Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
Longleaf Timber Stand Improvement
Department of Agriculture · Forest Service · Sol. 12444726Q0070
Due in 16 daysSmall business
Track this notice by email. We'll email you if it's amended or awarded, and a week and two days before responses are due.
AI summary Beta
Some details weren't available to this summary, so it may miss requirements. Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
The U.S. Forest Service (Lake George Ranger District, Ocala National Forest, Florida) wants a small business to cut small sand pines and oaks by hand in longleaf pine stands on about 1,575 acres in Lake, Putnam and Marion Counties. The work runs November 9, 2026 to April 8, 2027, paid per acre once the Forest Service accepts each area. It is a total small business set-aside with a single award.
Watch out for
- Fast production rate over a short season. At about 15 acres a day, 1,575 acres is roughly 105 working days, so you need enough trained crews and equipment to finish inside the November to April window.
Contractor shall provide enough staff/equipment to treat ~15 acres/day.
- Price may not decide the award. The notice says best value, but the details say the highest technically rated quote wins with no tradeoffs, so a strong technical write-up matters more than the lowest price.
Award will not necessarily be made to the lowest-priced offeror. Tradeoffs will not be conducted.
- Paid only for accepted acres, measured by GPS. Payment follows actual acres completed and accepted, and rework must be done before moving to the next area, which can slow cash flow.
Payment based on actual acres completed and accepted multiplied by the contract unit
- Service Contract Act wages apply. You must pay at least the listed hourly wages and fringe benefits (for example 17.08 for a brush/precommercial thinner), so price your crews accordingly; the solicitation text also names the wrong forest as the place of performance, so confirm which wage determination applies.
The Contracting Officer has determined Green Mountains Finger Lakes
- Penalties and strict cutting rules. Cutting protected trees is reviewed and careless cutting costs $5 per tree, and you must retain all longleaf pines and flagged trees while cutting every sand pine and small oak.
Accidental cutting of protected trees will be evaluated.
- Rough access and shifting work areas. Some units need four-wheel drive because of sandy roads, and the Contracting Officer can swap in similar areas in the district if originals become unsuitable.
Some units require 4WD due to sandy, high-centered roads.
Read from the notice and 5 attachments. 1 not read in full.
- C04-12444726Q0070_RFQ.pdf
- C04-Attachment-2-Longleaf_TSI-SOW.pdf
- C04-Attachment-3-Cosolidated Compartments.pdf
- C04-Attachment-4-Ocala National Forest Vicinity Map.pdf
- C04-Attachment 5-WD-1974-1311-Rev78-13Aug26.pdf
- C04-Attachment-1-12444726Q0070 SOI.xlsx: spreadsheet: not read yet
Full brief
What they want
- Cut sand pine and oaks smaller than 5 inches in diameter (measured 4.5 feet above ground) in about 1,575 acres across the listed stands, using brush cutters, chainsaws or other approved tools
- Keep all longleaf pines and do not cut large oaks or flagged trees
- Cut trees completely through at the base, with no hung or wedged trees and stumps no higher than 3 inches
- Treat roughly 15 acres a day with enough crew and equipment, led by a competent foreman and a non-working English-speaking supervisor for each crew
- Keep roads and trails free of slash and debris, protect fences, monuments and other improvements, and limit soil disturbance
- Tell the COR (the Forest Service's on-site contract representative) when each area is finished and fix any problems before starting the next area
- Supply everything: labor, equipment, tools, transportation and supervision; the government furnishes nothing
- Contract type
- Firm-fixed-price contract is anticipated (a commercial-item RFQ); priced per acre and paid on actual acres completed and accepted
- Period of performance
- November 9, 2026 to April 8, 2027 (one period, no options mentioned)
- Place of performance
- Ocala National Forest, Lake George Ranger District (Lake, Putnam and Marion Counties), Silver Springs, FL
- How they'll choose
- Best value, but in practice the highest technically rated quote wins if its price is fair and reasonable and past performance is acceptable or neutral; no tradeoffs and not necessarily the lowest price
