RMRS FIA Genetic Tree Sampling

Background
The solicitation is issued by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) as a Request for Quotation (RFQ) for Genetic Sampling of trees under the Forest Inventory & Analysis (FIA) program. The goal of this contract is to provide genetic testing services to accurately identify tree tissue samples of whitebark pine and limber pine, which are morphologically similar and difficult to distinguish in the field.

The need for precise species data has been heightened due to the listing of whitebark pine as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act in December 2022.

Work Details
The contractor shall furnish all labor, equipment, supervision, transportation, supplies (except those designated as Government-furnished), and incidentals necessary to perform genetic testing services. The scope includes:
1. Conducting a technical and cost feasibility study to develop a genetic identification assay for whitebark pine and limber pine using DNA genotyping methodologies.
2. Processing tree tissue samples provided by RMRS-FIA and delivering final data in spreadsheet format.
3. Performing up to three phases of work:
- Phase I: Feasibility and Panel Design, including literature review and marker identification.
- Phase II: Development of reagents for genetic testing.
- Phase III: Production-level testing if a validated assay is proposed.
4. Estimated production volume is approximately 1,000 samples per performance year with a maximum order of 1,350 samples.

Period of Performance
Base year will be from Award Date until May 14th, 2027, with four option years extending through May 14th, 2031.

Place of Performance
Riverdale UT 84405 UNITED STATES

Bidder Requirements
This acquisition is set-aside for small business concerns. Bidders must possess validated genetic assays for the target species or propose new assays with detailed plans for Phases I and II. The applicable North American Industry Classification Standard Code is 541380 with a small business size standard of $19 million.

Incumbent Analysis (see Incumbents section for more detail)
This opportunity appears to have a confirmed incumbent based on prior contract 1240BG24P0059 awarded to Oregon State University (07/10/24–09/30/25) valued at $40,000. The prior award description focuses on improving the accuracy of FIA tree species data for species with limited field-identifiable characteristics by sending genetic tree tissue samples to labs, which aligns closely with the current requirement for genetic testing of whitebark pine and limber pine and delivery of FIA-ready results. The current RFQ’s emphasis on developing/using genetic assays and processing RMRS-FIA samples appears to be a continuation of the same FIA genetics sampling/data-improvement work.