GAOA Brainard Lake Recreation Area Deferred Maintenance

The USDA Forest Service seeks quotations for deferred maintenance and recreation site reconstruction at the Niwot Picnic Trailhead in the Brainard Lake Recreation Area near Ward, Colorado, under a Total Small Business set-aside, with quotations due December 17, 2026 at 3:00 PM Mountain Time. Evaluation is lowest price technically acceptable.

Place of performance is Ward, Colorado, on the Boulder Ranger District of the Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland. The Forest Service Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland administers the contract from Fort Collins, Colorado, with James Edington as contracting officer. A mandatory site visit is scheduled for November 18, 2026 at 1130 Mountain Time, with attendees arriving by 1100 at the Gateway Trailhead Parking lot. Interested bidders must RSVP to kamber.box@usda.gov by November 16, 2026. Questions are due December 2, 2026 at 12:00 PM Mountain Standard Time to PPS.proposals@usda.gov, and answers will post as SAM.gov amendments.

Scope covers demolition of timber parking barriers and retaining walls, timber steps, rock retaining walls, accessible compacted aggregate trails, renovation of historic picnic sites, construction of new picnic sites, and revegetation of disturbed areas. Eight bid items are priced as lump sum for mobilization, demolition, and picnic sites, and by unit for clearing and grubbing (0.4 acres), aggregate trails (9,050 square feet), rock retaining walls (495 square feet), timber steps (55 square feet), and revegetation (830 square feet).

The contract is anticipated as firm fixed price, with a project magnitude between $100,000 and $250,000. Performance begins within 10 calendar days of the notice to proceed and completes within 120 calendar days. Site access is limited to July through October. Bidders must furnish a bid guarantee equal to 20 percent of the bid price, plus performance and payment bonds. Davis-Bacon wages apply per the attached wage determination.

Work is limited to daylight weekdays, with no weekend or federal holiday work. The site remains open to the public, and temporary closures require Contracting Officer approval. The contractor must obtain permits, engage a utility locating service, establish a Contracting Officer-approved staging area, and dispose of debris at approved sanitary landfills at contractor expense. Non-price factors are technical approach and past performance, with past performance based on three similar projects completed within the last three years.