Questions_and_Answers_0001.pdf

Questions and Answers

1. Can experience be substituted for education for Senior Botanist?

Yes, ten years of experience in the biological sciences field with demonstrated successful experience in program management and/or project planning and implementation may be substituted for a Master’s

Degree.

2. How far in advance of work will call orders be competed?

Typically, competition for call orders will be held in late summer/fall for work that will begin the following spring.

3. Is there an incumbent?

Chicago Botanic Garden

Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden

Denver Botanic Garden

University of Alaska Anchorage

Institute for Applied Ecology

New England Wildflower Society

Santa Barbara Botanic Garden

Eastern Nevada Landscape Coalition

Colorado State University

Southern Utah University

4. Is sub-contracting allowed?

Yes, sub-contracting is allowed. At least 50 percent of the cost of contract performance incurred for personnel shall be expended for employees of the small business concern.

5. Is it okay to provide pricing for botanical surveys and monitoring only and not seed collection?

No, BLM is seeking contractors that can perform all requirements of the scope of work.

6. Will these BPAs continue to be open after this initial solicitation period so that we can submit additional proposals for additional geographies or services?

No, the solicitations will close after the initial solicitation period. If the BLM does not have enough contractors for meaningful competition after the solicitation closes the solicitation will be re-opened.

7. Is there a follow-on contract to plant seeds collected?

There will not be follow-on contracts under the BPAs to plant the seeds. The seeds collected may be used for future research, seed production or restorations projects.

8. Please give time estimates for each of the required trainings - AGOL, seed collection spreadsheet, and SOS training. Will contractor team members be required to attend these trainings in person, or will there be an option to attend remotely?

The BLM provided SOS trainings have historically been two to three full days. Training on digital data collection via AGOL is part of this training. The training is virtual.

9. What contingencies are in place in the event of an extreme drought year?

The U.S. Drought Monitor will be used to assess conditions. If conditions make collections infeasible additional scouting may be substituted for collections. The BLM may also allow combined smaller collections to satisfy to collection requirements.

10. How long will collected seed be stored before planting? and in what conditions will the seeds be stored?

The amount of time the seed will be stored before use will vary from months to years. Please refer to Section 5. Storage and Distribution of the SOS Technical Protocol.

11. What are the species of seeds the government wishes to collect?

The species for collection are determined based on seasonal scouting and cannot be determined before the season because not all species flower every year or occur in numbers sufficient for collection. The target species list at the end of the scope document are the species that BLM requires the contractor to scout.

12. Will BLM provide maps for the Seed Collection Project which overlay the collection area, plus

Seed Transfer Zones plus cities, roads, and BLM Field Office territories? Or will contractor be expected to produce these as part of the planning and field work preparation process?

Contractors will be added to a shared ArcGIS Online Group (hosted on Geoplatform.gov). Feature

Services that have been included within those groups have included editable seed scouting, editable seed collection, historic SOS collection locations, historic SOS scouting locations (where available), political boundaries, field and district office boundaries, grazing allotment boundaries, fire perimeter boundaries, BLM National Ground Transportation Linear Features, surface management ownership, provisional and empirically seed zones, and Level III ecoregions. It should be noted that the status of roads may not match those in the National geospatial data and other resources will need to be considered.

13. Can you please address Section 7 - Provisions of BPA, which states, “ The offeror is cautioned that the listed provisions may include blocks that must be completed by the offeror and submitted with its quotation or offer.” Explain how we access these blocks, and the questions to answer.

The blocks that must be completed are included in SAM.gov registration requirements. If a contractor’s SAM.gov registration is current the requirement to complete the blocks is not necessary.

A SAM.gov registration is required to do business with the Federal Government.

14. How will you respond if the designated areas in which to collect do not align with the plant communities indicated on the target collection list?

Once a call order has been awarded, if sufficient suitable populations of the species and/or seed zones are not available to meet the collection goals, the contractor may develop a list of potential alternate species for submission and approval by the COR and CO.

15. What is meant by mobilization/demobilization if travel costs are separate from fully burdened rates?

Fully burdened rates should include any indirect administrative costs associated with mobilization/demobilization. Direct travel costs such as fuel, mileage, lodging etc. should be included separately in the mock call order price proposal for travel.

16. Is there a requirement for who, at a minimum, should be on a survey team, ex., minimum of 1 Sr.

Botanist per team, or minimum of 1 Botanist and 1 Technician?

Any requirement for key personnel will be specified at the call order level. The contractor’s team makeup will be evaluated by the BLM to determine that the contractor possesses adequate expertise and labor to perform the requirements.

17. How many call orders per year are estimated?

Several call orders per year are anticipated. The number of call orders per year will vary based on annual funding levels.

18. How many seasons to complete a call order? If viability cannot be met in year 1 due to things out of our control (sometimes it’s a bad year for seed production for a species), can we recollect in year 2?

