BLM lick skillet hand thinning

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) National Interagency Fire Center is seeking a small business contractor to perform hand thinning services near Gold Hill, Colorado. The project involves thinning dense forest stands across 35 acres, focusing on removing conifer trees 8 inches in diameter and smaller to improve forest resilience, wildlife habitat, and tree vigor. Contractors must follow specific requirements, including maintaining stump heights under 6 inches and hand piling cut material according to detailed specifications. The solicitation will be awarded on a Lowest Price Technically Acceptable basis, with technical acceptability requiring documentation of relevant experience within the past 5 years, a detailed work schedule showing crew size and equipment, and a commitment to keep the project manager/crew foreman onsite throughout the project. Quotes are due by March 7, 2025, at 1000 MDT, with a period of performance from March 17, 2025, to December 15, 2025, and no cutting permitted between May 15-July 15.

The contract is a 100% small business set-aside with a NAICS category of Support Activities for Forestry (115310) and a size standard of $34 million. The project site includes two treatment units with work areas immediately adjacent to plowed public roads, and contractors should expect approximately 2 feet of snow while working within the units. While contractors are responsible for hand thinning and piling materials, they will not be required to burn the piles. The solicitation (RFQ 140L3725Q0018) indicates the work will be performed in the Idaho Region, specifically near Gold Hill, Colorado. The total project area covers 35 acres divided into two treatment units, with specific focus on thinning Douglas-fir, white fir, lodgepole pine, and ponderosa pine stands to enhance forest management objectives.