A04_-_StateT_EContract_CBPFWSIA__01-09-23_1.docx

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS)

Evaluation and Mitigation for Sensitive State Threatened and Endangered Wildlife

Part 1

General Information

1. GENERAL:

This is a non-personnel services contract supporting work evaluating if and how border barrier system construction and installation may have affected wildlife considered threatened and endangered by the state of Texas. The species considered include the Texas tortoise and Texas horned lizard. Other species inhabiting this area that are also sensitive to habitat degradation and fragmentation are included in these investigations, namely the Texas indigo snake, plain chachalaca, chestnut-bellied scaled quail, collared peccary, and neotropical migratory birds. The effects of border wall construction and activity could impact species presence, habitats, populations, dispersal, and transboundary movements. The evaluations of border construction and installation focus mainly on potential population level effects (not on individual animals), that may affect the persistence of these species’ populations and/or jeopardize the recovery of these species within Texas, especially along the border region of South Texas (counties including Cameron, Starr, Hidalgo, Zapata). The work supported by this contract focuses on long-term effects of border construction and installation on populations of these species, not short-term, temporary effects. This contract supports identifying appropriate mitigation approaches for offsetting any adverse, long-term effects of the border barrier system construction and installation on populations of these species and conducting such mitigation work.

1.1 Description of Services/Introduction: The contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, transportation, tools, materials, supervision, and other items and non-personnel services necessary to evaluate and mitigate sensitive state threatened and endangered wildlife in South Texas, USA, as defined in this Performance Work Statement except for those items specified as government furnished property and services. The contractor shall perform to the standards in this contract.

1.2 Background:

The South Texas border contains highly sensitive and state threatened wildlife species such as Texas tortoise, Texas indigo snake, and Texas horned lizard, whose presence, habitats, populations, dispersal, and transboundary movements could be negatively impacted by border wall construction and installation, thereby jeopardizing their recovery. Other species inhabiting this area are also sensitive to habitat degradation and fragmentation such as plain chachalaca, chestnut-bellied scaled quail, collared peccary, and neotropical migratory birds, and populations of these species may also be negatively impacted by border wall construction and installation in South Texas (counties including Cameron, Starr, Hidalgo, Zapata).

The objectives of this work focus on research to determine if and how border barrier system construction and installation may have generated long-term, adverse effects on populations of these species, that negatively affect their persistence and/or jeopardize their recovery within Texas, especially along the border region of South Texas. This contract also supports identifying mitigation approaches that would offset any adverse, long-term effects of the border barrier system construction and installation on populations of the species included herein and conducting such mitigation work.

Contract funding supports three phases of work. A first phase supports research to identify the effects of border barrier system construction and installation on habitats, abundances, and dispersal of these wildlife species. Under phase two, mitigation actions and locations would be identified to offset any negative effects found in phase one. A third phase of work would conduct the necessary mitigation measures outlined in phase two to alleviate any negative impacts on these wildlife species identified in phase one.

This contract work occurs in close collaboration with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Universities, NGOs and public landowners within Texas. The Government shall not exercise any supervision or control over the contract service providers performing the services herein. Such contract service providers shall be accountable solely to the Contractor who, in turn, is responsible to the Government.

1.3 Objectives (Tasks): The service objectives are as follows:

1. Research identifying if and how border barrier system construction and installation has negatively affected species considered threatened and endangered by the state of Texas, and other species also sensitive to habitat degradation and fragmentation.

2. Identify the appropriate types and amounts of mitigation required to offset any potential adverse effects of the border barrier system construction and installation on species populations and their recovery in Texas, as identified in Task 1.

3. Implement mitigation work identified in Task 2 to offset any adverse effects on species populations and recovery caused by border barrier system construction and installation in South Texas.

1.4 Scope: Services include the following tasks.

Contract accomplishments and measurables are in italics.

Task #1: Research identifying if and how border barrier system construction and installation has negatively affected species considered threatened and endangered by the state of Texas, and other species also sensitive to habitat degradation and fragmentation.

