Forest Access

Forest Access, a for-profit sole proprietorship based in Bonner, Montana, operates as a prime contractor delivering vegetation data collection and forest assessment services to the USDA Forest Service exclusively, competing predominantly under total small business set-asides for regional work and a new government-wide Blanket Purchase Agreement. The company specializes in field-based forestry survey work including common stand exams, old growth forest determinations, timber stand improvement surveys, pre-commercial thinning assessments, and stocking surveys across national forests in the northern and western United States.

Forest Access's customer footprint is heavily concentrated within USDA Forest Service region-by-region operations. The Department of Agriculture Forest Service R1 (Northern Region) accounts for 33 awards (approximately 80% of award count) with $3.1 million in combined potential value, anchored by a five-year, $2 million Region 1 Data Collection IDIQ awarded in 2020 and extended through January 2026. Two additional vehicles— an Indefinite Delivery Contract (9 task orders, $463 thousand combined potential value) and a Blanket Purchase Agreement (2 task orders, $145 thousand combined potential value)—anchor regional work. Representative delivery orders include a $163,096 common stand exam and old growth protocol contract on the Kootenai National Forest (June 2024), a $117,736 vegetation data collection task order in the Eureka area (April 2024), and a $67,380 pre-commercial thinning survey in the Nez Perce Clearwater National Forest (August 2024). The company also holds active work with Forest Service R4 (Intermountain Region) and the Rocky Mountain Research Station, with smaller presence in R6 (Pacific Northwest).

Forest Access secured a substantial pivot in May 2026 when the USDA Forest Service Washington Office awarded it a $50 million Blanket Purchase Agreement (ceiling) under the Land Management Integrated Resources (LMIR) BPA, effective through March 6, 2033, for professional services, natural resources restoration, engineering, project management, and natural resource work nationwide. This vehicle represents a multi-year capacity expansion beyond the company's historical regional footprint. Recent BPA calls under the Washington Office vehicle include a $95,719 common stand exam on the Kootenai National Forest (August 2026) and a $49,451 combined vegetation data collection task order across Custer Gallatin and Nez Perce-Clearwater national forests (July 2026), both set aside for total small business. Activity has accelerated modestly — one award in 2022, three in 2023, five in 2024, one in 2025, and four in 2026 — though combined potential value of $53.3 million is heavily weighted toward the new $50 million vehicle ceiling, with only $1.3 million in combined dollars obligated (2% of potential value). Only one award ($96 thousand) faces ultimate completion inside the next twenty-four months, presenting minimal recompete exposure near term but substantial workload concentration on the new LMIR BPA execution.