Kelso Excavation LLC

Kelso Excavation LLC, a Montana-based small business, provides excavation and heavy equipment services to the USDA Forest Service as a prime contractor exclusively under total small business set-asides, with all five recent awards and both active indefinite-delivery contracts reserved for small business participation.

Kelso Excavation operates from Kalispell, Montana and competes entirely as a prime contractor — zero subcontract footprint in recent activity. The company's capability portfolio centers on excavation services, heavy equipment operation and staffing, and equipment management for fire suppression and emergency response across the Forest Service's regional network. Representative work includes a $76,850 firm fixed-price delivery order issued August 28, 2023 by the Forest Service for excavation services in Kalispell under the VIPR I-BPA for Heavy Equipment for East Zone (Regions 1, 2, 4, and 9); a $39,550 total small business set-aside delivery order from the Forest Service issued August 31, 2026 for excavation and heavy equipment services, also in Kalispell with final completion by September 13, 2026; and a $47,500 total small business set-aside purchase order issued September 2, 2022 for machine piling supporting fuels reduction services in the Bonners Ferry Ranger District.

Customer concentration is acute. All five awards and all dollars flow from the Department of Agriculture Forest Service, with the Fire and Aviation Management National Interagency Fire Center anchoring $750 thousand (82% of combined potential value) across two awards — an indefinite-delivery contract ceiling of $500 thousand through June 2, 2028 and a second IDIQ with a $250 thousand ceiling also running through June 2, 2028. The remaining activity splits between Forest Service region-level orders ($116 thousand) and the Northern Region directly ($48 thousand). Work is performed at multiple locations within the Forest Service's East Zone regions (Regions 1, 2, 4, and 9). Activity has been sparse — one award in 2022, two in 2023, none in 2024–2025, and two in 2026 — with $164 thousand obligated against $914 thousand combined potential value. Both active IDIQs expire June 2, 2028, representing a combined $750 thousand in recompete exposure.