John Semple

John Semple, doing business as Cattlelack Ranch, a self-certified small disadvantaged business and HUBZone-certified sole proprietorship based in Hornbrook, California, operates as a prime contractor providing water handling equipment, water tenders (Type 1, 2, and 3), and wildland fire support services to the U.S. Forest Service and National Interagency Fire Center. All 134 awards in the source footprint are prime contracts — no subcontract engagement — issued under total small business set-asides or full-and-open competition against Forest Service and interagency fire management IDIQs and blanket purchase agreements.

Cattlelack Ranch's customer base concentrates entirely within the Department of Agriculture's Forest Service and fire management operations. The Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region (Region 5) accounts for 73 awards and $3.2 million in combined potential value, anchoring the vendor's footprint; the National Interagency Fire Center holds 20 awards worth $2.1 million; and Federal Fire and Aviation Management programs contribute 32 awards valued at $1.2 million. The Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region (Region 6) and other Forest Service entities account for the remainder. Across all customers, 97 percent of awards concentrate in these five federal buckets, with no diversification to civilian agencies or defense.

The vendor holds position on five parent contract vehicles, all issued by the Forest Service or National Interagency Fire Center. The primary vehicle is Indefinite Delivery Contract 1202SB22T8095, which has generated 54 task orders totaling $2.1 million in potential value. The Blanket Purchase Agreement AG9J61B167352 has yielded 29 task orders worth $929 thousand, and Indefinite Delivery Contract 129J6120T7060 has produced 21 task orders totaling $828 thousand. The remaining two vehicles (Blanket Purchase Agreements AG9J61B137236 and Indefinite Delivery Contract 129J6125T7193) account for smaller order volumes. All vehicles are designated as total small business set-asides under the Virtual Incident Procurement (VIPR) system.

Representative award work reflects the vendor's narrow, incident-driven mission. In July 2025, Cattlelack Ranch received a $71,600 delivery order from Forest Service Region 5 for water tender and operational support services in Yreka, California, under a $250,000 five-year IDIQ awarded in June 2025. In August 2024, the vendor received a $122,573 delivery order for water handling services in Eureka, California under the same regional contract vehicle. A $35,000 delivery order from Forest Service Region 6 (Pacific Northwest Region) in July 2026 extended the vendor's geographic reach. Orders typically range from $1,733 to $184,462 and complete within weeks to months, reflecting seasonal wildfire response cycles and incident-based mobilization. The most recent award footprint includes a $1 million multiple-award IDC from the National Interagency Fire Center awarded in February 2026, running through June 2030, and a $250,000 five-year IDIQ from the Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region awarded in June 2025, also running through June 2030.

Activity has declined significantly year over year — 25 awards in 2022, 17 in 2023, 13 in 2024, 7 in 2025, and 2 in 2026 — suggesting either seasonal award timing variation or a shrinking order volume. Seven awards (combined potential value $361 thousand) complete by the end of 2027, creating minimal near-term recompete exposure. The vendor's combined potential value across all 134 awards is $7.1 million, with $5 million (70 percent) obligated. Work is performed predominantly in northern California (Hornbrook, Yreka, Eureka) and the Pacific Southwest region, with subordinate work in the Pacific Northwest (Region 6, Roseburg, Oregon). All work is classified under NAICS 115310 (Support Activities for Forestry) and PSC Natural Resources/Conservation — Forest-Range Fire Suppression/Presuppression.