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B-271636 1 (1996-07-12)

handle is hein.gao/gaocrptaefi0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Comptroller General of the United States Washington, D.C. 20548 Decision Matter of: Northwest Ecosystem Alliance File: B-271636 Date: July 12, 1996 Gary K. Kahn, Esq., Reeves, Kahn & Eder, for the protester. Michael J. Gippert, Esq., Department of Agriculture, for the agency. Jerold D. Cohen, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Forest Service properly found high bidder for salvage timber sale to be nonresponsible after the bidder stated that it intended to leave the area unlogged instead of meeting the contract obligation to cut and log the timber. DECISION Northwest Ecosystem Alliance (NWEA) protests the determination by the Forest Service, Department of Agriculture that NWEA is not a responsible contractor for purposes of award of a contract for the Thunder Salvage Timber Sale. We deny the protest. NWEA was the high bidder in the sale auction. Following the auction, however, NWEA advised the Forest Service that it had no intention of performing logging operations in the sale area, stating its desire that the area remain unlogged for a normal timber rotation period. The Forest Service then found NWEA nonresponsible and thus ineligible for the award on the grounds that NWEA had neither the ability nor the intent to perform the logging operations as required by the contemplated contract. In this respect, Forest Service regulations preclude a contracting officer from awarding a timber sale contract without first determining the purchaser responsible, considering factors such as the purchaser's ability to perform the contract within the contract term, the purchaser's performance record on timber sale contracts, and the purchaser's present possession of, or ability to obtain, equipment and supplies suitable for logging. 36 C.F.R. §§ 223.100, 223.101. NWEA points out that by the sale's terms the contract was to be awarded based on the bid most advantageous to the United States. NWEA argues that it submitted the most advantageous bid in that the bid was the highest one received, award to NWEA would entail no contract administration or environmental management (e.g., 459712

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