Low Impact Excavators, Incorporated

Low Impact Excavators, Incorporated, a small-business Subchapter S corporation based in Ely, Minnesota, performs road construction, maintenance, and heavy civil engineering work for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service as a prime contractor under total small business set-asides. The vendor operates exclusively as a prime (100% of awards) with a single customer agency — the USDA Forest Service Region 9–Eastern Region — which accounts for 96% of combined potential value across the vendor's recent federal footprint.

Low Impact Excavators' capability portfolio centers on forestry road construction and maintenance, culvert replacement, parking area repairs, and related excavation and heavy equipment work. Recent representative work includes a $296,466 firm fixed price BPA call awarded May 1, 2026 for replacement of a box culvert at the Kawishiwi Ranger District of the Superior National Forest in St. Louis County, Minnesota (completion October 30, 2026); a $190,796 culvert replacement project near Grand Marais, Minnesota awarded August 7, 2023 to facilitate aquatic organism passage; a $305,174 seaplane parking lot paving project at the Ely Seaplane Base awarded August 8, 2022; and a $95,958 parking lot repair job at the Kawishiwi Ranger District office in Ely awarded May 15, 2023. Work is performed in northeastern Minnesota, primarily in the Superior National Forest and Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest footprint.

The vendor holds a position on the Northeast Zone–Region 9 Roads Blanket Purchase Agreement (awarded March 28, 2022 with a $250,000 ceiling through March 31, 2032) as a total small business set-aside vehicle. That BPA anchors the bulk of recent task orders; additional work flows through several USDA Forest Service indefinite delivery contracts. Activity volume has been episodic — one award in 2019, five in 2020, two in 2022, three in 2023, and one in the first half of 2026 — with combined potential value across all 38 awards totaling $6 million and obligated dollars at $1.7 million (29% of potential value). One award valued at $296 thousand reaches ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months and will face recompete. The vendor does not hold positions on government-wide vehicles or serve other federal agencies; customer concentration at USDA Forest Service Region 9 is absolute. Low Impact Excavators' NAICS mix splits evenly between Support Activities for Forestry and Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction (14 awards each), with the remainder spread across heavy civil engineering and specialty trades.