Baker City Watershed (BCW) - Non-Commercial Thinning and Hand Pile #2 - Wallowa Whitman National Forest

The Department of Agriculture Forest Service seeks non-commercial thinning and hand pile services for the Baker City Watershed Thin & Handpile #2 project on the Wallowa Whitman National Forest, with quotations due June 1, 2026, at 11:00 AM Mountain Time and questions due by May 22, 2026. This is a Total Small Business set-aside under NAICS 115310 with a $34 million size standard.

Place of performance is the Whitman Ranger District in Baker City, Oregon. The project encompasses approximately 1,084 total acres: 777 base thinning and hand pile acres across 21 units, 232 base sectioning acres across 4 units, and 75 optional thinning and hand pile acres. Period of performance runs June 15, 2026, through November 30, 2026 (amended from the initially stated end date via Amendment 0001, Revision 1).

The scope requires non-commercial selective thinning with maximum cut diameter breast height of 10 inches for all species except juniper, retention of Western White Pine, Western Larch, Ponderosa Pine, and Douglas-Fir, and removal of White-Fir, Grand-Fir, Lodgepole Pine, and Englemann Spruce. Hand piling must follow specifications including 6x6 to 8x8-foot piles, retention of 25 percent of material within 20 feet of stream channels, and no piles within 10 feet of streams. Many units contain stream channels, private boundaries, ditches, mining claims, and heritage sites requiring designated mitigation.

The contract is firm-fixed-price with one award intended. Evaluation weighs technical approach (mechanical feasibility, equipment capabilities, understanding of thinning procedures and hand piling), price (fair and reasonable assessment), and past performance (acceptable or neutral rating). Award goes to the highest technically rated offeror provided price is fair and reasonable and past performance is acceptable or neutral. Prices must be held firm for 90 calendar days from submission. Service Contract Labor Standards apply, including minimum wage of $16.13 per hour for General Forestry Laborer and ranging to $35.61 per hour for Faller/Bucker positions, plus fringe benefits including Health & Welfare at $5.55 per hour, paid vacation, eleven paid holidays, and uniform allowance.