The mock call order is representation of a typical period of performance. Most call orders are expected to be completed in a single field collection season. The U.S. Drought Monitor will be used to assess conditions. If sufficient suitable populations of the species and/or seed zones are not available to meet the collection goals, the contractor may develop a list of potential alternate scouting and collection species for submission and approval by the COR and CO. If conditions make collections infeasible (even with alternate targets) additional scouting may be substituted. The BLM may also allow combined smaller collections to satisfy collection requirements.

19. If a seed collection event spans two months (August 25 through September 3), can the data created during that seed collection event be delivered at the end of the second month

(September) or does it need to be delivered at the end of August and again in September? Concern is limited network connections and additional costs for travels/delays if a team member needs to leave the collection area to deliver data at the end of the first month (August).

Uploading data at least monthly allows improved monitoring by the both the contractor and BLM.

Frequent uploading of data to AGOL also reduces the risk of data loss due to hardware failure. Data can be uploaded from the mobile device to the feature services on available wifi connection. Contractors are not expected to spend extended periods of time in the field without regularly returning to areas with wifi access.

20. Will the BLM provide data on previous seed collection locations?

Yes, contractors will be added to a shared ArcGIS Online Group (hosted on Geoplatform.gov). Feature

Services that have been included within those groups have included editable seed scouting, editable seed collection, historic SOS collection locations, historic SOS scouting locations (where available), political boundaries, field and district office boundaries, grazing allotment boundaries, fire perimeter boundaries, BLM National Ground Transportation Linear Features, surface management ownership, provisional and empirically seed zones, and Level III ecoregions. It should be noted that the status of roads may not match those in the National geospatial data and other resources will need to be considered.

21. When should the viability equation be used to estimate PLS? Before collecting in the field? After collecting in the lab?

The viability equation should be used prior to collecting to determine the estimated viability and yield.

The information on viability will be used to determine the estimated PLS of the collection. The BLM reserves the right to do its own cut tests at the acceptance stage.

22. What is the definition of a “viable seed” if determined in the field? In the lab?

Seed Collection Techniques of the SOS Protocol- Method: using a cut test and for smaller seeds a hand lens. Rationale: Estimate the frequency of empty or damaged seeds and confirm that the majority of seeds are mature and fully formed. Seed will be accepted or rejected by BLM before lab testing.

23. What amount of inert matter should be removed from the sample collected to be considered

“reasonably free of inert matter”? The Seeds of Success protocol states that seed cleaning is not the responsibility of the contractor.

The SOS Table 4. "Detailed cleaning, such as removing petals, chaff, and leaves, should be left to the processing staff at the Bend Seed Extractory. However, please remove large stems or any woody material."

24. What is the timeline for notifications of insufficient seed amounts or viability?

The adequacy of seed quantities will be confirmed or rejected at the time of inspection by the COR and/or Technical Representative, as identified in the call order. Unexpected lack of viability, determined after cleaning, that was not identifiable using field or office-based equipment would not be held against the contractor.

25. Are notifications expected to be prompt to allow adequate time for the contractor to mobilize and attempt to collect more seeds from the collection locations within the same year?

Yes. Contractors should conduct their own estimation to determine if more collections are necessary.

26. Is the basis for full payment dependent on the contractor supplying sufficient amounts of viable seed or will partial payments be made for the amount of viable seed collected?

Payment will be based on estimated seed quantities which will be based upon the field calculated seed viability/fruits collected and paid based on acceptance by BLM when delivered to the field office.

27. On the Price Schedule, what information is requested on the lines labeled “Equipment”?

Reusable equipment should be included in fully burdened rates. Any equipment or supplies that are a direct consumable for one field season (if any) should be included in the mock call order firm fixed price.

28. On the Price Schedule, what information is requested on the lines labeled “Travel”?

Travel lines should include direct travel costs for the performance of requirements such as fuel, lodging etc.

29. Some BLM areas under management are extremely remote and mountainous - may require climbing equipment, safety personnel, helicopter support, etc. Please advise specifically which areas of the BLM are to be surveyed? And over what altitudes?

The Contractor will be responsible for determining areas to target for scouting and collections based expected species presence and accessibility. It's expected the contractor would not select locations that require complex safety considerations nor extensive foot travel to access. Climbing equipment and helicopter support is not anticipated.

30. Part of the seed collection initiative is a detailed GPS survey of where each seed is collected.

How many acres are expected to be surveyed during the subject period?

The number of acres to be surveyed will depend on the seasonal occurrences of plant populations.

31. Refrigeration support will be required for seed preservation (to prevent germination). How is this to be factored in the proposal?

Seeds will be packaged and shipped as per SOS Technical Protocol as soon as practicable after completion of the collection. Contractors should factor any necessary storage costs for collections spanning multiple days or collection periods into the firm fixed price.