- Offers due
- October 26, 2026 at 11:59 PM Eastern
What they'll judge offers on
- Technical approach (approach, proposed project timeline, and all equipment and methods for the stand improvement)
- Past experience (relevance, similarity of work, contract size, complexity and diversity)
- Price (reasonableness and balance, using a completed bid schedule for all line items)
What to include when you submit
- Submit a completed bid schedule with a price for every line item (Attachment 1); pricing for all items is required to be considered responsive
- Describe your technical approach, including a project timeline and all equipment and methods you will use
- Provide résumé-style summaries of recent, relevant contracts with scope, contract value, performance outcomes and points of contact
- Hold your prices firm for 90 calendar days after the due date
- Questions by email to Laniece Nixon (laniece.nixon@usda.gov) with a copy to Shannon Wrobel (shannon.wrobel@usda.gov), due 11:59 PM Eastern on October 19, 2026, with the solicitation name and number in the subject line
- Request any additional wage determinations no later than two days before the solicitation closes
- Complete the offeror blocks of the SF 1449 (12, 17, 23, 24 and 30) and the listed representations and certifications
You must have
- Small business (total small business set-aside) under NAICS 115310, Support Activities for Forestry (size standard shown as $11.5 million)
- Active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM)
52.204-7 System for Award Management—Registration (Nov 2025)
- A non-working, English-speaking supervisor designated in writing for each crew
Contractor must designate a non-working, English-speaking supervisor for each crew.
- A competent foreman, and crew members using OSHA-required protective gear (eye protection, gloves, chaps, hearing protection, long pants, non-skid boots) plus first aid kits
All crew members must use required PPE per OSHA.
- Pay at least the Service Contract Act wage and fringe rates in Wage Determination 1974-1311 for Florida
52.222-41 Service Contract Labor Standards (Aug 2018)
- Relevant past experience, shown as résumé-style summaries of recent contracts
Offerors should provide résumé-style summaries
Not in the notice text
- Attachment 1 (Schedule of Items spreadsheet) was not read, so the exact bid schedule format and any additional line items are unknown
- How to submit the quote (email address or portal) is not stated in the text provided
- No estimated contract value is stated
- Whether a site visit will be offered is not stated (the site visits provision is only listed by reference)
- The solicitation names Green Mountains Finger Lakes National Forest in the wage determination paragraph, which conflicts with the Ocala National Forest work location; the correct wage determination should be confirmed
- The solicitation describes both best value and no tradeoffs; how past performance ratings (very good, acceptable, unacceptable, neutral) affect award is unclear
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Key facts
- Response due
- Oct 27, 2026, 3:59 AM UTC
- Posted
- Oct 9, 2026
- Notice type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- Solicitation
- 12444726Q0070
- Agency
- Department of Agriculture · Forest Service
- Office
- USDA-FS, Csa East 8
- Set-aside
- Small Business Set Aside - Total
- NAICS
- 115310
- Product/service code
- F099
- Business type
- Environmental & natural resources
- Place of performance
- Silver Springs, FL, 34488
- Contracting contact
- Laniece Nixonlaniece.nixon@usda.gov
What similar contracts paid
374 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 99% of the dollars in this market over the last 3 fiscal years.
Typical contract$34.5KMiddle half: $18.4K to $91K
Typical per year$63.6KValue divided by years of performance
Before you respond
Full notice text from SAM.gov
Contractor shall provide all labor, equipment, tools, transportation, and supervision to cut small oaks and pines in longleaf pine plantations on approximately 1,575 acres within the Ocala National Forest. Work includes cutting designated trees using approved tools. The Contracting Officer may substitute similar areas if original locations become unsuitable. A non?working, English?speaking supervisor must be designated for each crew. Please see the Statement of Work for more details.
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