John Day WS Helicopter Flights for Surveys & Mgt Pendleton, Heppner, John Day, Prineville

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) is issuing Request for Proposal #S-63500-00016941 for helicopter flight services to support wildlife surveys and management operations across the Pendleton, Heppner, John Day, and Prineville wildlife districts in Eastern Oregon. The procurement seeks a single contractor to provide up to two helicopters with experienced pilots, a fuel truck with licensed driver, and capture crew support services as needed for approximately 570 hours of helicopter flights over a two-year period from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2028. The contractor must conduct approximately 530 hours of big game census operations for Rocky Mountain elk, mule/white-tailed deer, bighorn sheep, Rocky Mountain goats, and pronghorn, with an additional 40 hours available for wildlife management activities including disease surveillance, damage control, and wildlife research. Helicopters must meet FAR Part 135 certification standards and be equipped with GPS navigational systems and remote aircraft tracking capabilities, specifically Bell 206BIII JetRangers or equivalent aircraft with minimum 340 horsepower turbine engines accommodating three observers plus the pilot. Pilots must have a minimum of 3,000 hours as pilot in command of helicopter operations and 1,000 hours of low-elevation flight experience. The primary survey periods run from November 15 through March 31 annually, with actual flight dates dependent on weather conditions. Equipment or pilot breakdowns must be repaired or replaced within 48 hours or face $500 daily penalties. Proposals are due June 16, 2026, at 2:00 PM PDT, with a questions deadline of June 2, 2026. Evaluation criteria include technical qualifications, experience, pricing, and operational capabilities as outlined in the Scored Proposal Components Form, and the contract includes ODFW's right to amend for additional two-year periods for a total of eight years.

No incumbent contractor is identified for this procurement, and no specific set-asides for disadvantaged businesses are mentioned; however, proposers are required to submit a Certified Disadvantaged Business Outreach Plan disclosing their certification status under Oregon's Certified Disadvantaged Business program administered by the Oregon Certification Office for Business Inclusion and Diversity (COBID), including minority-owned businesses (MBE), woman-owned businesses (WBE), service-disabled veteran-owned businesses (SDV), and emerging small businesses (ESB). All proposers must submit standard certifications addressing tax law compliance, non-discrimination in employment and subcontracting practices, sexual harassment and assault prevention (required for contracts anticipated to exceed $150,000), wage equality compliance, and exclusion from federal sanctions lists. The contractor must maintain comprehensive insurance including workers' compensation, commercial general liability of $2,000,000 per occurrence/$4,000,000 aggregate, and aircraft liability of $2,000,000 per occurrence/aggregate, with the State of Oregon and its officers and employees named as additional insureds. Reference checks will be conducted to verify contractor capabilities and past performance on comparable helicopter operations and wildlife management projects. The RFP does not specify a total funding amount or budget range; however, the contract compensation structure includes hourly rates for helicopter and pilot services, hourly rates for fuel truck and driver services, mileage rates for fuel truck operations, and daily per diem rates for personnel, with all pricing to be submitted on the designated Price Proposal Form. Invoices will be paid within 45 days following approval, and the contract is funded with federal funds.