Isdra fee collection services 2026-2027

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), California Region, El Centro Field Office is conducting market research to identify qualified contractors to provide fee collection services for the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area (ISDRA), a 160,000-acre recreation area that receives the highest visitor-use concentration of any BLM recreation area in the country. Services required include supplying and distributing weekly and season permits, developing and maintaining a public-facing website for online permit sales, staffing two ranger stations during peak season (mid-October through mid-April) with standard hours from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time and extended hours until 10:00 p.m. on holiday weekends, and providing 24/7 customer service via phone. Contractors must demonstrate capability to perform these services through a capabilities statement and provide basic business information including UEI, business size classification, and socioeconomic status. Responses to this Pre-Solicitation Notice must be submitted by email to lehlinger@ios.doi.gov no later than close of business on March 18, 2026, and interested parties must include a positive statement of intent to submit a quote when the formal solicitation is issued.

This procurement carries no small business set-aside designation, though the government may determine whether to establish one based on market research responses. Historically, the ISDRA permit program generates approximately 7,422 season permit sales and 58,346 weekly permit sales annually, with third-party vendor distribution accounting for 91 percent of sales. The contractor will be responsible for depositing all collected fees electronically to the Department of the Treasury, maintaining no more than $1,000,000 in ISDRA funds at any time, and submitting detailed monthly sales reports. The contract is structured as a fixed-price award covering a 12-month base period from June 1 through May 31, plus four optional 12-month periods, with the permit sales season running from September 1 through April 15 annually. Additional responsibilities include attending the Sand Sports Super Show in Costa Mesa to sell approximately 1,000 permits, conducting annual independent accounting audits, and potentially providing optional mobile and stationary sales operations as coordinated with the BLM Contracting Officer's Representative.