Region 9 - Eastern Region

The Department of Agriculture Forest Service R9-Eastern Region, a sub-agency of the USDA within the civilian federal forest-management hierarchy, administers contract and grant funding for forest stewardship, recreation, timber management, and infrastructure maintenance across national forests in the eastern United States. The Eastern Region spans multiple states and national forests including Mark Twain, Wayne, Green Mountain, and Saco, among others.

The agency has awarded 21,044 federal contracts since 2001 totaling $999.7 million in combined potential value, with $971.5 million obligated (97% of potential). Contract activity has declined: 889 awards in 2023, 742 in 2024, 509 in 2025, 730 in 2026, and 4 year-to-date in 2027. The most-recently recorded award date is 2027-06-01 (7 months 1 week after today). The agency contracts with 4,366 distinct prime contractors across a highly fragmented competitive landscape. The top five primes by award count hold 11 percent of recent awards: The Lighthouse For The Blind leads with 234 awards and $6.8 million combined potential value, followed by Rock, Snow & Fire, LLC (75 awards, $3.5 million) and King Matthew R (39 awards, $904 thousand). By potential value, concentration remains highly fragmented at 2 percent coverage among top five, with The Lighthouse For The Blind again leading ($6.8 million across 234 awards), Imperial Forestry, Incorporated ($4.8 million, 37 awards), and Snow Country Contracting Inc. ($4.3 million, 17 awards) ranking highest.

Set-asides dominate the portfolio: 54 percent of awards carry no set-aside, while 43 percent are small-business set-asides (total small business category). 8(a) sole source represents 1 percent of awards; HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB, and other minority or disadvantaged categories each account for less than 1 percent.

The agency has also awarded 2,538 federal grants since June 2012 totaling $1.42 billion in federal dollars obligated and $2.03 billion combined federal and non-federal share. Grant activity peaked in 2024 (383 awards) and has moderated: 202 awards in 2022, 360 in 2023, 383 in 2024, 314 in 2025, and 122 year-to-date in 2026. The most-recent grant award closed on 2026-08-25. Grant recipients are moderately concentrated: state natural-resource departments dominate. By award count, the top five recipients hold 18 percent of recent grants. Department Of Natural Resources leads with 63 awards and $85.5 million federal dollars, followed by Minnesota Department Of Natural Resources (49 awards, $28.8 million) and Department Of Forests Parks & Recreation Vermont (48 awards, $22.4 million). By federal dollars, concentration reaches 19 percent among top five, with Department Of Natural Resources again leading, Conservation & Forestry, Maine Department Of Agriculture second ($59.3 million, 34 awards), and Department Of Environmental Conservation New York third ($40.6 million, 27 awards). Grants are predominantly Project Grants (94 percent of awards), with Cooperative Agreements representing 6 percent.

Recent contract opportunities are primarily small-business set-aside RFQs for materials, equipment, and services: HDPE marine-grade board (due September 21, 2026), Council Bluff beach access bridges (due September 23, 2026), Saco Ranger Station snow plowing (due August 26, 2026), Wayne National Forest bear-resistant trash cans (due August 24, 2026), and Green Mountain National Forest storage-tank cleaning and inspection at Hapgood Pond (most recent amendment October 8, 2026, extended due date). A Mark Twain National Forest timber cruising IDIQ (Indefinite Delivery-Indefinite Quantity) for small business was posted July 28, 2026 with due date August 28, 2026, with a five-year performance period and multiple potential task orders.