Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
USDA Forest Service Dakota Skipper Habitat Survey and Mapping
Department of Agriculture · Forest Service
More open Forest Service contracts
AI summaryThe USDA Forest Service wants a small business to survey and map Dakota skipper (a rare butterfly) habitat on the Little Missouri National Grassland, McKenzie Ranger District, McKenzie County, ND, under solicitation 1284LM27Q0002. The response due date is Nov 3, 2026, 5:00 PM Mountain. Field work runs May 15 to September 30, 2027, with the final report due by January 31, 2028. More in the summary
A newer version of this notice was posted Oct 22, 2026. It moves the due date from Nov 3, 2026 to Nov 4, 2026, which is the date shown on this page. See the latest version.
AI summary Beta
Summary of another version of this notice: check what changed on SAM.gov. This summary may miss requirements: 1 of 4 attachments weren't read (C04c Wage Determination 1284LM27Q0002.pdf). Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
The USDA Forest Service wants a small business to survey and map Dakota skipper (a rare butterfly) habitat on the Little Missouri National Grassland, McKenzie Ranger District, McKenzie County, ND, under solicitation 1284LM27Q0002. The response due date is Nov 3, 2026, 5:00 PM Mountain. Field work runs May 15 to September 30, 2027, with the final report due by January 31, 2028.
Who can bid
- Small business concern; this is a total small business set-aside (size standard $19M for NAICS 541620)
- Active entity registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) to submit a quote
How to submit: Email to joanne.meiers@usda.gov. What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (8)
From the version posted Oct 22, 2026.
- Serious: Total small business set-aside. Only small businesses can bid.
- Serious: Contact only the named buyer. Talking to any other Forest Service staff before award can get your quote rejected.
- Worth checking: Amendment 0001 must be acknowledged. Amendment 0001 replaced the performance work statement; sign and return the SF-30 with your quote. The response due date did not change.
Show all 8Show fewer
- Worth checking: Specialist botany experience expected. Selection may weigh an advanced degree in botany or biology, Great Plains plant knowledge, and field seasons as principal investigator on a rare plant survey.
- Worth checking: All items must be priced. With one award planned, a quote that leaves out a price for any item is not considered responsive.
- Minor: Questions due October 28, 2026. Questions go by email to the contracting officer; the notice says close of business, the solicitation says 1700 MT.
- Minor: Report must pass review. The Government can require edits or a resubmitted final report if it falls short of professional standards.
- Minor: No debriefing. Losing bidders will not get a post-award debriefing.
Read from the notice and 3 attachments. 1 of 4 not read. Show which files.
- C05b Amended Performance Work Statement 1284LM27Q0002 AMD 0001.docx (read)
- C04a SF-1449 CSS 1284LM27Q0002.pdf (read)
- C05a SF-30 1284LM27Q0002 AMD 0001.pdf (read)
- C04c Wage Determination 1284LM27Q0002.pdf: not summarized: open it on SAM.gov
Full summary
What they want
- Walk assigned survey areas and identify the required native grasses and flowering plants that make up Dakota skipper habitat
- Map the edge of each suitable habitat patch by walking its perimeter and recording GPS points to make a polygon
- Record the GPS location of any rare, threatened, endangered or sensitive pollinators found, including Dakota skipper, and photograph them
- Send the contracting officer's representative (COR) a survey plan before field surveys, then monthly email reports once the field season starts
- Deliver GPS polygon files in UTM, NAD83 format
- Deliver a draft report by November 30, 2027 and a final report in Word or PDF by January 31, 2028
- Supply all equipment, labor, materials, transportation and lodging; the Government supplies shapefiles (map data files), a data dictionary and access instructions
- Price three lump sum (LS: one set price for the whole item) lines: Task 1 Work Plan, Field Survey and Mapping, Final Report and GIS Deliverable
- Contract type
- Firm-fixed-price (FFP: one set price, whatever the work ends up costing) purchase order; one award planned
- Period of performance
- Field season May 15, 2027 through September 30, 2027; delivery date on the form is 01/31/2028
- Place of performance
- McKenzie Ranger District, McKenzie County, North Dakota, on the Little Missouri National Grassland, east of the Little Missouri River, south of the North Unit of TRNP, west of Hwy 85
- Estimated value
- Not stated
- How they'll choose
