Deschutes National Forest, Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District - Darlene Cultural Heritage Surveys

The USDA Forest Service, Deschutes National Forest (Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District) is seeking a cultural resource contractor to conduct pedestrian inventory and cultural resource documentation in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act for the Darlene 3 and Tepee Fire Site Prep and Reforestation projects. The solicitation, issued as Request for Quotation (RFQ) No. 1240BE26Q0038, requires qualified contractors to complete archaeological surveys, document cultural resources, and deliver survey data and site documentation by September 30, 2026, with work commencing April 1, 2026. Key contract requirements include compliance with Oregon State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) standards, GPS accuracy within 5 meters, 20-meter or less transect spacing, and adherence to Service Contract Labor Standards with a minimum Heritage Specialist wage of $35.78 per hour. The principal investigator must hold a graduate degree in archaeology with at least one year of supervisory experience, field crew leaders must possess undergraduate degrees and two years of professional archaeological experience, and crew members must have 24 credit hours of relevant coursework or five months of field experience. Evaluation criteria include technical approach with fieldwork plan and key personnel qualifications, relevant past performance regarding quality and timeliness, and pricing. The quote submission deadline is March 24, 2026, at 12:00 PM PT, with submission directed to andrea.pollock@usda.gov.

This is a Total Small Business Set-Aside with a small business size standard of $19.0 million, meaning only small business concerns are eligible to compete. No incumbent contractor or award value is specified in the solicitation documents. The base contract item (0001) covers survey work on 672 acres, with an optional item (0002) for 1 to 446 additional acres to be awarded based on available funding; pricing must be submitted on a per-acre basis with payment made only for fully completed acres. The work will be performed in Bend, Oregon, on the Deschutes National Forest's Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District, involving two survey areas within the Darlene survey region. Deliverables consist of completed site and isolate forms, GIS data, digital photographs, photo logs, and field notes; no draft or final report is required, distinguishing this from typical archaeological survey contracts.