The purpose and intent of this solicitation is to establish contract rates to verify the loss of timber on private land resulting from Hurricane Helene. DOF is seeking private consulting forestry firms to verify initial loss estimates. The work consists of verifying Hurricane-caused timber losses on private forest lands. In September of 2024, Hurricane Helene significantly damaged timber resources in southwest Virginia (see map for eligible localities). The U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has made a block grant available to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) to provide payment for crop losses, including timber on private land. The Virginia Department of Forestry (DOF) is coordinating the hurricane timber loss aspects. DOF is using GIS, site productivity, and Forest Inventory and Analysis data to determine losses by forest type, site quality, and damage extent and will make an initial loss determination on each application. Contractors will be responsible for verifying these estimates. At the time of this posting, the number of sites is not known. This will be dependent upon the volume of applications.