This contract supports research identifying if and how border barrier system construction and installation has negatively affected populations and recovery of the species listed below, within the Cameron, Starr, Hidalgo, and Zapata counties of South Texas. Research topics include (and are not limited to): species presence, species habitats, population assessments (abundances), species dispersal, and species transboundary movements. The research focuses on long-term effect on species populations, that may negatively affect population persistence and/or jeopardize species recovery within Texas, especially the South Texas border region.

· Texas tortoise

· Texas indigo snake

· Texas horned lizard

· Plain chachalaca

· Chestnut-bellied scaled quail

· Collared peccary

· Neotropical migratory birds

Contractor must develop and submit a research study plan to USFWS and CBP before any research is conducted. Each of the 7 species and species groups warrants a separate research study plan. This research study plan must be approved by USFWS and CBP contract officials prior to conducting any on-the-ground research work. The research and study plans must describe the research question(s), purpose and aims of the research, methods that identify how the research will be conducted, locations of field sites, and description of how such research will fill knowledge gaps and benefit the understanding of impacts that the construction and installation of the border barrier system may have had on populations of Texas tortoise, Texas indigo snake, Texas horned lizard, plain chachalaca, chestnut-bellied scaled quail, collared peccary, and neotropical migratory birds.

The research must culminate in peer-reviewed scientific papers in reputable journals for each species or species group, describing if and how border barrier system construction and installation have affected the populations of Texas tortoise, Texas indigo snake, Texas horned lizard, plain chachalaca, chestnut-bellied scaled quail, collared peccary plus neotropical migratory birds, and future recovery for these species in Texas. This scientific work centers on the counties of Cameron, Starr, Hidalgo, and Zapata. There would be 7 separate peer-reviewed scientific publications for each of the 6 species and the neotropical migratory birds.

Contractor is required to produce yearly reports submitted to USFWS describing research work conducted for each of the above-listed species.

Task #2: Identify the appropriate types and amounts of mitigation required to offset any potential adverse effects of the border barrier system construction and installation on species populations and their recovery in Texas, as identified in Task 1.

The contract supports work identifying the type and scale of mitigation required to offset any long-term adverse effects of border barrier system construction and installation identified from Task 1, on populations and future recovery of the following species in South Texas:

· Texas tortoise

· Texas indigo snake

· Texas horned lizard

· Plain chachalaca

· Chestnut-bellied scaled quail

· Collared peccary

· Neotropical migratory birds

Contractor must develop and submit a plan to USFWS and CBP describing how they will identify the correct type and amount of mitigation work required to offset long-term adverse effects of border barrier system construction and installation identified from Task 1, on populations and future recovery of the species listed herein. Each of the 7 species and species groups warrants a separate plan. This plan must be approved by USFWS and CBP contract officials prior to conducting any on-the-ground work or research to identify appropriate mitigation. The plans must describe the approach taken (or research question(s) if research is required), purpose and aims of the work, methods that identify how the work will be conducted, locations of field sites, and description of how such work will fill knowledge gaps and benefit mitigation of the construction and installation of the border barrier system on Texas tortoise, Texas indigo snake, Texas horned lizard, plain chachalaca, chestnut-bellied scaled quail, collared peccary, and neotropical migratory birds. These mitigation plans must be approved by USFWS and CBP contract officials prior to conducting any work on this task.

Any research conducted must culminate in peer-reviewed scientific papers in reputable journals for each species or species group.

Contractual outputs include the development and submission of a final mitigation plan to the USFWS and CBP describing the type of mitigation work, amount of mitigation work, methods for conducting mitigation, and location of mitigation work to pursue for each of the affected species (if affects are found from Task #1 and work within Task #2 supports on-the-ground mitigation). This plan must include justification for the types, amount, methods and location of mitigation and descriptions for how the work can be monitored to demonstrate its effectiveness in improving these species populations and future recovery in Texas. This plan must be approved by USFWS and CBP contract officials prior to conducting any on-the-ground mitigation work.

