ACQUISITION_JUSTIFICATION_STATEMENT.doc

JUSTIFICATION STATEMENT

As required by Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.303-2

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

for Completion of Elk Diet and Nutrition Analyses and Publications for the

Ungulate Herbivory Study at Starkey Experimental Forest and Range 19 May 2014

(1) Identification of the unit making the request and Identification of the document as a “JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION”.

USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Forestry and Range Sciences Laboratory, 1401 Gekeler Lane, La Grande, OR 97850. PNW Station scientist Dr. Michael Wisdom serves as primary scientist contact and PNW Station Starkey Area Manager Brian Dick serves as COR for the purchase order that accompanies this sole source justification.

The attached purchase order and associated work builds on an 8-year research collaboration between NCASI, Inc. scientists Dr. John Cook and Dr. Rachel Cook, PNW Research Station Dr. Michael Wisdom, and Oregon State University scientists Drs. Bryan Endress and Tim DelCurto. The 8-year collaboration is on a long-term study of effects of elk and cattle herbivory on vegetation and ungulate nutrition in forest understories at Starkey Experimental Forest and Range near La Grande, OR (referred to as Starkey Ungulate Herbivory Study). Drs. John and Rachel Cook served as the uniquely-qualified technical experts and the sole collectors of field data on the elk component of this study, as described below.

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

NCASI services to be performed include all data summaries, final analyses, reports, and follow-on manuscripts and publications to complete the elk component of the Starkey Ungulate Herbivory Study. These services build directly on, and depend on, prior field work conducted by NCASI scientists John Cook and Rachel as part of the 8-year collaboration between NCASI and PNW Research Station on the elk component of the study. The prior field work required the use of tame elk by John and Rachel Cook to collect data on elk diets needed for the elk component of the study. Use of these tame elk for field research required unique skills and experience possessed by these NCASI scientists (see justification in section 5 below).

Forest Service national policy on ethics and protocols for authorship of scientific publications, http://www.fs.fed.us/research/pdf/fs_code_of%20_scientific_ethics.pdf, requires that NCASI scientists John and Rachel Cook be included as authors on publications of the elk component of the Starkey Ungulate Herbivory Study in scientific journals, and that NCASI scientists play a central role in the data analysis, data summaries, and writing needed for these publications. Consequently, the work described here is required by NCASI scientists, in terms of data analyses and participation in associated publications as lead authors or co-authors, to complete the elk component of the Starkey Ungulate Herbivory Study. NCASI participation in the publication process also is required to address the many publication peer review comments associated with data collected by NCASI scientists that will be contained in these publications. There are no other technical experts who could respond to peer reviews of data collected by these NCASI scientists.

(3) A description of the Supplies or Services required to meet the Agency’s needs (including the estimated value).

Work by NCASI scientists will consist of data analyses, summaries of results in reports, and production of manuscripts to be submitted for publication in collaboration with PNW Research Station and other partners. Work is based on an 8-year span of elk diet and herbivory data collected at the Starkey Experimental Forest and Range, at 6 fuels treatment sites (3 fuels treated, 3 control sites). Elk diet and nutrition data were collected by NCASI scientists John and Rachel Cook at 3 time points during the 8 years as part of on-going research collaborations between NCASI and PNW Research Station on this herbivory research project.

Work will consist of 4 phases, described beow.

Phase 1 will be completed by May 15, 2015. Phase 2 will be completed by May 15, 2016.

Phases 3 and 4, which are currently unfunded, depend on completion of Phases 1 and 2.

The following items constitute the specific services and products that will be provided by NCASI, Inc., to meet PNW Research Station needs under this timeline and contract. Costs for delivery of all items by NCASI, Inc., represents a package of services that cannot be separated, and that follow a linear order that is inter-dependent. All items build on prior field work and data collected by NCASI scientists at Starkey as part of the ungulate herbivory study since 2005. Consequently, this current work depends on the prior investment and unique expertise of Drs. John and Rachel Cook based on their prior work on this research as part of Starkey Ungulate Herbivory Study with PNW Station.

Services and Products:

Phase 1: Data on elk diet composition collected by NCASI scientists since 2005 will be analyzed and summarized, including a list of plant species composing the diets of elk under high, moderate, and low densities, and classified as selected, avoided, and neutral in a diet selection analysis under these elk densities at fuels-treated and non-treated sites. Actiwatch activity data on elk will be sumamarized, with assistance from PNW staff. PNW assistance for actiwatch analysis will be provided in terms of data queries and structuring a data base needed to prepare data for analysis by NCASI scientists. Forage production data as it relates to elk diet composition will be summarized, based on forage production data provided by PNW. A preliminary report of these summaries and associated datea will be provided to PNW by May 15, 2015. Data on elk diet selection as selected, neutral, and avoided will be sufficient for use in a future manuscript that would describe elk effects on vegetation development based on selected, neutral, and avoided plant groups at the 3 elk densities. This future manuscript would be a collaboration between NCASI, PNW, and Oregon State University (OSU) scientists, and the lead author selected among collaborators, through a joint decision in summer 2015, after diet composition data summaries are completed by NCASI for Phase 1 of this contract.

