NRCS Montana - National Resources Inventory (NRI) Grazing land Field Study Data Collection

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency of the Department of Agriculture, seeks a single firm-fixed-price contract to collect National Resources Inventory grazingland field study data on selected sample sites in Montana, with quotations due July 14, 2026. This is a Total Small Business Set-Aside.

Place of performance is Montana. The contract runs from July 16, 2026 through March 31, 2027 (base period), plus four optional 12-month renewal periods and a potential six-month extension under FAR 52.217-8, for a maximum total duration of five years. Field data collection occurs annually between May 1 and September 30.

Due to delayed award timing, the 2026 season will begin mid-August with an anticipated target of approximately 100 segments and a minimum acceptable threshold of 30 non-federal segments. The government expects 10 to 70 federal segments, or as many as contractors can complete within the compressed timeline. The contractor must furnish a qualified data collection team at each point, including one individual meeting U.S. Office of Personnel Management standards for Rangeland Management Series 0454 or Ecology Series 0408 with demonstrated rangeland experience, one individual meeting Soil Science Series 0470 standards with soil description expertise, and additional support personnel with at least two years of undergraduate training in biological or earth sciences. For Technical Leader Authorization, contractors may demonstrate comparable rangeland experience (such as BLM Assessment, Inventory, and Monitoring protocols) instead of prior NRCS NRI crew member experience, subject to Contracting Officer approval. All contractor personnel must complete mandatory NRCS-provided training and participate in calibration exercises prior to and during data collection, with training costs included in per-point pricing. The NAICS code is 541620, Environmental Consulting Services, with a small business size standard of $19 million. Service Contract Labor Standards apply, with a wage determination of $33.56 per hour for Environmental Technician. Evaluation weighs technical approach (five factors: personnel qualifications, rangeland inventory methods knowledge, plant taxonomy knowledge specific to Montana, geographic location and local ecological knowledge, and capacity to accomplish work) and price. Award will be made to the highest technically rated offeror with fair and reasonable pricing and acceptable or neutral past performance, without conducting discussions. Questions are due July 8, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET to blake.boyer@usda.gov.