Fire Ecology Research

The US Geological Survey (USGS) Western Ecological Research Center is conducting market research to identify qualified contractors capable of providing fire ecology research support focused on analyzing how fire frequency impacts resource conservation in California's shrublands. The primary objective is to examine the balance between hazard reduction through prescribed burning and the protection of native vegetation, with particular emphasis on understanding fire response characteristics across different shrub species and statewide conditions. Contractors must demonstrate expertise in spatial database analysis, historical fire perimeter data extraction and analysis, and fire regime impacts on native ecosystems, with required personnel including a staff research scientist holding a PhD with demonstrated proficiency in multivariate statistical techniques such as classification trees, random forests, GAMs, GLMs, and cluster analysis, as well as R programming skills and knowledge of fire-induced type conversion in chaparral ecosystems. The government is not committed to award based on this sources sought announcement, as it is intended solely for market research and acquisition planning purposes; however, interested parties must submit capability statements by email to aberry@usgs.gov no later than March 17, 2026 at 5:00 AM PDT, with hardcopy and web portal submissions not accepted.

This opportunity is designated as a Total Small Business set-aside under NAICS code 541620 (Environmental Consulting Services) with a $19.0 million size standard, and is classified under product service code R425 (Support Professional: Engineering/Technical). The performance period runs from July 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026, with work to be performed at the contractor's facility, and deliverables must be provided in digital formats via USB or FTP transmission to designated USGS points of contact. No specific award value or budget range is disclosed in this pre-solicitation notice, as the government is conducting preliminary market research to determine contractor availability and capability prior to finalizing its acquisition strategy. The government will not reimburse any costs incurred by respondents in preparing capability statements or other responses to this announcement, and this notice represents the initial phase of the procurement process rather than a formal request for proposals.