Phase 2: NCASI scientists will collaborate with PNW and OSU scientists on a manuscript for publication describing elk herbivory effects on vegetation development under 3 elk densities at fuels-treated vs. non-treated sites, based on elk diet groups of selected, neutral, and avoided plants in elk diets, or similar plant groupings based on elk diet analyses. NCASI scientists will also analyze data and summarize results of elk diet quality and nutrient intake rates at fuels-treated and non-treated sites as a function of diet preferences, and summarize results in a report provided to PNW by May 15, 2016.

Phase 3: This phase is currently unfunded, and funds will be added at a later date with a modification to this contract, pending availability of funds. Phase 3 will consist of production of a manuscript for publication, with NCASI scientists as lead authors, that summarizes the relations of elk diet quality with nutrient intake rates at fuels-treated vs. non-treated sites as a function of diet preferences. Start and end dates for completion of this manuscript, and its submission for publication, will be specified later in relation to the timing of future funding avaialbility.

Phase 4: This phase, also currently unfunded, will consist of collaboration of NCASI scientists with PNW and OSU scientists on 2-3 additional manuscripts for publication. The specifict topics and number of manuscripts will depend on results from completion of Phases 1, 2, and 3. Potential manuscript topics include (1) the interactions of forage composition, diet composition, and herbivory effects over time; (2) density-dependent effects of elk herbivory on elk nutrition over time and likley effects on animal peformance; (3) effects of fuels-treated vs. non-treated conditions on elk nutrition; (4) comparative herbivory effects of elk vs. cattle under 3 densities of each ungulate in contrast to complete ungulate exclusion and extant, free-range grazing by these ungulates; and (5) any combinations of the above topics in additional synthesis publications. The specific manuscripts will be determined for Phase 4 after completion of Phases 1, 2, or 3, whenever it becomes clear how the Phase 4 manuscripts would follow-on and complement manuscripts produced before Phase 4. Specific funding and timelines for Phase 4 would then be determined in a modification to this contract. Phase 4 would be completed within 5 years of initiating this P.O., with an end date of this contract of September 15, 2019.

Completion of items in Phases 1, 2, and 3 will depend on timely provision of needed data to NCASI, Inc. by the PNW related to herbivory vegetation responses, forage production, and actiwatch data structuring. Any delays in provision of needed data by PNW to NCASI will necessarily delay the analyses by NCASI under this purchase order.

The ultimate, estimated value of application of results of these analyses and publications work in land management involves millions of dollars in terms of commodity and recreational opportunities afforded by public land users who view or hunt elk on National Forests, or who are affected by public land management for elk (e.g., adjacent landowners, timber companies who buy Forest Service timber, livestock operators on National Forests, etc.). Results from this work will ultimately affect how ungulates are managed to achieve forest vegetation goals for fuel loadings, fire risk, wildlife habitats, timber production, livestock grazing, elk management, and ungulate nutrition.

(4) An identification of the statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition (if known, please provide this information)

41 U.S.C. 253 (c) (1). Only one responsible source and no other services will satisfy agency requirements within the required timelines for completing the work.

(5) A demonstration that the proposed Contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited.

NCASI scientists John Cook and Rachel Cook are the leading scientific authorities on elk diet and nutrition dynamics in forests of the western U.S., and the use of tame elk to collect these data. These scientists have a long list of publications with high scientific impact on these topics that demonstrate their long-term expertise and experience on these topics (see Publication Examples below). The services described here build directly on, and depend on, prior field work conducted by NCASI scientists John Cook and Rachel Cook as part of the 8-year collaboration between NCASI and PNW Research Station on the elk component of the study. The prior field work required the use of tame elk by John and Rachel Cook to collect data on elk diets needed for the elk component of the study. Use of these tame elk for field research required unique skills and experience possessed by these NCASI scientists and described in the publications listed in the Publication Examples. This expertise was not available elsewhere, thus explaining the prior commitment by PNW to recruit these NCASI scientists in the Ungulate Herbivory Study. The scientific authority of these NCASI scientists on the topics of elk nutrition, and use of tame elk for elk nutrition research, is demonstrated by the publications of high scientific rigor on the subject that these scientists have authored. Because of the 8 years of prior collaborative work between NCASI and PNW on the elk component of the Starkey Ungulate Herbivory Study, NCASI is the only provider of the follow-on analytical services and publication work described and justified here under sole source and described in the associated purchase order, and as required by Forest Service national policy on ethics and protocols for scientific publications.

Publication Examples Cook, J. G. 2002. Nutrition and food. Pages 259–349 in E. D. Toweill and J. W. Thomas, editors. North American Elk: Ecology and management. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C., USA.

Cook, J. G., R. C. Cook, R. A. Davis, and L. L. Irwin. In review. Nutritional ecology of elk during summer and autumn in the Pacific Northwest. Wildlife Monographs.

Cook, J. G., B. K. Johnson, R. C. Cook, R. A. Riggs, T. Delcurto, L. D. Bryant, and L. L. Irwin. 2004. Effects of summer–autumn nutrition and parturition date on reproduction and survival of elk. Wildlife Monographs 155.

