Tonto National Forest - Tree Shelters

The solicitation numbered 12444326Q0024 is a Total Small Business Set-Aside issued by the Tonto National Forest under the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the procurement of 300,000 units of specialized reforestation products: 100,000 high UV-protected white cone-shaped tree shelters, 100,000 rigid seedling protector tubes, and 100,000 biodegradable round bamboo stakes. The acquisition is governed by FAR 19.5 and falls under NAICS Code 113210, with all submissions restricted to small business concerns that have active SAM registration and have certified compliance with key federal regulations, including Buy American, employment eligibility, anti-discrimination, and disclosure of influencing payments. Proposals must be submitted via email to Ashley.Stoltzfus@usda.gov no later than June 1, 2026, at 5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time, with questions due by May 25, 2026, at the same time. The contract is a Firm-Fixed Price Requirements Contract awarded on a Lowest Price Technically Acceptable basis, where technical acceptability is assessed on a pass/fail evaluation against specific salient characteristics outlined in the solicitation, including dimensional tolerances, material composition, UV stabilization, and integrated stake design for tree shelters. Delivery is required F.O.B. Destination to two locations—Payson and Globe, Arizona—with 50,000 units of each item delivered to each site by October 23, 2026. Packaging must ensure safe transport with palletized shipments for tree shelters, boxed units for protector tubes, and bundled stakes, all requiring lift gate-equipped transport. Materials must be durable for a minimum three-year field life, with polymer-based shelters and tubes required to be photodegradable and bamboo stakes biodegradable. The contract imposes strict administrative and ethical obligations, including prohibition of government logo usage, restrictions on AI training with government data, and a ban on indemnification by the government, while also mandating compliance with labor laws such as the Service Contract Act and Paid Sick Leave. No formal marking, labeling, or MIL-STD packaging specifications are required, and while the total contract value is not disclosed, submission of the Schedule of Items and Salient Characteristics is mandatory for evaluation.