A16_44026516_JOFOC.pdf

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN

FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

In accordance with the authority granted under 41 U.S.C. 253(c), this request for award under other than full and open competition is hereby submitted.

1. Identification of the agency and the contracting activity:

Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Eastern Interior Field Office (EIFO)

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved:

Purchase 29 GPS/Iridium radio collars for use on caribou over extended periods in subarctic conditions and renewal of data plans for existing equipment.

Due to the circumstances described below, I request the following be acquired using other than full and open competition in support of BLM requirement for a GPS/Iridium telemetry system which matches that in use by cooperating agencies, transmits data via Iridium satellites, and feeds them to a single database which makes data for all GPS collar units in the project accessible via website to all project cooperators.

3. A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s needs (including the estimated value):

Purchase 31 GPS/Iridium radio collars for caribou. The collars acquire GPS locations (fixes) on board and upload these via Iridium satellite to a centralized website/database where they are available for viewing, mapping, and downloading.

Requirements: The collars would need a VHF beacon, mortality and temperature sensor, basic 3 axis activity sensor, and a stainless-steel label plate. VHF beacons need a life of at least 5 years (while transmitting at least 10 hrs/day), GPS receiver with capability of recording at least 5 locations per day for a minimum period of 5 years, and ability to transmit all data daily and consistently via Iridium satellite network during that 5-year period. The key requirement is that to be compatible with units purchased by cooperators, these collars must transmit data to Vectronic for incorporation in their database and web service so that it is easily accessible to all cooperators via the internet through a password-protected webpage. Collars should be programmable remotely through the Iridium satellite network. Proven reliable operation on wild animals in temperatures to -40 degrees Celsius Additional specifications: activity and temperature sensors and ability to transmit this data with location data. GPS receiver of 16 or more channels. Total weight is less than 1000 grams. Collar operation must be proven reliable in at least 4-year-long deployments on wild animals in Arctic or subarctic environments.

The estimated price of this requirement is: REDACTED/unit for GPS collar.

This estimate is based upon: Market research through Vectronic Aerospace Inc.

Model meeting these requirements: Vectronic Aerospace, Vertex Lite-3D Iridium Collar.

Attachment 7

Past procurement: Lotek Iridium collars have been deployed on Fortymile Caribou since 2013. In 2021, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) and Yukon Department of Environment deployed Vectronic collars on Fortymile Caribou. These have proven more functional and reliable than the previous standard radio collar from Lotek. The project cooperators (Yukon Environment, ADFG, and BLM) have all agreed to purchase and deploy Vectronic Iridium collars for the purpose of compatibility and maintaining research continuity. BLM-EIFO has purchased Lotek collars for this herd and the White Mountains Caribou herd since ~2015. It also purchased 13 Vectronic Iridium Video Camera Collars in 2017, for a two-year study of food habits and habitat use.

EIFO purchased 29 Iridium/GPS collars from Telonics in 2018. Telonics was chosen then to match those already in use by the National Park Service and planned for use by the US FWS on a cooperative moose movement and ecology study.

Future procurement: Future purchases of approximately 10 collars per year are likely.

BLM is unlikely to have funding available that is sufficient to purchase more than a small minority of the units deployed in this project, therefore future purchases are likely to be determined primarily by compatibility with the predominant system in use by the group of cooperators.

4. An identification of the Statutory Authority permitting other than full and open competition:

41. U.S.C. 253(c) (1) as implemented by FAR 6.302-1.

5. A demonstration that the proposed brand name possesses unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited:

Although several manufacturers supply GPS/Iridium collars suitable for caribou (Telonics, Inc.; Lotek Wireless; Telemetry Solutions; ATS) this purchase must be of collars manufactured by Vectronic because they must be compatible with existing collars purchased by other agencies cooperating in management of the Fortymile Caribou herd.

All recent purchases of Iridium/GPS collars by research partners in ADFG and the Yukon Government Department of the Environment have been Vectronic collars. These collars transmit data daily to Vectronic, where data is incorporated into a database and made available via the Vectronic Inventa Web Service website. At this website, each of the cooperating agencies can access, view, map data on a Google map interface, and download the data. Because these are scientific instruments and this purchase will represent a very minor portion of the total collars functioning in this project, it would be very inefficient to purchase other collars and continue to maintain collars and data from more than one manufacturer. Access and display of data occurs daily during some periods of the year, and it is essential that this be a quick and efficient process. The technical committee guiding this cooperative project has determined that the Vectronic collars (and the associated system for data access and management) used in this project best fit the objectives of the study and (for reasons of compatibility and performance) should be the standard unit purchased for the foreseeable future. The original purchase of Vectronic collars for this project was conducted by Yukon Department of Environment through a competitive bid process. The Vectronic collars have operated reliably, and the data sharing/retrieval system has provided good functionality, allowing all cooperators to easily access, map and download data.

GPS/Iridium collars are typically programmable after deployment on caribou through the Iridium communication link. Changes in programming can be easily made consistently for all collars only if they are made by the same manufacturer. The programming and management of these collars and management of the data is complex and it is difficult to manage and maintain more than one system.

6. A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable, including whether a notice was or will be publicized as required by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 5.2, and, if not, which exception under

5.202 applies:

The solicitation will be posted on SAM.gov

7. A determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable, and the basis for that determination:

Upon evaluation of responses to the Government’s Request for Quote, the Contracting Officer will make a determine of price fairness and reasonableness based on procurement history, comparison to the Government estimate and other factors.

8. A description of the market research conducted (FAR part 10) and the results or a statement of the reason market research was not conducted:

Recent Iridium/GPS collar purchases by EIFO with similar capabilities have been similar or higher in cost than the Vectronic collars:

Lotek (purchased 2019)-Litetrack Iridium420 Per collar price $1365. This cost has likely risen since then and relatively high data delivery fees will substantially increase total cost over 4 or 5 years.

Telonics (purchased 2019 for moose)-$1400 per unit. (Note that the collar cost was a discounted rate based on upgrading from previously-purchased ARGOS/GPS collars which would not be available for another purchase, and costs have likely increased since then).

9. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition FAR 6.303-2(a) (9)):

The requesting official did not support this item with information.

10. A listing of sources, if any, that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition:

None.

Attachment 7

11. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required:

The requesting official did not support this item with information.

CERTIFICATIONS:

I, hereby, certify that this requirement does not exceed the Government’s minimum needs or scheduled requirements, and that the basis for award under other than full and open competition is complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief:

_______________//SIGNED//_________9/11/2025____________________

Requisitioner’s Signature Date I, hereby, certify that this justification for other than full and open competition is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief:

_______//SIGNED//________________9/12/2025______________________

Contracting Officer’s Signature Date