Bicy mastication

The Department of the Interior National Park Service Midwest Region is seeking contractors to provide mastication services at Big Cypress National Preserve near Naples, Florida. The project involves creating defensible space around values of special concern, maintaining existing firebreaks, installing new firebreaks, and reducing hazardous fuel loading across approximately 48 miles of area within the preserve. Contractors must be capable of using heavy equipment with mastication heads to mulch, chip, and mow vegetation while preserving specific "leave habitats" and trees, masticating Sabal palmetto, and removing standing dead trees that pose safety risks. The work requires low-ground pressure tracked equipment and adherence to protocols for preventing the spread of noxious weeds through equipment cleaning. The contract falls under NAICS code 115310 (Support Activities for Forestry) and responses to this sources sought notice are due by July 7, 2025.

This opportunity is designated as a Total Small Business set-aside with a small business size standard of $34 million for the forestry support activities classification. The estimated service magnitude exceeds $500,000, and the contract structure includes a base year with four optional years covering fiscal years 2025-2026 through 2029, though only the initial base year is currently funded. The contract period is scheduled to run from October 1, 2025, to October 1, 2029. Contractors must be registered as small businesses in the System for Award Management (SAM) under the specified NAICS code to be eligible for consideration. The project requires specialized vegetation management capabilities along trails, firebreaks, and roads within specified width parameters while minimizing soil disturbance throughout the preserve.