Contractor is required to produce yearly reports submitted to USFWS describing work for potential mitigation conducted for each of the above-listed species.

Task #3: Implement mitigation work identified in Task 2 to offset any adverse effects on species populations and recovery caused by border barrier system construction and installation in South Texas.

If work supported herein (or elsewhere) identifies that border barrier system construction and installation has generated negative, long-term effects on species populations and recovery in Texas (Task #1), and work supported herein (or elsewhere) identifies appropriate mitigation measures that if pursued would offset those population level effects to subsequently improve species recovery (Task #2), then this contract supports implementation of that mitigation work. This work must be appropriate in type (for example, work that accomplishes, but is not limited to, habitat restoration, building habitat connectivity, and species reintroductions), and geographical scale to generate measurable differences in mitigating negative long-term population effects on these species, and improving target species populations and future recovery.

The contract supports implementing mitigation work to offset the effects of border barrier system construction and installation on the populations and future recovery of the following species and groups of species.

· Texas tortoise

· Texas indigo snake

· Texas horned lizard

· Plain chachalaca

· Chestnut-bellied scaled quail

· Collared peccary

· Neotropical migratory birds

If negative effects of border barrier system construction and installation are found on species populations and future recovery of these species (results from Task #1), and appropriate types and amounts of mitigation work have been identified to offset those effects (results from Task #2), then the mitigation work (Task #3) would be implemented.

Contract supports the implementation of the mitigation work if the mitigation plan(s) receive USFWS and CBP approval. Contractor must submit yearly reports describing the type of mitigation work accomplished, methods of accomplishment, and quality and quantity of mitigation work accomplished. Contractor must submit a final report describing the type of mitigation work accomplished, methods of accomplishment, and quality and quantity of mitigation work accomplished.

1.5 Period of Performance: The period of performance shall begin on date of contract approval and operate up to 9/30/2027

1.6 General Information

1.6.1 Quality Control: The contractor shall develop and maintain an effective quality control program to ensure services are performed in accordance with this PWS. The contractor shall develop and implement procedures to identify, prevent, and ensure non-recurrence of defective services. The contractor’s quality control program is the means by which they assure themselves that their work complies with the requirement of the contract.

1.6.2 Quality Assurance: The government shall evaluate the contractor’s performance under this contract in accordance with the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan. This plan is primarily focused on what the Government must do to ensure that the contractor has performed in accordance with the performance standards. It defines how the performance standards will be applied, the frequency of surveillance, and the minimum acceptable defect rate(s).

1.6.3 Recognized Holidays: The contractor is required to perform services on holidays for work involving the care and welfare of live animals in captivity or potentially trapped, if traps remain active over holiday periods. Contractor must also be prepared for emergencies to ensure the viability of any collected and held biological specimens used in captive propagation.

Independence Day

1.6.4 Hours of Operation: The Contractor must at all times maintain an adequate workforce for the uninterrupted performance of all tasks defined within this PWS. When hiring personnel, the Contractor shall keep in mind that the stability and continuity of the workforce are essential.

1.6.5 Place of Performance: The work to be performed under this contract will be performed on private and public lands throughout South Texas.

1.6.6 Type of Contract: The government will award a (Type of contract to be determined by CO and the customer).

1.6.7 Security Requirements: Not applicable

1.6.7.1 PHYSICAL Security: The contractor shall be responsible for safeguarding all government equipment, information and property provided for contractor use.

1.6.7.2 Key Control: Not applicable

1.6.7.3 Lock Combinations: The Contractor shall establish and implement methods of ensuring that all lock combinations are not revealed to unauthorized persons. The Contractor shall ensure that lock combinations are changed when personnel having access to the combinations no longer have a need to know such combinations. These procedures shall be included in the Contractor’s Quality Control Plan.

1.6.8 Special Qualifications:

Work to research the effects of border barrier system construction and installation on the species identified within this contract requires a cooperating agency(ies) having much experience and demonstrated rapport working constructively, positively and successfully with Texas Parks and Wildlife, nongovernmental organizations, Universities and private landowners on wildlife and conservation issues in South Texas.

