Aerial Seeding Kaibab National Forest

The USDA Forest Service seeks aerial seeding services for post-fire restoration across approximately 700 acres within the White Sage Fire footprint on the North Kaibab Ranger District, Arizona, with proposals due June 9 at 10:30 a.m. PST. This is a 100% small business set-aside under NAICS 115310 (Support Activities for Forestry), with a size standard of $11.5 million.

Place of performance is the North Kaibab Ranger District near Jacob Lake, Arizona, at elevations between 6,500 and 7,500 feet within the Trail Canyon and House Rock Canyon watersheds. The project requires certified weed-free seed applied at 30 seeds per square foot—comprising 7 western wheatgrass, 5 bottlebrush squirreltail, 3 prairie junegrass, and 15 sterile Triticale seeds—with continuous uniform coverage. Seed must be tested and certified to minimum 80 percent germination and 90 percent purity, submitted on a Pure Live Seed basis, and comply with Arizona and federal noxious weed seed requirements with no appreciable contamination from cheatgrass, Japanese brome, Russian thistle, or other invasive species. The contractor provides all labor, aircraft, seed, equipment, supplies, transportation, permits, supervision, staging area establishment and restoration, spill containment plans, Quality Control Plans, Site Safety Plans, Aviation Safety Plans, daily GPS-tracked progress reports, and final reporting documentation.

Performance period is 30 calendar days starting June 15, 2026, with estimated flying time of 4–5 days. Work is restricted to civil sunrise through sunset, must comply with FAA Visual Flight Rules, and cannot proceed during excessive rain, wind, or fog. The contract may be cancelled if no suitable weather window occurs by August 1.

Pricing consists of three line items: hourly rate per aircraft for seed application, cost per pound per acre for native seed mix materials including processing and handling, and lump-sum mobilization and demobilization covering per diem, mileage by truck class, and aircraft miles within Arizona. Award will be made to the lowest-priced technically acceptable offer with acceptable or neutral past performance. Quotations must include Attachment 2 Schedule of Items in Excel format with working formulas; proposals lacking this will not be accepted. Technical acceptability requires the contractor to represent ability and intent to perform all Statement of Work requirements without taking exceptions.