Fire Break Maintenance-Eagle Nest Lk Unit of San B

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking a small business contractor to perform fire break maintenance services at the Eagle Nest Lake Unit of San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge in Brazoria, Texas. The solicitation, numbered 140FS225Q0070, requires monthly mowing and discing of fire breaks across seven former rice field management units from May 1 to December 31, 2025. Contractors must create 15-foot-wide mowed lines and 10-foot-wide disked fire lines while operating equipment under 2.0 mph to protect Eastern Black Rail birds. Technical proposals will be evaluated based on past federal/state contract experience, project timeframes, equipment, documentation methods, certifications, and references, with these factors considered more important than price. Quotes are due by 5:00 PM ET on March 14, 2025, with a mandatory pre-bid site visit scheduled for March 12, 2025, at 10:00 AM CST.

The solicitation is set aside 100% for small businesses under NAICS code 115310 (Support Activities for Forestry) with a size standard of $34 million. The contract will cover 64.6 total acres across seven units, with individual unit sizes ranging from 4.6 to 15.2 acres. Contractors must be registered in SAM.gov and use the Invoice Processing Platform (IPP) for payment requests. The government intends to award a firm-fixed-price contract based on best value, potentially making an award based on initial proposals. Wage Determination No. 1977-1427 Rev. 72 applies to this requirement, establishing minimum wages and benefits for various forestry occupations. The contracting officer is Darla Freyholtz, with David Chisolm serving as the technical point of contact for the project.