Amend_0002_140R2026Q0085_Qs___As_0002.pdf

Amendment 0002 Solicitation 140R2026Q0085

Goat Grazing Vegetation Management

Question 1. May a small-business prime contractor satisfy Technical Factor 1 through a committed, qualified small-business grazing subcontractor by including the subcontractor’s staffing, livestock, equipment, licenses, registrations, and service territory in the quotation? If so, may the subcontractor’s relevant past performance also be evaluated?

Answer 1. Yes, a small business may include its subcontractor’s staffing, livestock, equipment, licenses, registrations, and service territory in its quotation. If the prime contractor does not have relevant past performance but its subcontractor does, the Government will evaluate the subcontractor’s past performance. The subcontractor’s relevant past performance will also be considered in the evaluation.

Question 2. FAR 52.219-14 does not appear in the solicitation’s clause list. Does any limitation on subcontracting apply to this BPA or to individual calls issued under it? If so, please identify the applicable clause and explain how compliance should be calculated for this requirement.

Answer 2. FAR RFO 52.219‑14, Limitations on Subcontracting, was omitted from the originally posted solicitation and is now being incorporated through Amendment 0002. Compliance with

FAR 52.219‑14 is assessed at the order level for all calls issued under the BPA. For service requirements, a small business prime may not pay more than 50 percent of the amount paid by the Government (excluding materials and other allowable exclusions) to subcontractors that are not “similarly situated entities.” This ensures that the small business prime performs a meaningful portion of the required work.

Question 3. The pricing schedule evaluates approximately 4,414 acres per year, while the BPA states an annual maximum of $500,000. May the evaluated annual and five-year totals exceed the

BPA ceiling, since actual work will be ordered through individual calls, or should offerors cap their pricing totals in some manner?

Answer 3. The Price Schedule estimates up to 770 acre per year with an annual maximum of

$500,000, and these totals can exceed the BPA ceiling at the Contracting Officer and Contracting

Officer Representative's discretion and approval. Reclamation is currently interested in receiving cost per acre estimates for each of the Project sites, regardless of price ceilings.

Question 4. The submission instructions direct offerors to complete and sign “Page 2,” but the vendor information and signature fields appear on PDF page 3 of the solicitation. Please confirm which page must be completed and signed.

Answer 4. Please sign the page that contains the vendor information and signature fields, which appear on PDF page 3 of the solicitation package. That is the correct page to complete and return with your quotation.

Question 5. The solicitation states that emailed documents must be scanned in PDF format, but the pricing schedule is supplied as an Excel workbook. Should offerors submit the completed pricing schedule as a native Excel file, a PDF, or both?

Answer 5. Please submit the completed pricing schedule in its native Excel format. A PDF copy is optional. The Excel version ensures the Government can verify calculations and evaluate pricing accurately.

Question 6. Is the required certificate of liability insurance due with the quotation, upon establishment of the BPA, or only before an awardee accepts or begins an individual call?

Answer 6. Contractor is to provide evidence of insurance coverage upon establishment of the

BPA.

Question 7. Geographic Coverage / Partial Pricing: May a quoter propose and price only selected geographic task groups or project areas, or must every line item in the Pricing Schedule for all locations and all five years be completed for the quotation to be considered responsive?

Answer 7. Yes, quoters may propose and price only selected geographic task groups or project area.

Question 8. Pricing Unit: Section 16 of the PWS states that BPA calls will be Firm-Fixed-Price based on Price per Acre. Attachment 2 lists estimated acreage but identifies the unit as “EA.”

Please confirm that the Unit Price entered for each geographic line item should be the contractor’s all-inclusive price per acre, with the total evaluated price calculated using the estimated acreage.

Answer 8. Yes, that is correct.

Question 9. Use of Subcontractor Resources: For Factor 1 – Technical Approach, may the quoter rely upon and identify the staffing, animals, equipment, service area, licenses, and other capabilities of named proposed subcontractors or teaming partners as part of the quoter’s comprehensive capability statement?

Answer 9. Yes, contractor may. See answer number 1 above.

