Notice of Intent to Sole Source
Forest Service · USDA-FS, CSA NORTHWEST 2
Capture briefs (a one-page, shareable copy of this page) are part of Pro. The CSV here holds the notice, its timeline and past awards.
Where this opportunity stands
Every notice posted under solicitation 1240BD26P0040 in this department, oldest first.
- Jul 29, 2026 · this noticeSpecial Notice
Next steps for this stage
Standard steps for the notice type; not advice about this buyer.
- Answer the notice: this is when the requirement can still be shaped.
- Contact the contracting officer named on the notice.
- Check who won similar work; they are the likely bidders.
What the notice says
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service (USFS) intends to issue a sole-source, firm-fixed-price contract to Vence Corp (16855 W Bernardo Dr, Ste 100, San Diego, CA 92127). The regulatory authority for this non-competitive commercial acquisition is FAR Subpart 12.2 (Streamlined Procedures for Commercial Products) and FAR 12.102 (Brand Name/Single Source Restrictions for Commercial Products). This procurement is for proprietary Vence Solar 24V US Base Stations to support the agency's Grazing Action Plan across western states. The USFS requires Virtual Fence (VF) base station tow… (show all)
ers to establish invisible containment barriers for domestic livestock grazing. This equipment minimizes physical boundaries, directly improving native wildlife habitat and migration corridors. Brand Name: Vence Model: Base Station, Solar, 24V, US (Self-Install and Assisted-Install Models Market research confirms that Vence is the only commercial provider capable of meeting the agency's strict technical and regional operational mandates: Proprietary Software Lock-in: Vence is the sole proprietor of the closed-source software required to communicate with and control the active livestock collar fleet deployed across the region. Alternative hardware cannot run this software. Regional Infrastructure Continuity: The USFS maintains a substantial capital investment in active Vence base station towers across multiple western districts. Introducing a non-Vence brand would fragment the grid, as competing architectures cannot interoperate with existing infrastructure. Avoidance of Duplication of Costs: Procuring an alternative system would require a total, cost-prohibitive infrastructure teardown and replacement of all active field assets and collars to maintain a single management interface. Zero Cellular Reliance: Vence hardware functions entirely via long-range radio frequencies, eliminating dependency on commercial cellular coverage in remote Forest Service lands. Data-Cost Shifting: The Vence commercial framework allows a hardware-only purchase, successfully shifting long-term recurring data subscription costs to external grazing permittees or partner non-profit This is not a request for competitive proposals, and no solicitation package is available. in accordance with FAR Part 12 streamlined commercial procedures, interested parties who believe they can fully meet the exact requirements listed above may submit a capability statement. Submissions must provide verifiable proof of seamless, out-of-the-box software and hardware compatibility with the agency's existing regional Vence infrastructure network. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government.
Who won similar work
3 award notices on SAM.gov in the last 24 months. Matched by: Same agency (Forest Service), same NAICS 334220.
Single-winner award sizes (3): middle half $40K to $861K, median $62K; range $18K to $1.7M.
| Winner | Awards | Value | Last |
|---|---|---|---|
| RELM COMMUNICATIONS, INC. | 2 | $1.7M | Sep 10, 2025 |
| BK TECHNOLOGIES INC · $BKTI · $90.6M | 1 | $18K | Oct 8, 2026 |
Value counts single-winner awards. "Shared" awards are multiple-award contracts that list every winner with the same total ceiling; that ceiling is not one company's win, so it is not added in. Revenue next to a ticker is the company's last annual revenue from its 10-K.
- $BKTI reported $90.6M revenue (12 months to Jun 30, 2026). The median single-winner award in these 3 past awards, $62K, is under 0.1% of that. SEC filing
One award's total value against one year of revenue; many awards are paid over several years.
- Oct 8, 2026BK TECHNOLOGIES INC$18KRadio Accessories For Custer/Gallatin National Forest, West YellowstoneMateriality: 0.02% of $BKTI revenue (Low) SEC
- Sep 10, 2025RELM COMMUNICATIONS, INC.$1.7M58--Moratorium NRE ID Line approval dateNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
- Aug 28, 2025RELM COMMUNICATIONS, INC.$62KEmergency Wildland Fire Radio Accessories Combined Synopsis RFQNo listed company matched (Materiality N/A)
Materiality: one award's value as a share of the winner's revenue over the latest 12 months in its SEC filings (or its last fiscal year, as noted when you point at it). Low under 1%, Medium 1 to 5%, High 5% or more. Many awards are paid over several years, so this overstates a single year's share.
Competitive landscape
For the 2 most frequent past winners above. Lobbying is matched by the company's exact name or exact ticker; agencies are as named on the filings.
- 0 of these past winners lobbied U.S. Forest Service since 2024 (0 filings)
- 0 of their lobbyists list a past U.S. Forest Service job
- No corporate PAC money from them to the overseeing committees since 2024
- 0 foreign-agent (FARA) registrations
Policy around it
Bills the past winners named while lobbying this agency's issues, rules from the department, and executive orders that name the agency, last 12 months.
- 0 bills named on the past winners' lobbying filings
- 15 rules from the department in the last 12 months
- 0 executive orders naming the agency in the last 12 months
Market
For past winners matched exactly to a listed company. Insider trades are open-market buys and sells (Form 4) in the last 90 days, shown as facts; our own study found insiders do not reliably buy ahead of awards. A sale marked 10b5-1 was made under a trading plan set up in advance.
- 1 of the past winners are listed companies
- 0 insider buys and 0 insider sells at them in the last 90 days
Sources: SAM.gov notices and award notices; Senate LDA lobbying filings; FEC filings; FARA; Federal Register; congress.gov; SEC Form 4. Every row above links to its record.
Companies are matched to tickers by exact name only. A company we could not match shows no market rows; that is a miss, not a finding.