John Ward Contracting Inc.

John Ward Contracting Inc., a small business based in Eureka, Montana, provides heavy equipment, operator services, and wildland firefighting support to the Department of Agriculture Forest Service as a prime contractor operating entirely under total small business set-asides. The company operates across four federal customer agencies, all within the USDA Forest Service enterprise, with 100% of its recent prime awards concentrated in forestry support and fire suppression operations.

John Ward Contracting's customer footprint is entirely within the USDA Forest Service. The Forest Service Fire and Aviation Management National Interagency Fire Center accounts for six awards with $2 million combined potential value, while the Forest Service Region 1 Northern Region (based near the vendor's Kalispell and Libby, Montana operational footprint) accounts for fourteen awards with $1.1 million combined potential value. The Forest Service Region 2 Rocky Mountain Region and the broader Forest Service organization complete the active set. Combined potential value across all 23 prime awards is $3.3 million, with $675 thousand obligated to date, indicating a relatively young or intermittently engaged vendor relationship within the federal procurement base.

John Ward Contracting's capability portfolio is narrowly specialized in heavy equipment provision and wildland firefighting logistics. Recent representative work includes a $65 thousand delivery order from the Northern Region for wildland firefighting support services in Libby, Montana (August 2023), a $31.6 thousand order for unspecified Forest Service land and resource management work in Libby (September 2022), and a $22.6 thousand delivery order for work in Kalispell, Montana (September 2026). The vendor holds multiple indefinite-delivery contracts with the National Interagency Fire Center and the Forest Service: two $500 thousand multiple-award IDVs for heavy equipment in the East Zone (Regions 1, 2, 4, and 9) awarded February 2026, and two $250 thousand multiple-award IDVs for heavy equipment and operator services awarded May 2024 and May 2024. Equipment covered under these IDVs includes dozers, excavators, feller bunchers, mulcher/masticators, road graders, and skidders; contractors must provide trained, certified personnel, transportation, and supervision, with resources available up to 16 hours per day. Work is performed across the Northern Region (Montana) and broader East Zone regions identified in the contract scope.

John Ward Contracting's award activity shows modest but consistent engagement: one award per year in 2021, 2022, and 2023, accelerating to two in 2024 and three in 2026. The vendor operates exclusively as a prime contractor (100% of awards) with no subcontract footprint. All awards are placed under total small business set-asides. Top parent vehicles are Blanket Purchase Agreement AG0343B157111 (7 task orders, $680 thousand combined potential value), Blanket Purchase Agreement 12034318T7112 (1 task order, $137 thousand), and Blanket Purchase Agreement AG0343B127032 (2 task orders, $90 thousand). Work falls entirely within NAICS 238910 (Support Activities for Forestry) and PSC Natural Resources/Conservation—Forest-Range Fire Suppression/Presuppression, reflecting hyperspecialization in forestry equipment logistics and incident support tied to the vendor's geographic base in northwestern Montana.

Specialize in all phases of timber management including fuels reduction, home site development and beautification, selective tree harvesting, homeowner projects.