Contracting

The Northern Region Forest Service offices annually purchase a wide variety of goods and services. We have Customer Service Areas that represent the Intermountain Zone of Procurement & Property Services:

  • The PPS IZ CSA#1 (formerly Idaho-Montana Acquisition Team, IMAT) serves the Idaho Panhandle, Nez Perce-Clearwater, and the Kootenai National Forests.
  • The PPS IZ CSA#2  (formerly Western Montana Acquisition Zone, WMAZ) serves the Bitterroot, Lolo, and Flathead National Forests, the Regional Office, and Aerial Fire Depot.
  • The PPS IZ CSA #3 (formerly East Side Acquisition Team, ESAT) serves the Beaverhead-Deerlodge, Custer Gallatin, Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forests and the Dakota Prairie Grasslands.

Procurements by the Forest Service are guided by the Federal Acquisition Regulation as modified by various Department of Agriculture and Forest Service policies. These rules and regulations may differ from Uniform Commercial Code.

How to Do Business with the Forest Service 

Doing business with the Federal government, including the Forest Service, can be complicated. The following information is intended to provide a brief overview of the steps necessary to position a business concern to do business with the Forest Service and the Federal government. Also contacts are provided regarding additional resources that will assist a business concern in understanding the processes of doing business with the Forest Service and other Federal government agencies.  

Step One: Be formed in a business-like way  

To successfully bid and perform Federal government and Forest Service contracts businesses are expected to follow applicable Federal, state and local laws. From a business perspective this includes being appropriately registered as a business under state and local rules, carrying adequate insurance including workers compensation if an employer, and in the case of construction contracts having the ability to adequately bond projects under the Federal government’s surety bonding requirements which are different than the state license bonding requirements required of some businesses. A computer, or computer access, is also needed and a valid email address as contracting in the Federal government is dependent in many cases on computer processes through “on-line” databases. When formed in a business like way a business is then ready to learn more about winning contracts with the Federal government.  

Step Two: Register in the System for Award Management (SAM)  

Any business that wants to bid, provide proposals or quote on Federal government projects or solicitations must be registered in SAM. Register on-line at: https://www.sam.gov/index.html Registration will go much more smoothly if certain information is at hand prior to beginning the registration process. If a person registering does not have the information available the SAM site will guide a person through obtaining the information which will slow the registration process. Basic information needed is -

  • Unique Entity Indentifier (UEI) – As a portion of SAM registration you will be given an UEI that has replaced the previous Duns & Bradsteet number. https://sam.gov/detail/r1/workingtogether/contracting/?cid=duns-uei 
  • company name – as noted in step one following state and local requirements for registering a business is important to doing business with the federal government.
  • federal tax identification number (tin) – in cases of a sole proprietorship this may be a social security number, for corporations and other business formations a tin is needed and obtained from the internal revenue service (irs). go to: http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/international/article/0,,id=96696,00.html
  • Financial Institution Information – Business bank information will be required including the American Business Association (ABA) routing number for the account, account number and other information that will be used by Federal agencies to make payment when the business has won a contract.
  • Other Information – Also needed is information about the business such as address, number of employees, annual receipts, etc. Additionally, information about the goods/services provided identified by NAICS number, Product Service Code (PSC), Federal Supply Classification (FSC) and other needs will be requested and SAM will help guide a business registering on how to obtain this information.
  • On-Line Representations and Certification Application (ORCA) – As a portion of SAM Registration, the business will be instructed to complete an annual online representation/certification. This must be accomplished before SAM registration can be completed.
  • SAM “Look Alike” Websites: The Forest Service has become aware of several organizations that appear to serve the same function as SAM. In these cases, you will notice that the website ends in.com, rather than .gov. It is recommended that contractors go directly to the SAM website at www.sam.gov to complete their registration (THIS SITE IS FREE!).
    • If using a link or searching for the site, ensure the web address is a .gov site and not .com, .org or other.
    • The Forest Service is also aware of private corporations that provide SAM registration support for a fee. The Forest Service does not endorse these organizations, but cannot dictate how a contractor completes registration. If utilizing one of these organizations, it is your responsibility to ensure any information provided in your SAM registration is complete and accurate.
    • In lieu of paying a fee for assistance, vendors can receive assistance, free of charge, from the Small Business Administration; Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs); State economic development agencies; and local chambers of commerce (Links provided in Step Four below).

Step Three: Learn about available Federal projects to submit a bid, proposal, or quote on  

Almost all Federal project solicitations over $25,000 are advertised on SAM.gov Contract Opportunities and found at https://sam.gov/detail/r1/workingtogether/contracting/?cid=opportunities a user guide is available for a “vendor” on the website to assist in using the site.  

Step Four: Learn about doing business with the Federal government and Forest Service  

There are many websites and resources to assist businesses in understanding doing business with the Federal government. There are many unique aspects such as the Federal Acquisition Regulations that govern how the Federal government issues solicitations for work and writes the contracts that result from the solicitations. The resources that can help in understanding doing business with the Federal government include –  

  • APEXAccelerators formerly Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) – Located in every state, APEX Accelerators assist businesses in understanding how to prepare bids and proposals on Federal government contracts. To locate the the one closes to you https://www.apexaccelerators.us/#/
  • Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) – Organized in association with the Small Business Administration, the SBDC’s provide general assistance on business structure, and how to obtain business loans and surety bonding. Some assistance is provided regarding Federal government contracting too. Find the nearest SBDC to you by visiting https://www.sba.gov/local-assistance/resource-partners/small-business-development-centers-sbdc
  • Small Business Administration (SBA) – The SBA is the Federal Agency tasked with assisting small businesses to be successful. SBA’s general website is available as http://www.sba.gov There is also an SBA website that deals specifically with Doing Business With the Federal Government found at http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/contracting