A16_Brand_Name_JOFOC_-_redacted.pdf

BRAND NAME JUSTIFICATION

1. Contracting Agency and Activity. The Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, Columbia Environmental Research Center.

2. Nature of Action Being Approved. Firm Fixed Price purchase for the expansion of existing acoustic telemetry infrastructure and replacement of lost and aging receivers through procurement of Innovasea NexTrak 69 kHz acoustic receivers.

3. Description of Supplies or Services. The Columbia Environmental Research Center requires Innovasea NexTrak R1 69 kHz transponding acoustic receivers to support long-term aquatic animal telemetry research. These receivers are used to detect, identify, and archive signals from implanted acoustic transmitters deployed in riverine and lacustrine environments.

The acquisition supports ongoing monitoring programs and ensures continuity of data collection across multi-year studies. The receivers must integrate seamlessly with existing USGS telemetry arrays, transmitters, software platforms, and analytical workflows currently in use across USGS and partner networks.

4. Estimated Dollar Value.

5. Statutory Authority. The proposed action may be awarded on a sole source basis under the authority FAR 13.106-1.

6. Rationale Supporting Use of Citation in No. 5.

InnovaSea acoustic telemetry systems are the established and operational standard for large scale, multi-agency fish movement and population research in the Great Lakes basin, including Lake Erie and its major tributaries. The Great Lakes region represents the single largest coordinated acoustic telemetry network in the world, supported by a basin wide array of InnovaSea acoustic receivers maintained by Federal, State, Tribal, and academic partners.

Within Lake Erie alone, approximately 300 to 400 InnovaSea acoustic receivers are currently deployed, the majority of which are owned and maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey. The estimated replacement value of USGS owned InnovaSea telemetry infrastructure in Lake Erie exceeds $1,000,000.00, with additional substantial investments held by cooperating agencies.

This array functions as a unified detection network supporting migration monitoring, survival estimation, and immigration and emigration parameters required for population viability and adaptive management analyses.

The requested InnovaSea NexTrak acoustic receivers are an improved design that is fully backward and forward compatible with existing Innovasea VR2 Tx receivers deployed throughout Lake Erie and connected Great Lakes tributaries. An existing population of fish tagged with InnovaSea transmitters is already present across the basin. The proprietary coding architecture used by InnovaSea transmitters cannot be reproduced or decoded by equipment from other manufacturers, rendering alternative brands inherently incompatible with the existing telemetry network.

Use of receivers from any other manufacturer would sever integration with the Great Lakes telemetry array, fragment detection data, and preclude participation in the broader collaborative network. This would substantially limit scientific inference, compromise the defensibility of population and movement estimates, and negate the ability to leverage detections collected by partner-maintained arrays. Introduction of a non-compatible system would also compromise a substantial Federal investment by isolating newly collected data from existing infrastructure.

To maintain continuity with long term datasets, achieve scientifically defensible population metrics, and support management actions identified in Great Lakes restoration and invasive species frameworks, it is required that participating agencies deploy telemetry equipment fully compatible with the existing InnovaSea network. Monitoring timelines for ongoing field studies necessitate immediate acquisition of compatible receivers.

Procurement of any alternative brand would materially compromise an existing multi-million dollar Federal and partner investment and undermine basin wide coordination. InnovaSea NexTrak acoustic receivers are the only equipment that meets the Government’s minimum technical, scientific, and programmatic requirements.”

7. Other Information. This procurement supports the continued operation of established telemetry arrays and avoids the significant cost and scientific risk associated with transitioning to a non-compatible telemetry platform. Replacement of lost and aging receivers using the same manufacturer ensures uninterrupted data continuity and study comparability.

8. The Efforts to Identify Additional Sources Including the Market Research Conducted.

Market research was conducted through review of commercially available acoustic telemetry systems and prior procurements. While other manufacturers offer acoustic receivers, none provide systems that are fully interoperable with Innovasea 69 kHz telemetry infrastructure or that meet the Government’s minimum requirements for detection performance, coding efficiency, and post-processing capability.

Innovasea telemetry systems are proprietary, and no authorized resellers offer functionally equivalent alternatives.

9. Actions to Overcome Barriers to Competition. The Government will continue to monitor advancements in acoustic telemetry technology. Future procurements will be competed to the maximum extent practicable when alternative systems demonstrate verified compatibility with existing infrastructure, equivalent performance, and no adverse impacts on data continuity.

10. Recommendation and Certification from Program Office

Based on the above, I recommend this acquisition be conducted on a limited source basis. I certify that technical data which form a basis for this justification, that are the responsibility of technical or requirements personnel are complete and accurate.

Matthew Acre, USGS Research Biologist Date

11. (required for all J&As)

Certifications and Approval from the Contracting Officer:

a. Price reasonableness will be determined through price analysis, including comparison with historical pricing for the same or similar support services, review of OEM or authorized reseller pricing, and comparison with prices paid by the Government for similar requirements.

b. This justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

13. Approvals

Rafael Anderson, Contracting Officer Date

Douglas Hill, Bureau Competition Advocate Date