Solicitation
GAOA Grizzly Bear Campground
Department of Agriculture · Forest Service · Sol. 127EAX27Q0004
Due in 26 daysSmall business
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The U.S. Forest Service (Black Hills National Forest) wants a small-business contractor to rebuild Grizzly Bear Campground near Keystone, South Dakota: road work, a new water system with storage tank and pump house, new toilet building, host and volunteer sites, and redesigned accessible campsites. It is a firm-fixed-price construction contract, one award, with a performance period of 30 Nov 2026 to 10 Dec 2027, and the project is sized between $1 million and $5 million.
Watch out for
- Conflicting performance dates. The solicitation says work runs 30 Nov 2026 to 10 Dec 2027, but the specifications say work starts no sooner than Sept 2025 and must finish with the water system operating before Nov 13, 2026, so ask the Government to clarify before pricing.
Work shall start no sooner than September 15, 2025, and shall be completed before
- Bid guarantee and bonding required. You need a bid bond and then performance and payment bonds on a $1M to $5M job, which requires a surety relationship and bonding capacity.
Scanned copy of fully executed Bid Guarantee for offers over $150,000 (Standard Form
- Remote site, short working season. The campground is only generally accessible May through September, has snow October through April, and the contract period starts in winter, so scheduling and weather risk fall on you.
site is generally accessible from May through September.
- No water, toilets or cell service on site. You must plan for your own water, sanitation and communications and arrange all utility locates and electric service charges.
There is no cell phone coverage in this area and there is no land-line phone at the site.
- Heavy past performance and teaming paperwork. You must submit five reference sheets, and sheets plus consent letters for every teammate or subcontractor doing 20% or more of the work.
for five (5) relevant contracts (references) completed within the preceding five (5)
- Historic 1930s stone structures to protect. Damage to the protected stone pavilion, toilet building and drainage structures would be repaired at your cost, and the narrow road is limited by them.
Protect existing historic structures and materials with temporary protection such as
- Strict potable water testing and disinfection. The water system needs pressure tests, chlorination and repeat disinfection at your own cost if results fail, which can add time and cost.
Repeat disinfection of the water system shall be the responsibility of the Contractor
- DEI compliance certification. Submitting an offer certifies compliance with USDA's anti-discrimination and DEI terms, with False Claims Act exposure for false statements, so have your counsel review it.
By submission of its offer, the offeror certifies that:
Read from the notice and 3 attachments. 2 not read in full.
- 127EAX27Q0004 GAOA Grizzly Bear Campground.pdf
- Attachment 3 Statement of Work.pdf
- Attachment 4 Specifications.pdf
- Attachment 2 Schedule of items.xlsx: spreadsheet: not read yet
- Attachment 5 Drawings.pdf: too large
Full brief
What they want
- Demolish the old pumphouse, water system, campground furnishings and amenities
- Improve the existing campground road: realign curves, widen, improve subbase and resurface with asphalt
- Rebuild campsites (19 spurs total) for accessibility and RVs, with parking and trailer pads
- Build a new stick-built pump house and treatment building, a new 3,000-gallon underground water tank, new water lines and hydrants
- Build a new host site with sewage vault, water and electric, and upgrade the volunteer site
- Build a new stick-built double toilet building and improve the existing toilet building (add windows)
- Install electrical service (South Dakota licensed electrician, state inspection), gates, signage and information board
- Protect the 1930s stone historic structures during construction, and deliver submittals, as-builts and O&M manuals
- Contract type
- Firm-fixed-price construction contract, one award; all line items must be priced
- Period of performance
- 30 November 2026 to 10 December 2027 (per the solicitation); the specifications give different dates, see red flags
- Place of performance
- Grizzly Bear Campground off US Highway 16A, about 2 miles southwest of Keystone, Pennington County, South Dakota (Hell Canyon Ranger District)
- Estimated value
- Project magnitude between $1,000,000 and $5,000,000
- How they'll choose
- Best value using a comparative evaluation of quotes; no formal tradeoff procedures
- Offers due
- 2026-11-05 12:00 PM Mountain Time (per SAM.gov; the SF 1442 shows 11/05/2026)
- How to submit
- Not clearly stated; the contacts listed are paula.sales@usda.gov and pps.proposals@usda.gov (USDA-FS CSA Southwest 7, Albuquerque, NM)
What they'll judge offers on
- Relevant Experience
- Past Performance (recency, relevancy and quality; five references)
- Price (fair and reasonable; all line items priced)
What to include when you submit
- Send each required document as a separate file
- Include the completed Schedule of Items (Attachment 2) with every block filled and every item priced
- Include acknowledgement of any solicitation amendments and a signed SF 1442
- Include a scanned, fully executed bid guarantee (SF 24 and power of attorney) for offers over $150,000
- Include a technical approach and past performance volume
- Provide completed Past Performance Information Sheets (Attachment 6) for five relevant contracts from the last five years, plus sheets and signed consent letters (Attachment 7) for teaming partners and critical subcontractors doing 20% or more
- Hold prices firm for 90 calendar days after the offer due date
- Questions go by email to paula.sales@usda.gov and pps.proposals@usda.gov by October 29, 2026, 12:00 PM Mountain Time, with the solicitation name and number as the subject
- Site visit RSVP by email to Richard Zacher (Richard.zacher@usda.gov)
You must have
- Small business under NAICS 237990 (size standard $45.0M); total small business set-aside with limitations on subcontracting
This acquisition is a Total Small Business Set-Aside.
