A16_PR40632870_Single_Source_Justification_Redacted_1.pdf

FWS Form 3-0034 (Rev. 10/2020) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

SINGLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION

(UNDER SAT)

JOINT ADMINISTRATIVE OPERATIONS

Acquisitions Operations

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.

1. Description of Need

2. Market Research Conducted

The Refuge seeks a contractor to utilize song meter data to provide a report detailing the following information on six seabird species

• Presence of each species;

• Nightly patterns of activity;

• Seasonal patterns of activity;

• Comparison of relative activity rates across sites Contractor must have:

1) Ability to take large datasets of seabird vocalizations collected by automated acoustic sensors and turn that information into tabular data of abundance or presence/absence by species using

2) Experience analyzing storm-petrel and other seabird vocalization data

3) Experience and publication record (peer reviewed) using automated acoustic sensors to identify presence and absence of seabirds

4) Must have published research (peer reviewed) on the relationship between seabird colony song activity and breeding density

5) Experience and publication record (peer reviewed) using acoustic monitoring to measure changes in the environment such as removing non-native mammals

6) Working knowledge of most of the acoustic sensor hardware and software packages available including automated recording units and bioacoustics software

Outcomes of this analysis will be used to inform cross-Program and cross-Regional survey efforts.

The effort to capture seabird vocalizations on islands off the Washington coast is a joint effort with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). WDFW uses Conservation Metrics to analyze their portion of this data. Potential inconsistencies in data processing and management between two different vendors would be detrimental to the overall project goals and outcomes. Data that is not processed and managed in exactly the same way quickly becomes incomparable. A large part of the reason for this effort is to increase consistency in data collection and management across agency boundaries to improve its value and accuracy in describing seabird distribution and trends.

USFWS is partially funding this project and the WA Department of Fish and Wildlife is providing the rest of the funding to Conservation Metrics for this study

3. Other Capable Sources

4. Barriers to Competition

5. Contractor's Qualification

6. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Cost

7. Recommendation and Certification by Program Office

Awarding our part of this study to another vendor would delay the end reports in that results would have to be analyzed to determine where FWS’s vendor’s information coincides with WFWS’s findings.

This could lead to inconsistencies in information and additional costs.

We also checked with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, USFWS Inventory and Monitoring, and USFWS Migratory Birds programs and they have not found any other vendor with the same or better capabilities.

Given the unique expertise necessary to extract data specific to seabird species and the need to maintain consistent information with that of WDFW, it would not be in the government’s best interest to seek other vendors to complete this project. However, if in the future FWS needs to perform their own independent study, every possible opportunity will be given to compete the new work.