Natural Resource Specialist

The USDA Forest Service is soliciting proposals for a Natural Resource Specialist to support ecological site description work in Puerto Rico, focusing on vegetation field sampling, inventory data collection, data archiving, and development of research reports and publications. The contractor will collaborate with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service to collect soil and vegetation data across various land uses including forests, rangelands, pastures, wetlands, beaches, orchards, and field crops throughout Puerto Rico. Key requirements include an advanced degree in biology or natural resources, minimum five years of field ecology experience, bilingual Spanish/English communication skills, at least ten years of experience working in Puerto Rico's natural resources, and demonstrated evidence of peer-reviewed scientific publications. The evaluation will assess technical proposals demonstrating past performance, technical capability, and key personnel qualifications alongside price proposals. Proposals must be submitted electronically to nicole.green2@usda.gov by September 25, 2025, and all offerors must maintain active System for Award Management registration.

This opportunity is designated as a 100% small business set-aside under NAICS code 541990 with a size standard of $19.5 million, though no specific incumbent contractors are identified in the solicitation materials. The contract encompasses a one-year period of performance with an estimated total effort of 900 hours, divided between 250 hours for ecological site inventories covering 5-10 sites and 750 hours for developing ecological site descriptions and technical reporting for approximately 150 sites. The work includes a separate $3,000 travel budget and follows a flexible schedule estimated at 20 hours per week, with deliverables including field data collection, site reports, 2-3 factsheets, and a peer-reviewed research publication. Performance will be based in San Juan, Puerto Rico, specifically at 140 Av. Carlos E. Chardón, with fieldwork conducted at sampling sites throughout the territory. The contractor will work in collaboration with a USDA Forest Service Research Ecologist and acknowledge support from the USDA NRCS Caribbean Office in all deliverables.