Collins Pine Company

B-261250 Sep 07, 1995 Jump To VIEW DECISION RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Protest that agency's refusal to extend bid opening date precluded purchasers from bidding equally and intelligently for timber sale requirement is denied where: (1) agency reasonably was concerned that delaying the bid opening date might jeopardize forestry research project milestones. Access to the information upon which these estimates were based. BACKGROUND The Requirement The timber sale at issue here is required as part of a large-scale. Long- term interdisciplinary research project in the Blacks Mountain Forest that will provide information necessary to evaluate ecosystem management processes. The submission of a qualifying sealed bid is a prerequisite to participation in the subsequent oral auction. 36 C.F.R. View Decision Matter of: Collins Pine Company File: B-261250 Date: September 7, 1995 Protest that agency's refusal to extend bid opening date precluded purchasers from bidding equally and intelligently for timber sale requirement is denied where: (1) agency reasonably was concerned that delaying the bid opening date might jeopardize forestry research project milestones; and (2) despite lack of physical access to the timber site, agency provided best available estimates--and access to the information upon which these estimates were based--from which all purchasers could reasonably prepare their bids, particularly given their timber harvesting expertise. Attorneys DECISION Collins Pine Company protests the opening of bids under a timber sale solicitation, issued by the Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, for the harvest of various areas of timber in the Blacks Mountain Experimental Forest located in Susanville, California. Collins protests the Forest Service's refusal to extend the bid opening date to permit Collins and other prospective purchasers to physically inspect the timber sale site. Collins argues that heavy snowfall in the months prior to bid opening barred potential bidders from inspecting the site, and without a site inspection, it could not intelligently prepare its bid or compete on an equal basis with at least one of the other potential bidders for this requirement. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND The Requirement The timber sale at issue here is required as part of a large-scale, long- term interdisciplinary research project in the Blacks Mountain Forest that will provide information necessary to evaluate ecosystem management processes, particularly as these processes relate to old growth forests. [1] The solicitation provided that the timber sale would be conducted as a sealed bid/oral auction procurement and contemplated the award of a 3-year contract. Under the Forest Service's sealed bid/oral auction procedures, the submission of a qualifying sealed bid is a prerequisite to participation in the subsequent oral auction. 36 C.F.R. Sec. 223.88(b) (1994); Fort Apache Timber Co., B-237377, Feb. 22, 1990, 90-1 CPD Para. 199. The solicitation set forth estimated volume quantities for various species of available timber, and required purchasers to bid a minimum lump-sum amount--$3,929,156.49--for the total timber harvest. The solicitation also contained a construction requirement for repairing approximately 52 miles of existing road and building 2 miles of new road to access the various timber sites; bidders were to include the cost of this construction in their total bid prices. To qualify for the oral auction after the bid opening, purchasers were required to bid at least the minimum lump-sum amount, and to provide a properly executed bid guarantee and other certifications required by the solicitation. In a sealed bid/oral auction procurement, once written bids are opened, the highest bid amount is then posted and used as the minimum bid amount for the subsequent oral auction. Because of the limited harvesting season in the Blacks Mountain Forest, extensive efforts were made by the Forest Service early in the procurement process to inform prospective timber purchasers about the timber sale. On August 8, 1993, the Forest Service held a timber sale planning meeting in Quincy, California, which Collins attended; at this meeting, the agency distributed information about the upcoming Blacks Mountain Forest timber sale, including preliminary timber volume estimates and site locations. On December 16, the Forest Service held a second information meeting in Susanville, California; it held a third meeting in Redding, California on April 21, 1994. At each meeting, prospective purchasers were furnished with estimated timber volume quantities, site locations, and a Forest Service contact available to provide additional information about the sale.