Cornelio Salazar

Cornelio Salazar, operating as USA Ranch, a sole proprietor Hispanic American-owned and minority-owned small agricultural cooperative based in Canones, New Mexico, provides water handling equipment, transportation, and certified personnel services for wildland fire suppression and all-hazard incident response to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service as a prime contractor, competing exclusively under total small business set-asides on indefinite delivery contracts and task order vehicles.

USA Ranch's entire award footprint (54 awards, $2.7 million combined potential value) flows through the Department of Agriculture Forest Service across five organizational entities. The Forest Service R3-Southwestern Region represents the dominant customer, accounting for 35 awards valued at $1.2 million combined potential value, with the Fire and Aviation Management National Interagency Fire Center contributing 9 awards also valued at $1.2 million. Forest Service R5-Pacific Southwest Region, the agency's national Forest Service organization, and R2-Rocky Mountain Region complete the customer set. All work centers on NAICS 541712 (Support Activities for Forestry) and PSC Natural Resources/Conservation—Forest-Range Fire Suppression/Presuppression. The two customer rankings track identically, indicating consistent dollar-per-award distribution across all Forest Service buyers.

USA Ranch holds three active indefinite delivery contracts with the Forest Service, designated as total small business set-asides. A $500,000 multiple-award IDC awarded by the National Interagency Fire Center on February 6, 2026, covers water handling services for Regions 3 and 8 through May 6, 2030, and has generated 18 task orders valued at $496 thousand. A prior $250,000 IDC for Regions 3, 5, 6, and 10 awarded May 6, 2025, through May 6, 2030, by the National Interagency Fire Center has generated 7 task orders valued at $268 thousand. A third $250,000 IDC awarded June 7, 2022, for the West Zone (Regions 3, 5, 6, and 10) expired May 7, 2025, and generated 7 task orders valued at $242 thousand before its close. Recent representative task orders under these vehicles include a $45,000 firm fixed-price delivery order from Forest Service R3 on August 14, 2026, for water handling equipment and certified personnel for fire suppression in Santa Fe, New Mexico; a $29,388 delivery order from Forest Service R2 on July 31, 2026, for the same scope in Durango, Colorado; and a $132,246 delivery order from Forest Service R3 on June 30, 2025, for water handling and logistics support. Task order values range from approximately $3,673 to $132,246, with most orders delivered within 5 to 30 days of award.

Award activity has been cyclical, driven by wildfire season intensity: nine awards in 2022, one in 2023, four in 2024, three in 2025, and nine through August 2026. The vendor has obligated $1.3 million against $2.7 million in combined potential value (48% utilization). USA Ranch supplies Type 1, Type 2, and Type 3 water tenders along with logistics support, trained personnel, materials, transportation, and lodging. Performance locations span the western United States, with recent work centered in Santa Fe and Alamogordo, New Mexico; Durango and Delta, Colorado; and Taos, New Mexico. The National Interagency Fire Center structure enables optional use by Department of Interior, National Park Service, and Bureau of Indian Affairs as interagency cooperators, broadening buyer reach beyond direct Forest Service assignments. USA Ranch has maintained active SAM registration since July 2006 and competes on all awards under the total small business set-aside designation.