The cooperating agency(ies) must be well versed in the biology of South Texas reptiles, birds and mammals. The agency(ies) must have hands on experience in the capture and handling of reptiles, birds and mammals in South Texas, and conducting research on these taxa within this geography.

The Contractor shall, without additional expense to the Service, be responsible for obtaining any licenses and permits in a timely fashion, and for complying with any applicable State and Federal laws, codes, and regulations in connection with prosecution of the work.

1.6.9 Post Award Conference/Periodic Progress Meetings: After contract award, the Contractor agrees to attend and participate in meetings with USFWS, CBP, United States Geological Survey (USGS) and other collaborators to discuss the project work, refine methods and clarify projected contractual accomplishments. The Contractor agrees to attend any post award conference convened by the contracting activity or contract administration office in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation Subpart 42.5. The contracting officer, Contracting Officers Representative (COR), and other Government personnel, as appropriate, may meet periodically with the contractor to review the contractor's performance. At these meetings the contracting officer will apprise the contractor of how the government views the contractor's performance and the contractor will apprise the Government of problems, if any, being experienced. Appropriate action shall be taken to resolve outstanding issues. These meetings shall be at no additional cost to the government.

Project meetings shall be conducted periodically to enable orderly review during the progress of the work and to provide systematic resolution of problems. The Contractor’s representative and other responsibility employees shall attend and participate in these meetings. The Contractor’s representative shall have the authority to commit the Contractors to activities under the Contract.

Progress meetings can be held at or near the Project Site. Progress meetings may be conducted via telephone conference call.

A Kick-Off Meeting shall be held before the Contractor begins any work on the project. The Contractor shall ensure attendance by an individual authorized to sign the Contract, its Project Manager, superintendent, and major subcontractors. The Kick-Off meeting will be conducted via video conference call. Date and information on at least the following topics will be distributed and discussed.

a. Organization

b. Responsibilities and authority of the COR, IQAR, and other personnel.

c. Contract documents, including distribution of the required copies of the original documents and revisions.

d. Channels and procedures for communication.

e. Discuss all deliverables that are required to be submitted prior to this meeting.

f. Bonds, insurance requirements, permits, and proof of compliance

g. Work Plan and Work Schedule

h. Payments

i. Field decision and change orders

j. Rules and regulations governing performance of the work

k. Procedures for safety, first aid, security, quality control, and housekeeping

l. Reports

m. Permits

n. Government contact information

o. Collaboration between Contractor, Sub Contractor, USFWS and interested parties.

1.6.10 Contracting Officer Representative (COR): The (COR) will be identified by separate letter. The COR monitors all technical aspects of the contract and assists in contract administration. The COR is authorized to perform the following functions: assure that the Contractor performs the technical requirements of the contract; perform inspections necessary in connection with contract performance; maintain written and oral communications with the Contractor concerning technical aspects of the contract; issue written interpretations of technical requirements, including Government drawings, designs, specifications; monitor Contractor's performance and notifies both the Contracting Officer and Contractor of any deficiencies; coordinate availability of government furnished property; and provide site entry of Contractor personnel. A letter of designation issued to the COR, a copy of which is sent to the Contractor, states the responsibilities and limitations of the COR, especially with regard to changes in cost or price, estimates or changes in delivery dates. The COR is not authorized to change any of the terms and conditions of the resulting order.

1.6.11 Key Personnel: The following personnel are considered key personnel by the government: The contractor shall provide a contract manager who shall be responsible for the performance of the work. The name of this person and an alternate who shall act for the contractor when the manager is absent shall be designated in writing to the contracting officer. The contract manager or alternate shall have full authority to act for the contractor on all contract matters relating to daily operation of this contract. The contract manager or alternate shall be available between 8:00 a.m. to 4:30p.m. Central Time, Monday thru Friday, except Federal holidays or when the government facility is closed for administrative reasons. Qualifications for all key personnel are listed below:

Contract Specialist:

Contracting Officer’s Representative:

Project Manager:

Refuge Point of Contact:

1.6.12 Identification of Contractor Employees: All contract personnel attending meetings, answering Government telephones, and working in other situations where their contractor status is not obvious to third parties are required to identify themselves as such to avoid creating an impression in the minds of members of the public that they are Government officials. They must also ensure that all documents or reports produced by contractors are suitably marked as contractor products or that contractor participation is appropriately disclosed. Contractor personnel are not required to obtain and wear badges in the performance of this service.