- Bid guarantee (SF 24 and power of attorney) with the offer if over $150,000
Scanned copy of fully executed Bid Guarantee for offers over $150,000 (Standard Form
- Performance and payment bonds for construction
52.228-15 Performance and Payment Bonds-Construction (Jun 2020)
- Water system installer must meet South Dakota licensing requirements
Water system installer must meet all State of South Dakota licensing requirements.
- Electrician with a South Dakota electrical license; state electrical inspection and approval on all electrical work
Electrician performing electrical installation must have a South Dakota Electrical License.
- Davis-Bacon style construction wage rates apply, with payrolls and records
52.222-6 Construction Wage Rate Requirements (Nov 2025)
- On-site superintendent at all times and an identified company executive responsible for the project
Contractor is to provide an onsite superintendent at all times.
- Buy American rules for construction materials
52.225-9 Buy American-Construction Materials (Nov 2025)
- Active SAM.gov registration
52.204-7 System for Award Management—Registration (Nov 2025)
Not in the notice text
- The Schedule of Items (Attachment 2, Excel) was not read, so line-item quantities and pricing format are not confirmed
- The drawings (Attachment 5) were too large to read, so site details and quantities are not visible
- About 300,000 characters of the middle of the specifications were not provided, so detailed earthwork, paving, concrete, carpentry and electrical requirements are not fully known
- Whether the site visit on October 22, 2026 is mandatory is not stated
- How to submit the offer (email, portal) is not clearly stated
- Exact offer due time is only shown by SAM.gov; the SF 1442 time was not readable
- Whether the performance and payment bond requirement box on the SF 1442 is checked YES is not legible
- Attachments 6 and 7 (past performance sheet and consent form) were not provided
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Key facts
- Response due
- Nov 5, 2026, 7:00 PM UTC
- Posted
- Oct 8, 2026
- Notice type
- Solicitation
- Solicitation
- 127EAX27Q0004
- Agency
- Department of Agriculture · Forest Service
- Office
- Black Hills National Forest
- Set-aside
- Small Business Set Aside - Total
- NAICS
- 237990
- Product/service code
- Z1PA
- Business type
- Construction & renovation
- Place of performance
- SD
- Contracting contact
- Paula Salespaula.sales@usda.gov
What similar contracts paid
5 contracts at this agency under the same NAICS code, in the same state, had activity in the last 5 years, according to USAspending.gov. Small businesses won 100% of the dollars in this market over the last 3 fiscal years.
Typical contract$103KMiddle half: $84.3K to $425K
Typical per year$141KValue divided by years of performance
Before you respond
Full notice text from SAM.gov
This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Part 12. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation. Quotations are being requested and a separate written solicitation will not be issued. Solicitation number 127EAX27Q0004 is issued as a Request for Quotation (RFQ) for updates to the Grizzly Bear Campground. Updates include: Road alignment will be adjusted to accommodate expected traffic, subbase will be enhanced. The water system well will remain; the pumphouse, service and distribution lines, and point-of-use hydrants will be replaced and rerouted to better serve campers. The information board will be replaced and relocated. Host and Volunteer Sites will each to be equipped with sewage vault, water, and electric services. Campsites will be redesigned for accessibility and improved layout, parking and functionality. A new stick-built double toilet and stick-built pump house are part of the project. This acquisition is set-aside for small business concerns. The applicable North American Industry Classification Standard Code is 237990 The small business size standard is $45.0M This acquisition is a Total Small Business Set-Aside. All responsible sources may submit a quotation which will be considered by the agency.
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