Pacific Southwest Research Station

The Department of Agriculture Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station is a civilian research and stewardship agency that conducts applied research, technical assistance, and ecosystem-management work across California and the Southwest. As a sub-agency within the Forest Service, it procures contracts and awards grants to support forest science, fire management, species conservation, and natural-resource monitoring across its region.

The Station holds a contract portfolio of 1,427 awards totaling $19.9 million in combined potential value across 609 distinct prime contractors since 2005. Recent contract activity has declined: the Station issued 22 awards in 2021, 10 in 2022, 17 in 2023, 10 in 2024, and 5 year-to-date in 2025, with the most recent recorded award date in October 2025. Contract obligations stand at $19.5 million, representing 98 percent of combined potential value. The contract portfolio is highly fragmented on a per-count basis, with the top five award-winners holding 26 percent of recent awards; by combined dollar value, concentration falls to just 4 percent, indicating the Station transacts through numerous small-value task orders and purchase orders. California State Polytechnic University Humboldt leads by award count with three awards over the past five years, followed by Evan Chapman, Surv KAP Inc., Fortazo Corp., and Ecosystems Northwest, each holding two awards. Fortazo Corp. leads by potential value at $318 thousand. The contract set-aside mix is dominated by non-set-aside awards at 85 percent of the portfolio; small-business awards account for 15 percent, with negligible 8(a) activity (one sole-source, one competitive award). No open contract opportunities are recorded.

The Station has a minimal grant program, with 11 total cooperative agreements awarded to 7 distinct recipients since 2012, obligating $1.5 million in federal dollars and $1.8 million total with non-federal share. Grant activity closed in March 2020; no awards are recorded for 2021 through 2025. All 11 awards are structured as Cooperative Agreements. No recent grant opportunities are recorded. The long gap in grant activity and minimal current award velocity suggest the Station's grant function is inactive or under internal review.