Questions_and_Answers_0002.pdf

Solicitation #: 140P6423Q0016

Amendment #: 0001

Macroinvertebrate Sampling – GLKN

Questions and Answers listed below:

QUESTIONS:

Question # Question Answer/Response 1.

Are there any certifications required for the Contractor lab to perform this work?

Society for Freshwater Science taxonomic certification program or equivalent experience (please explain in bid).

2.

The Technical Questionnaire available on the SAM.gov website states that there is a “Past Performance” questionnaire to fill out. Is there a specific “Past Performance” questionnaire available or should we describe our past experience in our own created document and provide details as outlined on page 13 of the “SOL_140P6423Q0016.pdf” document provided on SAM.gov?

Please submit only Prior Experience as described on pages #12-13 of the RFQ submission section.

No Past Performance Questionnaire is required for this RFQ – only prior experience per those pages mentioned above.

3.

Will all samples be sent at once in a batch or will samples be sent at different times throughout each fiscal year?

All samples will be sent in by individual parks but within a 60-day window, typically in October and November, in the same federal fiscal year.

4.

Will whole Hester-Dendy traps be sent to the Contractor lab to process or will the traps already be disassembled and contents placed into a jar by NPS and sent to Contractor lab?

Contents (a clean sample, with most foreign matter removed) will be placed into a jar by NPS and sent to vendor lab.

5.

The SOW states “Sample processing efforts are written to project-specific sample log sheet”. Can you provide more information on what efforts need to be described and will the Contractor lab be provided these log sheets?

NPS will furnish the vendor with a log sheet with preferred formatting, that will also allow the vendor to reference the SOW for this project.

6.

The SOW states “Taxonomies, respective enumerations and respective taxonomic references are written to a standard laboratory bench sheet”.

Will the Contractor lab be provided these bench sheets?

Yes. See #5.

7.

WDNR protocols state that non-wadeable mIBI values and component metrics are calculated by DNR BugProgram and SWIMS (Large River Macroinvertebrate Sampling V2.0 - DNR Water Quality Monitoring Program, 2015). Will Contractor lab have access to the BugProgram and SWIMS to enter the data results or will mIBI and metrics need to be calculated by other means?

No. Data simply need to be reported to NPS as an electronic data deliverable and not BugProgram or SWIMS. For mIBI and metrics the vendor will be responsible for calculating them the same way they are done in the WDNR BugProgram. Methods/code shall be provided to NPS.

8.

If Contractor lab will not have access to BugProgram and SWIMS, what sources will need to be used to calculate mIBI and determine metrics (eg tolerance values, functional feeding group designations, etc)?

The vendor lab will need to calculate the same metrics and mIBI as in Wiegel and Dimmick (2011) and Blocksom and Johnson (2009), which will be provided as part of the solicitation.

9.

Will Contractor lab be granted access to the previous site data in SWIMS during sample analysis?

Yes. Site-specific data will be available upon request.

10.

What is the turnaround time for sample results from Contractor lab?

Within 10 months upon receipt of samples by the laboratory.

11.

The Society for Freshwater Science taxonomic certification program currently has 4 different genus-level certifications that can be earned. Do all 4 of these certifications need to be had by the Contractor lab?

Yes

12.

Does “a clean sample, with most foreign matter removed” refer to a rinsed, but whole Hester-Dendy trap?

No. It refers to Hester-Dendy samplers that have been disassembled, scraped, and rinsed, and the samples themselves having most foreign matter removed.

13.

Does “a clean sample, with most foreign matter removed” refer to the rinsed and scraped material FROM a Hester-Dendy trap?

See answer to 12.

14.

Is there a master taxa list available for Wisconsin taxa that shows tolerance values, functional-feeding group designations, and ecological functional trait niches assigned to each taxon?

Unknown if this exists. We are awaiting a response from the WI DNR. Contractors can access our attached data file to better understand if they have the expertise to correctly identify the taxa for macroinvertebrates collected since the inception of the project.

15.

Will Contractor lab have access to this taxa list?

See 14.

16.

My understanding is that this sampling effort has been conducted in the past. Can you provide me with the most recent report or data for this project? This will be very helpful in preparation of our proposal.

Yes. A report with data will be provided.