Exemption Area Manual Cut and Pile - 2025

The Bureau of Land Management is seeking contractors to provide manual cutting and piling services for forest management across 133 acres in three locations within South Dakota's Black Hills region: PeeDee Gulch (65 acres), Sheeptail Gulch (45 acres), and Deadman (23 acres). The project requires hand-severing and piling of conifer trees less than 8 inches in diameter at breast height to achieve specified spacing while preserving larger trees, with the primary objectives of mitigating wildfire risk, protecting public health and communities, ensuring firefighter safety, and enhancing landscape resilience. Contractors must maintain an English-speaking supervisor on-site daily and work within strict wildlife timing restrictions that prohibit implementation from May 16 to September 30. Evaluation will be based on past performance and price, with contractors required to submit a complete quote package including a past performance questionnaire and price schedule. Critical dates include a mandatory site tour scheduled for July 30, 2025, at 10:00 AM in Lead, South Dakota, and a quote submission deadline of August 11, 2025, at 1:00 PM Mountain Time.

This solicitation is designated as a 100% small business set-aside under NAICS code 115310 (Support Activities for Forestry) with a small business size standard of $11.5 million. The contract is structured as a "Bid All or Nothing" opportunity requiring contractors to quote prices for the entire project across all treatment units, with two treatment levels defined: Level I (0-30% crown closure) and Level III (31-60% crown closure). Work must be performed between October 1 and November 30, 2025, with a contract performance period extending through December 31, 2025. The project locations span multiple units across the three treatment areas, with all units having slopes under 45 percent and specific requirements that piles are not to be covered. Contractors must be registered and active in the System for Award Management (SAM) and may need approval for accessing certain private land areas adjacent to the project sites.