- Highest technically rated quote, provided the price is fair and reasonable and past performance is acceptable or neutral; price decides only among exact technical ties
- Offers due
- November 4, 2026, 5:00 PM Mountain
- How to submit
- Email to joanne.meiers@usda.gov
What they'll judge offers on
- Technical Approach: past performance list, technical capability (professional qualifications and relevant training), and key personnel experience
- Price: checked for fairness and reasonableness
- Past Performance: rated acceptable, neutral (no record) or unacceptable
What to include when you submit
- Send two separate attachments, a Technical Proposal and a Price Proposal, in Microsoft Word, Excel or Adobe PDF
- Past performance: a list of similar projects completed by your firm over the past three years, with a brief description, dollar amount, year completed and project owner contact (name, phone, email)
- If your firm has no past performance, you may give it for predecessor companies, key personnel or subcontractors; with none, you get a neutral rating
- Technical capability: a statement of your professional qualifications and those of anyone else doing the work, including degrees, training and experience in floristic (plant) and rare plant field surveys and reports
- Selection may consider an M.S. or Ph.D. in botany, biology or a related field (or equivalent education and experience) and knowledge of Great Plains flora
- Experience: show key personnel have one or more field seasons in rare plant surveying and one or more summer field seasons as principal investigator on a floristic or rare plant survey
- Price proposal: the completed Schedule of Items and Block 14 of the SF-1449; price every item
- Sign and return the SF-30 (C05a) with your quote to acknowledge Amendment 0001
- Hold your prices firm for 60 calendar days from the response due date
Not in the notice text
- The wage determination (C04c Wage Determination 1284LM27Q0002.pdf) is attached but not read; it is a scanned PDF. The Service Contract Labor Standards apply.
- Table 1, which lists the survey areas, is mentioned in the performance work statement but isn't in the text.
- Whether there is a site visit is not stated; clause 52.237-1 Site Visits is listed with no date.
- The Government's estimate or budget is not given.
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 541620
- How to submit, from the AI summary: Email to joanne.meiers@usda.gov. Check it in the notice before you send anything.
- Service contracts usually set minimum pay rates (the Service Contract Act). Price the labor with the SCA price calculator.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 21, 2026
- Notice type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- Office
- USDA-FS, CSA Intermountain 2, Ogden, UT
- Product/service code
- R499 · Support – Professional: Other
- Business type
- Consulting & professional services (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 541620)
- Versions
3 versions have been posted, newest first.
- Oct 22, 2026 · Amendment 0002Due Nov 4, 2026
- Oct 21, 2026 · Amendment 0001Due Nov 4, 2026 (changed)
- Oct 21, 2026 · Combined Synopsis/Solicitation (this version)Due Nov 3, 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 of the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO). This announcement constitutes the only solicitation. Quotes are being requested and a separate written solicitation will not be issued. Solicitation number 1284LM27Q0002 is issued as a Request for Quote (RFQ) for Dakota Skipper habitat survey and mapping within the McKenzie Ranger District in McKenzie County, North Dakota on the Little Missouri National Grassland (LMNG). This acquisition is set-aside for small business concerns. The applicable North American Industry Classification Standard Code is 541620. The small business size standard is $19M. This acquisition is a total small business set-aside. All responsible sources may submit a quotation which will be considered by the agency. See attachments for project details and submittal instructions. Please direct any questions to joanne.meiers@usda.gov no later than October 28, 2026, COB. From the date of issuance of this solicitation until a formal contract is awarded and executed, all communication regarding this procurement must be directed exclusively to joanne.meiers@usda.gov. Prospective Contractors, subcontractors, or their representatives are strictly prohibited from contacting any other FS agency personnel prior to award. Any unauthorized contact or attempt to influence agency personnel regarding this active solicitation may result in the immediate disqualification and rejection of the contractor's quote. 10/22/26 - Amendment 0001 replaces attachment C04b with C05b. Please sign and return the SF-30 (C05a) with your quote to acknowledge the amendment.
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