Solicitation
GAOA Grizzly Bear Campground
Department of Agriculture · Forest Service
More open Forest Service contracts
AI summaryThe 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. More in the summary
AI summary Beta
Summary of the version posted Oct 8, 2026. The notice was amended Nov 4, 2026. The due date moved from Nov 5, 2026 to Nov 20, 2026. Check what else changed on SAM.gov. This summary may miss requirements: 2 of 5 attachments weren't read (Attachment 2 Schedule of items.xlsx, Attachment 5 Drawings.pdf). Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
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.
Who can bid (9)
- Small business under NAICS 237990 (size standard $45.0M); total small business set-aside with limitations on subcontracting
- Bid guarantee (SF 24 and power of attorney) with the offer if over $150,000
- Performance and payment bonds for construction
Show all 9Show fewer
- Water system installer must meet South Dakota licensing requirements
- Electrician with a South Dakota electrical license; state electrical inspection and approval on all electrical work
- Davis-Bacon style construction wage rates apply, with payrolls and records
- On-site superintendent at all times and an identified company executive responsible for the project
- Buy American rules for construction materials
- Active SAM.gov registration
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), due Nov 5, 2026 12:00 PM Mountain Time (per SAM.gov; the SF 1442 shows 11/05/2026). What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (8)
- Serious: 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.
- Serious: 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.
- Worth checking: 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.
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- Worth checking: 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.
- Worth checking: 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.
- Worth checking: 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.
- Minor: 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.
- Minor: 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.
Read from the notice and 3 attachments. 2 of 5 not read. Show which files.
- 127EAX27Q0004 GAOA Grizzly Bear Campground.pdf (read)
- Attachment 3 Statement of Work.pdf (read)
- Attachment 4 Specifications.pdf (read)
- Attachment 2 Schedule of items.xlsx: not read (the AI doesn't read this file type yet): open it on SAM.gov
- Attachment 5 Drawings.pdf: not read (it couldn't be opened): open it on SAM.gov
Full summary
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
- Nov 5, 2026 12:00 PM Mountain Time (per SAM.gov; the SF 1442 shows 11/05/2026) (from the version posted Oct 8, 2026; amended since)
- 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)
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 read (it may be an attached file the AI skipped; check SAM.gov), 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 read (it may be an attached file the AI skipped; check SAM.gov)
Eligibility and how to respond
- Set aside for small businesses: only a business that counts as small under this notice's NAICS code can bid as the prime contractor. More open small business set-asides under NAICS 237990
- How to submit, from the AI summary: Not clearly stated; the contacts listed are paula.sales@usda.gov and pps.proposals@usda.gov (USDA-FS CSA Southwest 7, Albuquerque, NM). Check it in the notice before you send anything.
- Construction contracts over $2,000 pay at least the local Davis-Bacon wage rates, from the wage determination in the solicitation. Price your labor from it: How to price a government contract, and how Davis-Bacon differs from the Service Contract Act.
Notice details
- Posted
- Nov 4, 2026
- Notice type
- Solicitation
- Office
- Black Hills National Forest, Custer, SD
- Product/service code
- Z1PA · Maintenance of Recreation Facilities (Non-Building)
- Business type
- Construction & renovation (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 237990)
- Versions
2 versions have been posted, newest first.
- Nov 4, 2026 · Amendment 0001 (this version)Due Nov 20, 2026 (changed)
- Oct 8, 2026 · SolicitationDue Nov 5, 2026
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
- How to respond to a solicitation (8 steps)
- How to read a government solicitation
- How to price a government contract
- Set-aside contracts explained
Terms on this notice: Solicitation, Set-aside
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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