A05_JA for Under SAT12639526Q0173 Mongoose Collars-Redacted.pdf

United States Department of Agriculture Decision to Restrict Competition under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold

Identification Number: Requisition: 1171683 Solicitation:12639526Q0173

Rev. 3/4/26

In accordance with the Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Overhaul (RFO) FAR

12.102 (a), the following documents the decision to restrict competition for this acquisition.

(1) Mission Area and Contracting Activity.

Requisition Number: 1171683

Requesting Activity Agency: Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Wildlife Services

(WS)

Contracting Activity: Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Marketing and Regulatory Programs Business Services (MRPBS), Acquisition and Asset Management Division (AAMD).

(2) Estimated Value

(3) Brief Description of Supplies or Services

USDA APHIS Wildlife Services requires 20 Lotek Litetrack GPS collars weighing no more than 20g to be deployed on free ranging mongooses, and Procurement one PinPoint handheld command unit to download data remotely from the collars. These collars will be used to replace previously procured Lotek Litetrack collars for an ongoing study tracking mongoose movements and evaluating mongoose habitat use in Puerto Rico.

(1) Suggested Source

Lotek Wireless Inc.

115 Pony DR Newmarket, On L3Y 7B5 Canada

UEI: JGJLHBA7RKF5

(4) Justification for Restricting Competition and the Basis for that Decision.

A. Explain the unique qualifications/characteristics of the proposed contractor or product and why no other contractor or product/service can meet the Government's need.

The acquisition of the Lotek Litetrack 20 GPS Tracking Collars and a single PinPoint Handheld Command Unit must be restricted to Lotek Wireless Inc (LWI) due to several unique qualifications and characteristics exclusive to their product. First, the Lotek Litetrack 20 GPS Collars and a single PinPoint Handheld Command Unit System from LWI uses proprietary software that is already integrated into the current research project. This ensures seamless, consistent data transfer and compatibility, which is crucial in ongoing research projects. Additionally, the Lotek Litetrack 20 GPS Collars and a single PinPoint Handheld Command Unit offers required features, including:

a 20g weight limit, remote download capability, and a single handheld unit to remotely download GPS data, which are not available in other known models on the market.

United States Department of Agriculture Decision to Restrict Competition under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold

Identification Number: Requisition: 1171683 Solicitation:12639526Q0173

Rev. 3/4/26

Moreover, the proprietary nature of the hardware and software means that no other manufacturer can provide a GPS Tracking Collar and Command unit that matches the required specifications and integration capabilities of the Lotek Litetrack 20 GPS Collars and PinPoint Handheld Command Unit.

B. Describe market research conducted and the results or the reason why no market research was conducted.

Market research was performed in accordance with FAR part 10. The research was performed by the program, technical point of contact (TPOC) and the contracting officer (CO) from 5/01/2026 to 06/18/2026. Initial research was conducted through direct email contact with representatives and via website evaluations with various known vendors providing wildlife radio collar equipment. US-based vendors contacted were .

US-based company xxx provides products similar to what is required but previous experience and current investigation into their new products found the product offered for this species by xxx to be impractical for our use at this time. Rather than using a single handheld unit to remotely download GPS data from the collars, the purchase of standalone data logging devices is required and the data downloaded via an App on a mobile phone. For our purposes these devices would have to be placed throughout the habitat where the study animal may be found, often in areas with limited to no cell phone coverage. Mongooses typically live in thickly vegetated habitats, access to which by humans is often impractical and, in many cases, impossible. In addition, mongooses can range widely, making it difficult to predict where they might be, where to place the data logging devices and how many data logging devices would be required. Continuing to use the Lotek Litetrack 20 GPS collars will provide valuable continuity in our data as we complete our study rather than risk using a new and untested product with which we are unfamiliar with respect to its data quality. Another US-based company, xxx, manufactures only radio tracking equipment for marine mammals and avian species, not terrestrial mammals. The remaining US-based companies responded that they did not provide products with the specifications we require.

A Sources Sought notice SourcesSought1171685 was posted was posted on the SAM.gov website from 1 – 8 June 2026, with two responses. xxx expressed interest in possible future development but does not currently offer a suitable product. Only Lotek Wireless confirmed availability of a product meeting all specifications. GSA and AbilityOne were also searched and do not provide the product needed for our purposes. USDA inventory was searched with no result, and no existing contract was found searching USDA-Wide contracts.