BLM Alaska Fire Service Seeking Interest for Type 2 Firefighting Contract Crews
Organization
BLM Office:
Media Contact:
FAIRBANKS – The Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service is working on a process to solicit contracts for firefighting crews in rural Alaska villages for the 2019 fire season. A proposed statement of work is available on federal contracting websites FedConnect and FedBizOpps.gov for a month to seek interest and feedback.
Potential contractors should submit business plans for 18 to 20-person crews. The BLM AFS anticipates opening solicitation for bids this fall and may select multiple locations to base the contract crews within rural villages in the Upper Yukon, Tanana and Galena Fire Management Zones. Some benefits of contract crews for rural Alaska are stable employment and an opportunity for Native self-governance as well as higher quality, more experienced crews that spend more days on a fire assignment. The contracts could provide opportunities for Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) corporations, non-profit Alaska Native Corporations and Alaska tribes to manage their own wildland fire crew program and play a larger role in wildland firefighting in Alaska and the Lower 48.
The BLM AFS will still maintain a village-based Alaska Type 2 Emergency Firefighter (EFF) crew system while measuring the success of the contract crew concept. Unlike EFF crews that are hired only on an as-needed basis, there would also be an opportunity to hire contact crews for work outside of fire suppression such as fuels mitigation projects and emergency response.
The contract crew concept is in response to declining numbers and the changing complexity of managing Type 2 EFF crews. The training and physical requirements have increased over the years, as have the number of competing employment opportunities including more agency affiliated wildland firefighting crews in Alaska. This, coupled with the declining population in many rural villages, has resulted in a decrease in the number of EFF crews within the BLM AFS fire management zones. There were approximately 70 EFF crews statewide 15 years ago. This year, the BLM AFS has eight regional crews out of a statewide pool of 20 Type 2 EFF crews. The other Type 2 EFF crews are managed by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry (ADOF).
The sources sought announcement is attached. For more information regarding the contracting process, contact BLM Contracting Officer Theresa Coffenberry at the National Operations Center at (303)236-5437 or tcoffenberry@blm.gov or Hudson Plass at BLM AFS at (97)356-5611 or hplass@blm.gov.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.