Current Opportunities

Stand Modification Services for Wildfire Risk Reduction

Stand Modification Services for Wildfire Risk Reduction

Location:
The Wetzin’kwa Community Forest, located near Smithers, BC.

Opportunity:
Wetzin’kwa Community Forest Agreement (K2P) has an Annual Allowable Cut (AAC) of 30,304 m3 and is administered by the Wetzin’kwa Community Forest Corporation (WCFC).

WCFC is seeking applications from qualified contractors to provide stand modification services for the purposes of Wildfire Risk Reduction (WRR). To be eligible contractors must provide proof of experience and be locally owned. Qualified and eligible contractors will be added to a Select Bidders List and able to compete for contract opportunities throughout the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

Requested Services:

• Mechanical Treatments:

• Alternative harvest systems suitable for thinning of merchantable timber (i.e., harvester/forwarder, zero-swing feller bunchers).

• Equipment suitable for the removal of treatment residues (i.e., both small and large excavators with raking or piling implements).

• Manual Treatments:

• Crews and equipment for the purposes of manual stand thinning/spacing and pruning treatments.

• Crews and equipment for the purposes of falling merchantable timber.

• Crews and equipment for the purpose of hand piling treatment residues and debris.

• Debris Management:

• Equipment suitable for the management of treatment residues and debris (i.e., chippers, mulchers, grinders).

• Equipment suitable for reducing open burning (i.e., air curtain burners, biochar creation systems, or alternate solutions to open burning)

Application:

If your firm currently provides the requested services or is interested in pursuing these planned future contract opportunities, please download stand modification services (SMS) application form by clicking the button below.

Completed applications will be accepted at any time, however, to be eligible to work on early season opportunities contractors are advised to submit their completed applications prior to May 5th, 2023.  Applications can be dropped off at Silvicon Services Inc at 3560 Victoria Drive, Smithers, BC or emailed to general@wetzinkwa.ca.

To request more information on this opportunity please contact:

Aurora Lavender, RPF
General Manager
Wetzin’kwa Community Forest Corporation
Email: aurora.lavender@silvicon.com
Phone: 250-847-3680

Alternatives to Open Burning

WCFC wishes to explore opportunities to dispose of harvesting residue utilizing alternatives to open burning. To this end WCFC is looking to engage with contractors who may own air curtain burners, biochar creation systems or alternate solutions to open burning. If your firm currently meets the following criteria or is interested in pursuing the acquisition of suitable equipment, please contact the WCFC General Manager to discuss our program further.

To alleviate wildfire risks to communities and infrastructure, many harvesting operations (both current and planned) focus on reducing high hazard fuel types. Residues from harvest operations contribute to landscape level fuels and reducing the abundance of residual fuels at the end of harvest operations is an important step in decreasing the overall wildfire risk in an area. Please note that WCFC cannot commit to eliminating open burning in its entirety, as in some circumstances it remains the only viable option to dispose of harvest residues.

Contract opportunities for these services may be negotiated with contractors who have proven experience in heavy equipment operation, completing work in a safe and efficient manner while meeting all of the environmental requirements desired to operate within the community forest tenure.

Potential contractors:

1. Must be “locally owned”. “Locally owned” means residing in the Bulkley Valley between the top of Hungry Hill to the east and Seaton Forest Products Ltd. to the West.

2. Must have a GST number.

3. Must have a WorkSafeBC number.

4. Must be a SAFE Certified Company under the BC Forest Safety Council Program.

5. Must have a suitable Safety Management System in place and be prepared to sign a Prime Contractor Agreement with WCFC.

6. Must own or lease the equipment needed to complete the harvest residue disposal.

7. Must have references available proving a safe track record in heavy equipment operation.

If multiple contractors come forward with solutions that provide alternatives to open burning, WCFC may develop a Select Bidders List for these services.

For more information on this opportunity please contact:

Aurora Lavender, RPF
General Manager
Wetzin’kwa Community Forest Corporation
Email: aurora.lavender@silvicon.com
Phone: 250-847-3680