[Protest of Use of Allegedly Improper Procedures During Forest Service Sale]

A firm protested the Forest Service's use of allegedly improper procedures during a timber resale auction. The protester had breached a contract for the sale of the same timber, and the Forest Service canceled its contract and stated that damages would be assessed against it. In addition, the Forest Service forbade the protester to bid at the resale auction and required other bidders to certify that they were not affiliated with the protester. Nevertheless, the protester submitted a bid which was rejected and returned. The protester alleged that: (1) the auction was closed prematurely while another firm was attempting to bid; and (2) the Forest Service is required to resell the timber at the highest obtainable price and to mitigate the damages to be assessed. The Forest Service stated that the procedures used during the auction were proper and that the protester should not be considered an interested party under bid protest procedures. GAO agreed with the Forest Service that the protester was not an interested party for the purposes of protesting the auction procedures, since it was not eligible to bid. Exclusion from resales of bidders who fail to complete timber sale contracts is permitted by Forest Service regulations. Therefore, the protester's bid was properly rejected. Whether the resale price was reasonable and whether the Forest Service reasonably attempted to mitigate the damages are questions which must be resolved by a board of contract appeals. Accordingly, the protest was dismissed.