Mervin Bishop

Mervin Bishop, doing business as Bishop Enterprises 1, operates as a sole proprietor supplying wildland fire suppression equipment and water handling resources to the Department of Agriculture Forest Service across multiple regions as a prime contractor, competing predominantly under total small business set-asides on near-term delivery orders and under merit-based full-and-open competition on longer-duration IDC task orders. Bishop Enterprises 1 is a minority-owned, self-certified small disadvantaged business and Native American-owned enterprise headquartered in Malta, Montana, with operational locations in Eureka, California and elsewhere across the western United States.

The vendor's capability footprint is highly specialized and operationally focused: Bishop Enterprises 1 supplies Type 6 fire engines, water tanker trucks, water trailers, portable tanks, and associated personnel and project management support to Forest Service fire suppression and all-hazard incident response operations. Representative recent work includes a $89,286 firm fixed-price delivery order from USDA Forest Service Region 2 (Rocky Mountain Region) awarded August 16, 2026, for firefighting equipment and services supporting wildland fire suppression at Durango, Colorado; a $191,681 delivery order from Forest Service Region 5 (Pacific Southwest Region) awarded August 6, 2024, for specialized vehicles and equipment supporting fire and aviation management programs; and a $99,875 delivery order from Region 2 awarded July 5, 2026, for wildland fire suppression equipment and support resources at Delta, Colorado. Activity has accelerated significantly — from 6 awards in 2022 to 21 in 2024 — though 2025 and 2026 year-to-date show moderation at 14 and 12 awards respectively.

Customer concentration is extreme and characteristic of the vendor's business model. The Forest Service R1 Northern Region accounts for 51 awards and $2 million in combined potential value, while the National Interagency Fire Center (which coordinates multi-region incident response) accounts for 36 awards and $1.9 million, together representing 64 of 136 total awards (47% of the portfolio by count). These two customers account for $3.9 million of the $5.8 million combined potential value across all awards. The vendor serves eleven distinct customer agencies, but the Department of Agriculture Forest Service dominates — six Forest Service regional offices and the National Interagency Fire Center collectively account for 115 awards (85% of portfolio) and $5.2 million (90% of potential value). The Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management Montana-Dakotas and four other agencies account for the remainder. This concentration reflects Bishop Enterprises 1's specialized focus on Forest Service wildland fire operations.

Bishop Enterprises 1 holds three active indefinite delivery contracts with the Forest Service and National Interagency Fire Center. The primary IDC is award 1202SB22T7416, a $250,000 total small business set-aside multiple-award IDC covering East Zone Regions 1, 2, 4, 8, and 9, supporting 32 task orders valued at $1.7 million combined potential. A second IDC (12034319T7020) carries 41 task orders and $1.1 million potential value across multiple Forest Service regions. A third IDC (1202SB25T7707), awarded February 6, 2026, raises the ceiling to $500,000 for the same East Zone Regions 1, 2, 4, and 9 under total small business set-aside, with 20 task orders already placed. Blanket purchase agreements with the Forest Service (AG0343B167016 and AG0343C078018) account for 14 additional task orders. Task orders under these vehicles typically range from $7,990 to $191,681 and execute within weeks to months, reflecting the on-demand, incident-driven nature of wildland fire procurement.

Bishop Enterprises 1 holds 100% prime contractor status across its award portfolio — zero sub-awards appear in the data — and competes on total small business set-asides for most near-term delivery orders (2026 and 2025 awards carry set-aside designations), while numerous earlier task orders carry no set-aside designation, indicating competitive merit-based awards under the same IDC vehicles. The vendor's NAICS classification is concentrated in Support Activities for Forestry (123 of 136 awards), with secondary exposure in equipment rental and leasing. The primary PSC is Natural Resources/Conservation Forest-Range Fire Suppression/Presuppression (120 awards).

The source indicates two IDCs with ultimate completion dates approaching recompete: the June 1, 2022 IDC (1202SB22T7416) expires May 30, 2025, while a second vehicle carries the same expiration. The February 6, 2026 award of the $500,000 IDC (1202SB25T7707) extending to May 30, 2030 represents a recompete win that consolidates and increases the vendor's capacity ceiling. Combined obligated dollars across the portfolio total $4.2 million against $5.8 million potential value (74% realization), indicating strong execution velocity on awarded work.