timber yield and forest excise taxes. Proposed unit prices are therefore service rates covering felling, processing, skidding, decking, loading, and hauling — with no offset or credit for timber value. Proposers accustomed to solicitations where the contractor buys the timber and bids net of expected revenue should note that this project is structured the other way.
This RFP will be evaluated as a best-value process, not a low-bid competition. Attendance at the pre-proposal field meeting on August 24, 2026 is mandatory — a proposal from a firm that did not attend will be rejected as non-responsive.
Scope of work
- Cutting, processing, and hauling merchantable incense cedar sawlogs to SPI Oroville — approximately 65,546 gross board feet marked (Scribner, estimate only, not guaranteed)
- Sub-merchantable thinning of trees under 10″ DBH and brush by designation-by-prescription, demonstrated by an orange sample mark walked at the field meeting
- Mechanical construction of burn piles from slash and sub-merchantable material, sited and built to defined placement and construction specifications
- Construction of approximately 3,610 feet of fireline along the southern and eastern boundaries, machine-built except where the RPF directs hand line
- Conservation easement compliance — retain 3 snags and 3 large downed logs per acre where they exist, no cutting of live healthy trees over 36″ DBH, and no heavy equipment on saturated soils
- Retention of untreated brush patches totaling roughly 1 acre, and no cutting of sugar pine, Douglas-fir, dogwood, or riparian hardwoods in the sub-merchantable class
Process & timeline
- August 14, 2026RFP posted
Request for Proposals and Exhibits A–G published as a single PDF.
- August 24, 2026Mandatory pre-proposal field meeting
Held at the Coyote Overlook Trail parking lot on Rock Creek Road near Merrimas Way. Attendance was required — non-attending firms will be rejected as non-responsive.
- August 26, 2026Questions deadline
Question period closed. No written questions were submitted; the questions raised at the field meeting are answered in the Q&A.
- August 31, 2026Responses & Addendum No. 1 posted
Field meeting questions answered and Addendum No. 1 issued, amending Exhibits B and C.
View Q&A → - September 1, 2026Addendum No. 2 posted
Licensing requirement clarified: the LTO-A certification satisfies it and no separate contractor’s license is required.
View addendum → - September 9, 2026Addendum No. 3 postedCurrent
The business license requirement is corrected: California issues no statewide business license, so alternative evidence of business status is accepted and it is no longer a pass or fail item.
View addendum → - September 14, 2026Proposals due
Single PDF by 5:00 PM PT. The 10-page limit covers the narrative sections only. A one-page cover letter, the Cost Proposal Form, insurance certificates, licensing documents, and addendum acknowledgments are not counted.
- September 28, 2026Notice of intent to award
Evaluation complete; intent to award announced.
- October 1, 2026Notice to Proceed (estimated)
Contract executed and operations may begin.
- February 28, 2027Completion (hard stop)
Operations cease for the California spotted owl limited operating period.
Documents
- Full RFP + Exhibits A–G — Round Mountain 2026 Timber OperationsPDF · 9.1 MB · posted August 14, 2026Download
- Addendum No. 1 + revised Exhibits B and CPDF · 258 KB · posted August 31, 2026Download
- Addendum No. 2 — licensing requirementPDF · 124 KB · posted September 1, 2026Download
- Addendum No. 3 — business license requirement correctedPDF · 129 KB · posted September 9, 2026Download
- Responses to Pre-Proposal Field Meeting QuestionsPDF · 62 KB · posted August 31, 2026Download
Latest updates
Addendum 03 — Business license requirement corrected
Removes the requirement to provide proof of a “California business license”: California issues no general statewide business license, and businesses in unincorporated Nevada County cannot obtain a county one; and more. See all changes →
Section III.E.6 requires proof of a California business license, but California does not issue a general statewide business license. What should a proposer provide instead?
That is correct, and the requirement has been withdrawn. California issues no general statewide business license. Business licensing in California is administered locally, and a bu… Read full answer →