Trout Creek Cut-To-Length Stewardship IRSC

The USDA Forest Service seeks timber removal and forest stewardship services across approximately 248 acres of National Forest System lands in the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, California, with proposals due July 9, 2026. This is a total small business set-aside (500-employee size standard); only current holders of the R5 Pacific Southwest Stewardship BPA are eligible to submit quotations, and quotes from non-BPA holders will be rejected without evaluation.

Place of performance is South Lake Tahoe, California (elevations 6,230 to 7,800 feet) across six cutting units (Units 3, 7, 12, 13, 28, 29) in El Dorado County. The contract is structured as a firm fixed-price commercial services procurement under FAR Part 12 and operates as a Request for Quotation, not a formal RFP.

Mandatory work spans 165 acres and includes cutting and removing sawtimber (Incense Cedar, Jeffrey Pine, Red Fir, White Fir) using required ground-based Cut-to-Length logging systems with all-wheel drive harvesters (20-foot operating radius) and forwarders (15-foot radius); mechanical thinning of small trees to 10 per acre; mastication of dead and down material; removal of approximately 2,149 tons of biomass and cull logs; temporary road construction and decommissioning (not-to-exceed 0.75 miles); and maintenance of 5.0 miles of existing roads. Optional work covers an additional 83 acres (Units 12, 28) with estimated 998 additional tons of biomass removal. Timber removal pricing requires minimum offers of $0.01 per ton for sawtimber, biomass, and non-saw products. Work must commence within 10 days of Notice to Proceed and be completed by November 1, 2028, with a minimum of 85 mandatory acres completed by November 15, 2027.

Quoters must submit technical proposals and price quotes separately by July 9 at 3:00 PM Pacific Daylight Time to karen.ruklic@usda.gov. Evaluation criteria weigh Technical Approach and Relevant Past Performance as significantly more important than Benefit to Local Community and Price. Local community is defined as Placer, Eldorado, Alpine, Douglas, Carson City, and Washoe counties. The contract incorporates Service Contract Act wage determinations and requires compliance with fire suppression protocols, wet weather operating standards, and riparian and Stream Environment Zone protections. NAICS code is 113310 (Logging); PSC code is F014. A post-award conference will occur at least 10 days prior to work commencement at the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit Supervisor's Office in South Lake Tahoe.