Schuster Mulch & Construction, LLC

Schuster Mulch & Construction, LLC, a small-business limited liability company based in Madisonville, Texas, provides mechanical vegetation clearing, mulching, and hazardous fuels reduction services to the Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service as a prime contractor exclusively under Total Small Business set-asides. The vendor operates as a sole proprietorship and competes solely within reserved small-business contract vehicles, with all five recent awards set aside for small business participation.

The company holds a $49.5 million national Blanket Purchase Agreement with DOI Fish and Wildlife Service Region 3 for hazardous fuels reduction, awarded March 29, 2024, and running through March 31, 2029. The BPA covers mechanical clearing, hand-tool operations, equipment operation, and herbicide application across the contiguous United States and Guam. Three task orders have been issued against this vehicle under Total Small Business set-asides: a $147,725 mulching call for Aransas/Matagorda Island National Wildlife Refuge in Austwell, Texas (awarded September 12, 2024, completion December 1, 2025); a $455,000 fuels reduction call for Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge in Eagle Lake, Texas (awarded September 12, 2024, completion extended through September 15, 2026); and a $98,728 fire mastication call for Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge in Granite Shoals, Texas (awarded July 30, 2026, completion February 28, 2027). The vendor also holds a Purchase Order from Fish and Wildlife Service for $123,750 covering land clearing and mulching on 225 acres of the Blackjack Unit at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge (awarded May 14, 2024, completion April 30, 2025).

All five awards are with DOI Fish and Wildlife Service entities, creating concentrated customer exposure. Combined potential value across all awards is $50.3 million, though only $825 thousand has been obligated to date (2% of combined ceiling), indicating that most value remains task-order dependent. One award ($99 thousand combined potential value) faces ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months and will trigger recompete activity. The vendor's work spans Environmental Consulting Services (four awards) and Support Activities for Forestry (one award), with performance locations entirely in Texas wildlife refuges.