Kearns & West Inc.

Kearns & West Inc., doing business as Kearns & West Inc. (Patricia Balmas Division), provides facilitation, collaborative problem-solving, mediation, and stakeholder engagement services to the federal government as a prime contractor on a large portfolio of time-and-materials and fixed-price delivery orders under master indefinite delivery and blanket purchase agreement vehicles. The firm operates as a for-profit Subchapter S corporation headquartered in San Francisco, California, competing predominantly on an unrestricted basis across full-and-open procurements, though it also holds a $65.5 million small-business-designated IDIQ with the Department of the Interior's Office of Collaborative Action and Dispute Resolution.

Kearns & West's customer base concentrates heavily within the Department of the Interior, with the top five agencies accounting for 76 percent of recent combined potential value. The Department of the Interior's Departmental Offices Office of Policy Management and Budget leads in dollar value at $138.6 million across 45 awards; the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management follows at $86.4 million across 103 awards; the Bureau of Reclamation at $28 million across 50 awards; the Bureau of Land Management National Office at $5.6 million across 46 awards; and the Fish and Wildlife Service Region 3 at $4.1 million across 34 awards. Kearns & West also maintains active contracts with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency. The firm holds 571 total awards (prime and sub) with a combined potential value of $344.4 million and has served 56 distinct federal agencies.

Kearns & West's capability portfolio centers on third-party facilitation, mediation, consensus-building, and strategic communications for complex natural resource management, environmental policy, and regulatory affairs initiatives. Representative recent prime work includes a $3.43 million time-and-materials delivery order with the Bureau of Reclamation's Bay Delta Office for facilitation, mediation, and dispute resolution services through November 2025; a $3.13 million task order with BOEM for public involvement planning, outreach, and facilitation services for the 11th National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program Development Project, extending through September 2029; a $2.18 million delivery order with the Bureau of Reclamation for facilitation and collaborative problem-solving services through March 2027; a $945.5 million task order with the Bureau of Reclamation for facilitation and real-time operations support related to Klamath Basin Project re-initiation of consultation through April 2025; and a $604.4 million delivery order with the Bureau of Land Management for facilitation support to the Wild Horse and Burro Program through July 2028. Task orders for facilitation and collaborative problem-solving are also regularly awarded by the National Park Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Department of the Interior's Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance.

Kearns & West holds four major parent vehicles. The Department of the Interior's Office of Collaborative Action and Dispute Resolution awarded a $65.5 million single-award IDIQ (ultimate completion July 6, 2028, small-business set-aside) under which 196 task orders totaling $29.4 million in combined potential value have been issued to support public engagement, collaborative problem-solving, and conflict resolution services across DOI bureaus. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued a $65 million multiple-award Blanket Purchase Agreement (ultimate completion April 9, 2027, no set-aside) under which task orders for facilitation, outreach, and strategic support for renewable energy programs and marine minerals initiatives are regularly placed; the BPA is structured under the GSA Multiple Award Schedule. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Institute for Water Resources established a $48.3 million multiple-award IDIQ (ultimate completion March 28, 2027, Partial Small Business set-aside) from which 107 task orders totaling $18.2 million have been issued for water resources analytical and professional support services including facilitation and stakeholder engagement. The General Services Administration Federal Supply Schedule contract (ceiling $5.5 million, ultimate completion August 23, 2027) carries ten labor categories spanning $91.71 to $453.17 hourly, with roles including Project Assistant, Associate, Senior Associate, Senior Director, Vice President, and specialized Conflict/Facilitation Expert and Subject Matter Expert positions; all positions require a bachelor's degree and no security clearance.

Activity has moderated in recent years. Kearns & West received 56 awards in 2022, 62 in 2023, 60 in 2024, 19 in 2025, and 7 through June 2026 (incomplete calendar year). Eighteen awards (combined potential value $5.1 million) face ultimate completion inside the next twenty-four months and represent near-term recompete exposure.

Across SCI-reportable federal service contracts captured in the source dataset (FY2022–FY2024), Kearns & West invoiced $27.7 million as a prime contractor on 98 contracts above the $150,000 reporting threshold: $16.9 million in FY2022 (23.1 FTEs), $5.3 million in FY2023 (15.8 FTEs), and $5.6 million in FY2024 (28.0 FTEs). On these SCI-reportable prime contracts, median government-paid rates ran around $195/hr, with senior expert labor pricing reaching $713/hr and entry-level support at approximately $144/hr. Across SCI-reportable prime contracts, subcontractors performed roughly 10 percent of total contractor hours, with 24 named subcontractors identified. Kearns & West subcontracts with Eastern Research Group on EPA alternative dispute resolution and community technical support work and with WSP USA Environment & Infrastructure Inc. on FEMA NEPA analysis for Biological Opinion implementation. The firm is also a sub-recipient of a grant from American Rivers Inc. for dam rehabilitation, retrofit, and removal engagement and facilitation work with tribes and stakeholders.

The vendor competes predominantly on an unrestricted basis (99% of awards are primes, 1% subs), building delivery teams internally rather than relying on subcontractors for the bulk of work. Kearns & West does not hold active positions on major government-wide acquisition contracts (GWACs) outside its DOI and Corps relationships; its footprint is concentrated on agency-specific IDIQs and BPAs housed within the Department of the Interior, the Army Corps of Engineers, and GSA Schedule ordering.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS, PUBLIC INFORMATION, COLLABORATIVE PLANNING, COMMUNITY RELATIONS, MEDIA RELATIONS, RESEARCH, EXTERNAL ISSUES AUDITS, ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY, BUSINESS, TELECOMMUNICATIONS, WASTE MANAGEMENT AREAS: STOCKHOLDER RELATIONS, HYDROELECTRICITY.