Collect, Propagate & Transplant - IDIQ

This is a Sources Sought announcement for acquisition planning purposes and no formal solicitation for this requirement exists at this time. This is NOT a request for proposals and is NOT to be construed as a commitment by the Government. This information presented in this announcement will not obligate the Bureau of Reclamation in any manner.

All businesses, regardless of size, capable of and interested in performing the proposed project may submit capability statements for consideration. Based upon response to this announcement and capability statements, the Government may determine to set this acquisition aside, proceed with an unrestricted solicitation or decide on an alternate procurement strategy. Information provided in response to this announcement is voluntary. The Government will not pay for any information submitted in response to these sources sought notice.

The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 111421, Nursery and Tree Production, and the Small Business Size Standard of $3.25M.
The government is looking to award a five-year Indefinite Delivery / Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) with a ceiling estimated to be $6M.

The Proposed Project

The Bureau of Reclamation, Interior Region 8: Lower Colorado Basin (LCB), has a requirement to obtain services for the collection, propagation, and planting of native vegetation on LCB Multi-Species Conservation Program (MSCP) Conservation Areas. The contractor shall be able to perform transplanting services at all locations.

General Requirements

The Contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, transportation, tools, materials, supervision and any other items and non-personal services necessary to carry to collect, propagate, and perform large-scale transplanting of native vegetation.

The Contractor's unique qualifications shall include the ability to: Propagate from seed or cutting the following species: Anemopsis californicus (yerba mansa), Atriplex canescens (fourwing saltbush), Atriplex lentiformis (quailbush), Atriplex polycarpa (cattle saltbush), Baccharis salicifolia (mule fat), Baccharis sarothroides (desert broom), Bouteloua gracilis (blue grama), Distichlis spicata (saltgrass), Distichlis sticata (Inland saltgrass), Eleocharis palustris (common spikerush), Festuca arizonica (Arizona fescue), Muhlenbergia asperifolia (scratchgrass), Paspalum distichum(knot grass), Pluches odorata (marsh fleabane), Populus fremontii (Fremont cottonwood), Prosopis glandulosa v. torreyanna (honey mesquite), Salicornia spp. (pickleweed), Salix exigua (coyote willow), Salix gooddingii (Goodding¿s willow), Schoenoplectus californicus (California bulrush), Schoenoplectus americanus (Scirpus olneyi) (Chairmaker's bulrush), Scirpus tabernaemontani (softstem bulrush), Sporobolus aeroides (alkali sacaton) for the establishment of up to 200,000 plants.

The Contractor shall maintain greenhouse facilities capable of housing up to 1,000,000 plugs and 50,000 potted plants (minimum size 4x4 inches). The greenhouse must include a controlled environment (heat, lights, moisture), rolling benches, and shade systems.

The Contractor must be able to ship plants to planting sites in containers that protect from environmental conditions such as wind and rain. The contractor shall ensure a planting success rate of 95% survival and the ability to plant up to 150,000 trees in a single planting season.

The Contractor shall have the ability to use machinery capable of planting transplants or plantings at 1-foot in-line spacing and a minimum row width of 38 inches, as well as experience in hand-planting plugs, potted plants, and/or both. The Contractor must be able to deliver and plant vegetation at any of the following locations Beal Lake Conservation Area, Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, Cibola Valley Conservation Area, Dennis Underwood Conservation Area, Laguna Division Conservation Area, Palo Verde Ecological Reserve, Planet Ranch, Section 26 Conservation Area, Three Fingers Lake, and Yuma Meadows Conservation Area.

The Contractor shall demonstrate experience performing planting operations under adverse conditions, including hand planting in shallow water, remote locations, temperatures exceeding 100°F, and nighttime work. Past success with similar planting operations should be documented.

The capability statement shall address the work listed above and the offeror¿s ability to meet the qualification requirements with this type of work. It should also describe previous procurements performed of similar size and complexity. Identify any potential supply chain issues. Additionally, all responses to this source sought shall include company name, address, point of contact, phone number, email address, and unique entity ID number (formerly DUNS number). Provide business size and type; small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small-disadvantaged business, or women-owned small business, large, etc. Capability statements shall not exceed five pages in length. This information will be used to assist the Contracting Officer in terms of developing the appropriate procurement strategy for this acquisition.

Should you be interested in this requirement, please submit a capability package to Harris Abellon, via email at habellon@usbr.gov. Capability statements are to be submitted no later than Wednesday, February 18, 2026, 12:00 PM Pacific Time.

When it is determined that a formal solicitation will be issued, a solicitation notice will be posted on Contract Opportunities at sam.gov website at http://sam.gov/