Questions_and_Answers_6-5-19.pdf

Questions and Answers For

Solicitation 12FPC119Q0010 Conservation Easement Monitoring Using Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Q. I saw on the Quote Submittal worksheet that there is a base year and year 1. I know September 30 is the deadline for monitoring each FY. If the base year is FY 19 do these need to be completed prior to 9/30/19?

A. No, all easements will not require monitoring prior to the end of the current FY. The completion rate will be negotiated prior to contract approval, 100% monitoring will be required in FY 20.

Q. What is the anticipated season and timeframe for capturing imagery.

A. There is no anticipated season, they can be done anytime. Nor is there any real anticipated time frame other than the two years of the contract other than completing the easements twice within the two-year time frame. I ‘d like to get all of the easements completed once before the end of the fiscal year, but that seems unlikely at this point. The flights on any one site must be more than 10 months apart.

Q. Will the NRCS provide easement information, management plans, etc for each site prior to the onsite visit to assist completion of the monitoring worksheet?

A. Yes

Q. What are the acceptable alternatives to imagery capture when flight operations are potentially restricted at certain locations (restricted air-space/no-fly zones, TFRs, etc)?

A. Not anticipated, alternate plans will be developed as needed.

Q. During the onsite visit, will ground surveys on foot be necessary to document or verify any points of interest?

A. NRCS will be responsible for onsite visit of potential violations.

Q. Wooded areas cause a significant barrier to maintaining a visual line of sight to the drone. Is there an expectation that the wooded areas will be flown by a drone?

A. Yes

Q. If so, does the USDA intend to assist in obtaining a beyond visual line of sight waiver from the FAA:

A. No, the expectation is line of sight will be maintained.

Q. If not, whose responsibility is it to complete the easement assessment on areas that are impractical to be flown by a drone under current Part 107 restrictions?

A. N/A

Q. Video imagery is poorly suited for observing the ground in wooded areas. Is there an expectation of penetrating the canopy in wooded areas? If so, what sensor is expected to be utilized to conduct surveys in wooded areas?

A. There is no expectation of penetrating the canopy.

Q. Imagery is requested as part of a deliverable. Is there example imagery that can be viewed to better understand what is expected for the deliverable?

A. No example imagery is available. NRCS expects 2-D mosaic Ortho imagery.

Gay.Mullen Typewritten Text Questions and Answers as of June 5, 2019 at 10:20am Eastern.