The contractor shall provide a contract manager who shall be responsible for the performance of the work. The name of this person and an alternate who shall act for the contractor when the manager is absent shall be designated in writing to the contracting officer. The contract manager or alternate shall have full authority to act for the contractor on all contract matters relating to daily operation of this contract. The contract manager or alternate shall be available between 8:00 a.m. to 4:30p.m. Mountain Time, Monday thru Friday, except Federal holidays or when the government facility is closed for administrative reasons.

1.6.13 Contractor Travel: All travel pursued by the Contractor are under the responsibility of the Contractor with costs already included in the contract budget.

1.6.14 Other Direct Costs: Inapplicable.

1.6.15 Data Rights: Documents and materials are the property of the Government with all rights and privileges of ownership/copyright belonging exclusively to the Government. These documents and materials may not be used or sold by the contractor without written permission from the Contracting Officer. All materials supplied to the Government shall be the sole property of the Government and may not be used for any other purpose. This right does not abrogate any other Government rights.

1.6.16 Organizational Conflict of Interest: Contractor and subcontractor personnel performing work under this contract may receive, have access to or participate in the development of proprietary or source selection information (e.g., cost or pricing information, budget information or analyses, specifications or work statements, etc.) or perform evaluation services which may create a current or subsequent Organizational Conflict of Interests (OCI) as defined in FAR Subpart 9.5. The Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer immediately whenever it becomes aware that such access or participation may result in any actual or potential OCI and shall promptly submit a plan to the Contracting Officer to avoid or mitigate any such OCI. The Contractor’s mitigation plan will be determined to be acceptable solely at the discretion of the Contracting Officer and in the event the Contracting Officer unilaterally determines that any such OCI cannot be satisfactorily avoided or mitigated, the Contracting Officer may effect other remedies as he or she deems necessary, including prohibiting the Contractor from participation in subsequent contracted requirements which may be affected by the OCI.

1.6.17 PHASE IN /PHASE OUT PERIOD: Inapplicable.

PART 2

DEFINITIONS & ACRONYMS

2. DEFINITIONS AND ACRONYMS:

2.1. DEFINITIONS:

2.1.1. CONTRACTOR. A supplier or vendor awarded a contract to provide specific supplies or service to the government. The term used in this contract refers to the prime.

2.1.2. CONTRACTING OFFICER. A person with authority to enter into, administer, and or terminate contracts, and make related determinations and findings on behalf of the government. Note: The only individual who can legally bind the government.

2.1.3. CONTRACTING OFFICER'S REPRESENTATIVE (COR). An employee of the U.S. Government appointed by the contracting officer to administer the contract. Such appointment shall be in writing and shall state the scope of authority and limitations. This individual has authority to provide technical direction to the Contractor as long as that direction is within the scope of the contract, does not constitute a change, and has no funding implications. This individual does NOT have authority to change the terms and conditions of the contract.

2.1.4. DEFECTIVE SERVICE. A service output that does not meet the standard of performance associated with the Performance Work Statement.

2.1.5. DELIVERABLE. Anything that can be physically delivered, but may include non-manufactured things such as meeting minutes or reports.

2.1.6. KEY PERSONNEL. Contractor personnel that are evaluated in a source selection process and that may be required to be used in the performance of a contract by the Key Personnel listed in the PWS. When key personnel are used as an evaluation factor in best value procurement, an offer can be rejected if it does not have a firm commitment from the persons that are listed in the proposal.