Question 10. Subcontractor Past Performance: For Factor 2 – Past Performance, will the

Government consider relevant past performance of named proposed subcontractors or teaming partners when evaluating the quoter, or will only past performance held directly by the quoter be considered?

Answer 10. See answer number 1 above.

Question 11. Limitations on Subcontracting / Self-Performance: Because this acquisition is a

Total Small Business Set-Aside, please confirm whether any specific limitation on subcontracting or minimum self-performance requirement will apply to the BPA holder or individual BPA calls, and how that requirement will be measured.

Answer 11. See answer number 2.

Question 12. Service Contract Labor Standards: FAR 52.222-41 and the county wage determinations are incorporated into the solicitation. Please confirm which labor classification the Government anticipates applying to goat/sheep herders and field grazing personnel.

Specifically, should grazing personnel be priced using SCA Occupation Code 11210 – Laborer, Grounds Maintenance, or another applicable classification?

Answer 12. Yes, the SCA Occupation Code 11210 – Laborer, Grounds Maintenance applies to grazing personnel. This labor category is the closest match to the overall objective of this procurement.

Question 13. Vegetation Reduction / Acreage Acceptance: The PWS establishes an objective of approximately 70%–80% reduction in available onsite vegetation. Please clarify how the

Government intends to measure and document that performance standard and whether environmentally excluded buffer areas, inaccessible areas, or other Government-directed exclusions will be removed from the acreage used for performance and payment.

Answer 13. The Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) will conduct a site visit at the end of each billing cycle to visually determine if performance measures are met before invoices are approved or rejected. The vendor is encouraged to attend these site visits with the COR.

Environmentally excluded buffer areas, inaccessible areas or other government-directed exclusions will be removed from the billable acreage and performance objectives. The COR and vendor will develop work plans and are encouraged to visit project sites together in advance of grazing activities to set expectations, identify exclusion areas and identify any obstacles that could affect grazing performance.

Question 14. Water, Access and Staging: Because drafting water from natural watercourses is prohibited, will individual BPA calls identify available Government water sources, livestock-trailer access points, staging areas, and any restrictions on onsite herder/livestock staging or overnight operations? Where Government facility water is available, please confirm whether it will be provided to the contractor without charge.

Answer 14. The vendor and COR will work together to identify all livestock trailer access points, staging areas and restrictions prior to commencing grazing activities under each BPA call. The COR will work collaboratively with the vendor(s) to determine which grazing sites have government-available sources of water on-site. If government water is available, it will be provided at no charge.

Question 15. Subcontractor Insurance: DIAR 1452.208-70 requires the Contractor to maintain the specified liability insurance and names the United States of America as an insured party.

Please confirm whether field-performing subcontractors must independently maintain the same insurance limits and named-insured requirement, or whether compliance through the BPA holder’s insurance program is sufficient.

Answer 15. The insurance coverage compliance through the BPA holder’s insurance program is sufficient.

Question 16. Additionally, Factor 1 requires submission of “all applicable licenses,” including registration numbers and expiration dates. If Reclamation anticipates any specific California, county, livestock, grazing, transportation, or site-access license or registration beyond generally applicable legal requirements, please identify those items so that we can ensure they are included in our capability package.

Answer 16. Reclamation will not require specific California, county, livestock, grazing, transportation, or site-access license or registration beyond generally applicable licenses.

Question 17. Specifically, will compliance be determined through: A visual estimate by the COR or Government representative; Measured reduction in vegetation biomass; Percentage reduction in vegetation or ground cover; Before-and-after photographic comparison; A combination of these methods; or another specified measurement methodology?

Answer 17. See answer number 13. The vendor is expected to provide before and after photos of each grazing site in addition to visual estimates by the COR.

Question 18. Additionally, please confirm whether the 70%–80% calculation will be based only on the available treatable vegetation within the approved grazing area, excluding Government-designated buffer zones, environmentally sensitive areas, inaccessible areas, or other locations where grazing is prohibited.

Answer 18. See answer number 13.

Question 19. Finally, if the Government determines that an area has not achieved the required reduction, please confirm whether acceptance will be based on the same measurement methodology when evaluating any required corrective or additional grazing.

