Sealed bids for a state sand and gravel permit to remove sand and gravel

INVITATION TO BID
SAND AND GRAVEL PERMIT
The Commissioner of State Lands will receive sealed bids for a state sand and gravel permit to remove sand and gravel from submerged land in the Mississippi River in Crittenden County, Arkansas, until 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, March 18, 2026. The bids will be opened publicly and read aloud at 7003 Valley Ranch Drive, Little Rock, AR 72223.
Crittenden County, Arkansas
In the Mississippi River, the right descending bank between river miles 719 and 724.
5.0 River Miles
*Special Conditions:
1.        Avoid gravel removal. This permit will be for sand dredging only.
2.        The applicant should be aware of and abide by the Hatchaloosahatchie Conservation Plan.
3.        The applicant should be aware of and adhere to the most recent United State Fish and Wildlife Service recommendations and conditions for the conservation of the Pallid Sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus), which is listed as Endangered. Information on the Pallid Sturgeon and its habitat can be found at: https://www.fws.gov/species/pallid-sturgeon-scaphirhynchus-albus .
4.        Dredging within reaches known to support rare mussel beds should be avoided.
5.        Although delisted, the Interior Least Tern remains a species of state conservation concern. The following special conditions apply to the permit only if the presence of the federally endangered Least Tern (Sterna antillarum athalassos) is detected. Information on the Interior Least Tern and its habitat can be found at: https://www.fws.gov/midwest/Endangered/birds/leasttern/index.html .
6.        Allow no dredges or related human activity within 1,000 feet of the shoreline of the sandbar providing habitat for the nesting interior least tern during the months of May through August. If this sandbar is over one mile long, this restriction should be applied to the shoreline ½ mile up-stream and ½ mile downstream from the colony site.
7.        Allow no dredging at any time of the year within two hundred feet of the navigation pool level shoreline of the sandbar on which the terns are nesting.
8.        Dredge crews should not be permitted on a nesting island from May 1 through August 31.
9.        If, in the process of conducting work, the dredge crew or company officials discover an interior least tern colony on another island in the vicinity covered by this permit, the above restrictions should apply to that island as well.
**Permit is also subject to acceptance and permit issuance by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.
The maximum term of this permit shall not exceed five (5) years. It shall also terminate within six (6) months after the commercial production of sand and gravel has ceased. The minimum acceptable bid shall be a royalty of $0.25 per cubic yard for sand and $0.45 per cubic yard for gravel. The Commissioner of State Lands reserves the right to reject any or all bids.
A bid fee in the amount of $500 must accompany all bids. Anyone interested in submitting a bid may contact the office at the address, phone number or email address listed below and request Bid Package #24-03-01.
Tommy Land, Commissioner of State Lands
Natural Resources Mineral Leasing Division
7003 Valley Ranch Drive
Little Rock, AR 72223
501-324-9422
Email: minerals@cosl.org
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