2.1.7. PHYSICAL SECURITY. Actions that prevent the loss or damage of Government property.

2.1.8. QUALITY ASSURANCE. The government procedures to verify that services being performed by the Contractor are performed according to acceptable standards.

2.1.9. QUALITY ASSURANCE Surveillance Plan (QASP). An organized written document specifying the surveillance methodology to be used for surveillance of contractor performance.

2.1.10. QUALITY CONTROL. All necessary measures taken by the Contractor to assure that the quality of an end product or service shall meet contract requirements.

2.1.11. SUBCONTRACTOR. One that enters into a contract with a prime contractor. The Government does not have privity of contract with the subcontractor.

2.1.12. WORK DAY. The number of hours per day the Contractor provides services in accordance with the contract.

2.1.12. WORK WEEK. Monday through Friday, unless specified otherwise.

2.2. ACRONYMS:

PART 3

GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY, EQUIPMENT, AND SERVICES

3. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED ITEMS AND SERVICES:

3.1. Services: The Government will provide key personnel during the full term of the contract for collaboration, questions or need for clarification.

3.2 Facilities: The Government may provide housing at Laguna Atascosa NWR or Lower Rio Grande Valley NWR if room exists.

3.3 Utilities; The Government will provide no utilities.

3.4 Equipment: The Government will provide no equipment.

3.5 Materials: The Government will provide no materials.

PART 4

CONTRACTOR FURNISHED ITEMS AND SERVICES

4. CONTRACTOR FURNISHED ITEMS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

4.1 General: The Contractor shall furnish all supplies, equipment, facilities and services required to perform work under this PWS.

4.2 Secret Facility Clearance: Not applicable.

4.3. Materials: The Contractor shall furnish all materials, supplies, and equipment necessary to meet the requirements under this PWS.

4.4. Equipment. The Contractor shall furnish all supplies, and equipment necessary to meet the requirements under this PWS.

PART 5

ATTACHMENT/TECHNICAL EXHIBIT LISTING

(Under this section list all attachments and technical exhibits that will be useful for the contractor to submit an appropriate proposal. )

7. Attachment/Technical Exhibit List:

7.1. Attachment 1/Technical Exhibit 1 – Performance Requirements Summary (This document is required for every PWS. See attached example for format.)

TECHNICAL EXHIBIT 1

Performance Requirements Summary The contractor service requirements are summarized into performance objectives that relate directly to mission essential items. The performance threshold briefly describes the minimum acceptable levels of service required for each requirement. These thresholds are critical to mission success.

Performance Objective (The Service required—usually a shall statement)

Method of Surveillance

PRS # 1.

The contractor shall provide [Insert an objective that relates directly to a mission essential required item, i.e., analysis of DoD Business Process and Agency Operating Models and the PWS paragraph number, i.e., PWS paragraph 5.5].

The contractor provided [Insert the standard that should be followed, i.e, analysis of DoD Business Process and Agency Operating Model].

( see listing below) and who performs, i.e., Validated Customer Complaint received by COR.]

PRS # 2

(See example provided in PRS 1.)

(See example provided in PRS 1.)

PRS # 3

(See example provided in PRS 1.)

(See example provided in PRS 1.)

PRS # 4

(See example provided in PRS 1.)

(See example provided in PRS 1.)

The following listing provides various types of Surveillance as examples to select from and should not be included on the final document:

Random Sampling: Appropriate for frequently recurring tasks. Evaluate randomly selected samples of the lot to determine the acceptability of the entire lot.

Random Inspection Guide, Method of surveillance, Lot size, Sample size, Performance requirement, Sampling procedure, Inspection procedure 100 Percent Inspection: Appropriate for tasks that occur infrequently. Inspect and evaluate performance each time task is performed Periodic Surveillance: Evaluation of samples selected on other than 100% or statistically random basis. (i.e., monthly, quarterly, semi-annually etc.)

Validated Customer Complaint: Complaints must be validated.

NOTE: You may also identify any surveillance method used in the commercial market to survey the required service. (This will be discovered when market research is conducted).