This clarification will help us properly determine herd size, expected grazing duration, production rates and Firm-Fixed-Price per-acre pricing.

Answer 19. If the government determines that an area has not achieved the required reduction, acceptance will be based on the same measurement methodology for corrective or additional grazing as originally applied.

Question 20. May a quote be submitted with prices for a subset of the line items or task areas and still be considered responsive, given that the Government may award up to three BPAs? If a subset is acceptable, should unpriced line items be left blank or marked 'No Quote'?"

Answer 20. Yes, you may. The unpriced line items should be marked “No Quote.”

Question 21. With regard to water, is a listing or mapping available to identify the exact locations of approved reclamation facilities water?

Answer 21. A source of listing or mapping is currently not available. The COR will work with the vendor(s) upon each BPA call to determine if Reclamation-provided water may be available at certain sites prior to the commencement of grazing activities.

Question 22. Are we permitted to visit the sites, or must we seek prior approval for a site-walk?

Answer 22. Please see amendment 0001 for the answer to this question under number 2.

Question 23. With regard to access, will BOR/DOI be coordinating with private landowners/gated communities/ to facilitate entry?

Answer 23. If access through gated communities or entry through private properties is required, Reclamation will facilitate access with the respective landowners.

Question 24. How have the indicated areas been managed prior, ie. mastication, prescribed burn, targeted grazing? And if so, how recently?

Answer 24. Treatment areas have previously been managed by one or a combination of mastication, hand crews, burn piles and some targeted grazing. Few areas have been treated with herbicides, but not within the last 3 years. Sites that have undergone prior management vary in age, ranging from one to give years since last treatment.

The COR and vendor will work collaboratively to identify prospective grazing sites under each

BPA call in advance. This process ensures that suitable locations are selected for grazing activities. If a treatment area is determined not to be conducive to grazing—specifically, if vegetation has re-established to the extent that 70–80% consumption cannot be achieved—the site will not be grazed. In such cases, grazing will be deferred until other management actions have been implemented to address the vegetation and restore the site’s suitability for grazing.

Question 25. Is a biologist(s) or natural resource manager assigned to this project, and may contractors’ interface with them?

Answer 25. Reclamation does not have a dedicated biologist assigned to this project. The COR and Alternative COR are both Natural Resources Specialists and are readily available to interface with the contractor(s).

Question 26. The PWS identifies the work as shaded fuel break / fuels-management grazing and requires the contractor to recommend optimal grazing timing. For pricing purposes, should offerors assume that grazing calls will generally be scheduled during biologically and operationally appropriate fuels-reduction windows for each region, or may Reclamation issue calls at any time of year, including winter? If calls may be issued outside the recommended seasonal windows, will Reclamation consider season, regrowth risk, access, water demand, and animal-welfare conditions when approving the 90-day Work Plan?

Answer 26. Reclamation intends to schedule grazing activities during biologically and operationally appropriate fuels-reduction windows for each site whenever possible, and

Reclamation will seek advice from the contractor on how best to achieve the grazing objective for each grazing site. However, there may be circumstances where calls are issued outside of these recommended seasonal windows, including during winter, depending on the desired management objective. In such cases, Reclamation will carefully consider factors such as the season, risk of vegetation regrowth, site access conditions, water requirements, and animal welfare when reviewing and approving the contractor’s 90-day Work Plan. The goal is to ensure that grazing activities are conducted safely, effectively, and in alignment with project objectives, even if operational needs require flexibility in timing.

Question 27. If an area is grazed outside the optimal pre-fire-season window and vegetation regrows before peak fire season, would Reclamation consider the call complete based on the 70–

80% reduction achieved at the time of treatment, or would the contractor remain responsible for maintaining that reduction later in the season under the same call price?

Answer 27. If an area is grazed outside the optimal pre-fire season window and vegetation regrows before peak fire season, Reclamation will still consider the call complete based on the

70-80% reduction achieved at the time of treatment and contractor will not be required to retreat or maintain such reduction levels later in the season under the same call.