Black-Smith Bethard & Carlson LLC

Black-Smith Bethard & Carlson LLC, an Anchorage-based small business limited liability company, provides federal real estate appraisal services as a prime contractor under total small business set-asides and full-and-open competitions, with 100 percent of its recent award footprint as prime work and no subcontractor role. The company specializes in Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP)-compliant property valuations and expert witness services across Alaska's federal land portfolio, including military installations, wildlife refuges, Native Allotment properties, and communication infrastructure sites.

Black-Smith Bethard & Carlson operates almost entirely within NAICS 531320 (Offices of Real Estate Appraisers), with 151 of its 156 awards falling under PSC code "Support - Professional: Real Property Appraisals." The company competes predominantly under total small business set-asides; of awards with set-aside designations in the source, the vast majority carry "Total Small Business" language, though the vendor also holds non-set-aside BPA task orders with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Activity has remained steady at ten to sixteen awards annually over the past five years, with a combined potential value footprint of $2.7 million across all awards and $2.1 million in obligated dollars (78 percent realization rate).

Customer concentration is heavily weighted toward Alaska-based federal real estate functions. The top five customer agencies account for 85 percent of recent awards and represent both the award-count and potential-value rankings. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineering District Alaska (ENDIST Alaska) leads both metrics with 44 awards worth $867 thousand in combined potential value, followed by the Department of the Interior's Office of Policy Management and Budget (42 awards, $728 thousand) and the Department of the Interior's Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (28 awards, $502 thousand). The National Park Service National Office and the U.S. Forest Service Alaska Region round out the active set. The top two customers have been steady and consistent across both rankings; the Special Trustee office contributes significant award volume but smaller individual contract values, suggesting a high-frequency, lower-dollar engagement pattern typical of routine land valuation work.

Black-Smith Bethard & Carlson holds a single-award $225 thousand Blanket Purchase Agreement with USACE Engineering District Alaska awarded December 7, 2023, running through December 6, 2028, which designates the company as the sole provider of real estate appraisal and related services for the district. This BPA is the dominant vehicle in the portfolio; 15 task orders under the newer W911KB24A0006 agreement and 15 under the predecessor W911KB18A0002 together account for $257 thousand in combined potential value. Additional BPA vehicles with smaller task-order footprints include W911KB13A0002 (6 task orders, $72 thousand) and others. Representative prime work includes a $50.5 thousand Department of the Interior purchase order (August 2024) for land appraisals across Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge, and U.S. Army properties; a $29.7 thousand DOI appraisal of Chisana Wrangell Ranch in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park (April 2024); a $27 thousand DOI appraisal for a Native Allotment property near Yakutat (June 2024); and multiple smaller DOI and USACE task orders for individual property valuations ranging from $5 thousand to $25 thousand. The company also delivered a $48.6 thousand expert witness services engagement to the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Division (December 2022, ultimate completion November 2024). Recent awards from May 2026 include a $17 thousand DOI appraisal for a Native Allotment tract near Tyonek and a $12 thousand appraisal for a property in Port Graham, both under total small business set-asides.

Only three awards face recompete or expiration within the next twenty-four months, with a combined potential value of $43 thousand, indicating minimal near-term recompete cliff exposure. The BPA framework established with USACE through December 2028 provides stability for the company's largest customer relationship. Black-Smith Bethard & Carlson has maintained a federal appraisal footprint since at least 2005 and operates exclusively in Alaska, with all work performed in-state and all customer agencies executing federal land, real estate, and property-transaction programs within or touching Alaska jurisdictions.