A16-3-0034_Single_Source_Justification_R8_AMNWR_plant_inventories_Signed_1.pdf
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- NV-ASH MEADOWS NWR-INVENTORY & MAPPING O Federal contract opportunity
- Solicitation number
- 140FS125P0073
About this file
This document is a Single Source Justification (SSJ) form for a federal contract with Pyramid Botanical Consultants (PBC) to conduct rare plant monitoring at Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in the eastern Mojave Desert. The contract focuses on monitoring 7 rare endemic plant species under federal protection, with critical requirements including species detection, identification, and tracking non-native plant impacts in a unique and limited habitat.
The justification details that PBC has been conducting rare plant monitoring at the refuge for multiple years, possessing specialized expertise in the area's extreme environmental conditions. A notice of intent was posted on SAM.gov with no alternative vendors responding, leading the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to determine PBC as the only qualified source. The contract emphasizes maintaining data continuity and comparability with previous survey work, with the vendor's unique qualifications in identifying difficult-to-locate endemic plant species being the primary rationale for sole-source selection. The contract is under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT) and was digitally approved by the Program/Project Officer and Contracting Officer in December 2024 and January 2025, respectively.
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Text version
FWS Form 3-0034 (Rev. 10/2020) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
1. Description of Need
3. Other Capable Sources
2. Market Research Conducted
Pursuant to FAR subpart 13.106-1(b)(1)(i) and (ii), for purchases not exceeding the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT), Contracting Officers may solicit from only one source if the circumstances deem only one source is reasonably available (e.g., urgency, exclusive licensing agreements, brand name, or industrial mobilization).
Instructions: The information in the text boxes are provided as sample language or to indicate a needed fill-in. Sample language should be removed from the final document. All text boxes require information and shall not be left blank.
SINGLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION
(UNDER SAT)
JOINT ADMINISTRATIVE OPERATIONS
Acquisitions Operations
4. Barriers to Competition
5. Contractor's Qualifications
6. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Cost
7. Recommendation and Certification by Program Office
Based on the above justification, I recommend this acquisition to be conducted using sole source acquisition procedures. I hereby certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.
Program / Project Officer
8. Contracting Officer Certification and Approval: Under SAT
Based on the above justification, I hereby certify and approve the use of sole source acquisition procedures under FAR Part 13 for this purchase.
Contracting Officer
| Text3: There are no other known collaborators qualified for the proposed project. This project is a continuation of previous work and it is important to the integrity of the data that the work is completed by the same vendor in order to ensure consistency and comparability between this work and prior survey and inventory work in this unique area with many unique species that are difficult to identify by entities with less experience with these specific species. |
| Text2: A notice of intent to sole source was posted on SAM.gov and no vendors responded. There are no other known collaborators qualified for the proposed project. Given the unique and specialized nature of the work required for the monitoring and control actions at Ash Meadows NWR, and the critical need for continuity and consistency in the data collected, the Refuge has determined that only one source, the identified vendor, is reasonably available to perform these services. |
| Text1: Ash Meadows NWR is a unique oasis in the middle of the eastern Mojave Desert, containing multiple species and specialized habitats found nowhere else on Earth. Among these are 9 rare endemic plants 7 of which contain special federal protections. These species fall under regulation by the US Endangered Species Act (1973), their recovery under which is managed by the Refuge in close collaboration with agency, university, and NGO partners. These species are often cryptic, requiring specialized skills and training for detection and identification. Impacts to these species include the co-occurence of non-native plants that threaten their limited habitat. |
Ash Meadows NWR Natural Resource Management Plan, which guides recovery actions on the Refuge, provides these species are to be monitored on a regular basis and threats to their recovery managed adaptively. This includes control actions for competing non-native plants. To achieve monitoring of nonnative and rare endemic plants, the Refuge has relied on assistance from partners possessing the specialized experience with Ash Meadows rare plants and habitats and the specific technical required for these efforts.
| Text4: Only the suggested vendor has the qualifications and necessary experience with the local, endemic and difficult to identify plant species and can ensure that this continuation of work from prior years will produce data comparable to the previously completed work. | |
| Text6: The price is fair and reasonable and no other sources have been found that would be able to complete the work according to needed standards and ensure data is comparable to prior years of survey in inventory work for these difficult to identify species. | |
| 2024-12-13T09:38:33-0800 | |
| MICHAEL BOWER |
| 2025-01-28T10:56:47-0800 | |
| OSCAR OROZCO |
Text5: Pyramid Botanical Consultants (PBC) has been completing rare plant monitoring at Ash Meadows NWR for years, gaining invaluable expertise in the unique and extreme environmental conditions and identification of rare and cryptic species. PBC leveraged their expertise to collaborate with USFWS scientists to finalize a formal long-term monitoring protocol for rare plants at Ash Meadows NWR, the specific protocol that will guide monitoring plot sampling in the current contract. This work is a continuation of prior work complete on the refuge and is it important that data collected is directly comparable to data collected in prior years.
Furthermore, PBC is currently finishing a broad inventory of invasive and rare plants within the Upper Carson Slough Management Unit at Ash Meadows NWR. As an early deliverable of their prior contract, they developed a protocol for inventory of invasive and rare plants at Ash Meadows NWR that will guide the other major component of this contract.
In summary, there isn't another contractor, or agency scientist for that matter, with the extensive experience and expertise in inventory and monitoring of invasive and rare plants at Ash Meadows NWR required to independently survey broad areas for unique and cryptic species, following detailed and oftentimes complicated protocols, under extreme weather conditions. Developing this type of expertise would take years and funding beyond what is available.
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