Cook, J. G., L. J. Quinlan, L. L. Irwin, L. D. Bryant, R. A. Riggs, and J. W. Thomas. 1996. Nutrition–growth relations of elk calves during late summer and fall. Journal of Wildlife Management 60:528–541.

Cook, R. C., J. G. Cook, D. J. Vales, B. K. Johnson, S. M. McCorquodale, L. A. Shipley, R. A. Riggs, L. L. Irwin, S. L. Murphie, B. L. Murphie, K. A. Schoenecker, F. Geyer, P. B. Hall, R. D. Spencer, D. A. Immell, D. H. Jackson, B. L. Tiller, P. J. Miller, and L. Schmitz. 2013. Regional and seasonal patterns of nutritional condition and reproduction of elk. Wildlife Monographs 184.

Cook, J. G., R. C. Cook, M. M. Rowland, R. M. Nielson, M. J. Wisdom, J. M. Hafer, R. W. Davis, and L. L. Irwin. In review. Development and Validation of a Landscape Nutrition Model for Elk in Western Oregon and Washington. In M. M. Rowland et al. M. M. Rowland et al. Regional nutrition and habitat use models for research and management of elk in western Oregon and Washington. Wildlife Monographs.

(6) A description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable.

Other potential wildlife scientists are available, mostly faculty members at Universities that have graduate programs in wildlife or related ecological fields of research. These faculty members often contract their analytical services as part of their own private consulting businesses, or sometimes perform this work under contract through the Universities. Currently, there are no other sources for this work because NCASI, Inc. holds the intellectual property rights jointly with the PNW Research Station for the data analyses and publication of the results described under this sole source justification and purchase order, as specified under Forest Service national policy on ethics and protocols for scientific publications, available at http://www.fs.fed.us/research/pdf/fs_code_of%20_scientific_ethics.pdf.

(8) A demonstration that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

Costs estimated here to meet specifications for delivery of products under items 1-5 reflect fair-market value for salary of research scientists in the wildlife profession, which is estimated for this work at an average of $45 to $85 per hour for the 2 senior scientists performing this work. Salary rates for senior scientists typically cost from $50 to $100 per hour for most companies or Universities who conduct such work. In this case, however, the cost to government for any other scientists, beyond those at NCASI, Inc., is not possible to compare, because these other scientists are not allowed to perform this work under Forest Service national policy on ethics and protocols for scientific publications, available at http://www.fs.fed.us/research/pdf/fs_code_of%20_scientific_ethics.pdf.

(8) A description of the market survey conducted and the results or a statement of the reasons a market survey was not conducted.

There are no other sources for this work because NCASI Inc. holds the intellectual ethics rights to collaborate jointly with the PNW Research Station and associated partners, for this work. Scientific publication policies of the U.S. Forest Service, formally established and strictly followed by Forest Service scientists (http://www.fs.fed.us/research/pdf/fs_code_of%20_scientific_ethics.pd), require that NCASI scientists John and Rachel Cook be involved with all facets of data summaries, writing, and response to peer reviews all publications for the elk component of the Starkey Ungulate Herbivory Study. No other contractors could provide this essential work for completing this analysis. To not involve NCASI, Inc. in this authorship work would be a violation of Forest Service policies for scientific publications. To ignore NCASI, Inc., in the publication process also would be a major violation of publication policies of all major ecological professional societies such as Ecological Society of America and The Wildlife Society. It is likely that not including NCASI, Inc., in the above described process for publication of final statistical analyses, summaries, and responses to peer reviews, as scientific intellectual peers, could results in ethics charges being brought against the Forest Service, or even litigation taken against the Forest Service.

(9) Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition.

All such facts have been revealed above.

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

None expressed interest in writing.

(11) A statement of the actions, if any, that may be taken to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required.

The required analyses and resulting products are a specialized need that cannot draw on conventional markets. We know of no actions that can be taken to provide competition among multiple companies according to our tight timelines for completion of this project.

(12) Contracting officer certification that the justification is complete and accurate to the best of the contracting officer’s knowledge and belief.

I certify that this justification is complete and accurate to best of my knowledge and belief.

/s/ Andrea Stanbro Contracting Officer

Each justification shall include evidence that any supporting data that is the responsibility of technical or requirements personnel and which form a basis for the justification have been certified as complete and accurate by the technical or requirements personnel.

Research biologists working on the Starkey Ungulate Herbivory Study at the PNW Research Station, La Grande, are technical experts regarding the effects of ungulates on forest development and forest ecosystem conditions. Evidence of this expertise includes an extensive list of publications on the subject, such as those posted on the Starke Project webpage (http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/starkey/). This long-term expertise provides compelling assurance that design and implementation of this contract is technically sound and defensible in meeting agency needs for completing this project.

I certify that that any supporting data from technical and requirements personnel and which form a basis for this justification are complete and accurate.

/s/Michael J. Wisdom, Ph.D.

Research Wildlife Biologist

USDA Forest Service

Pacific Northwest Research Station

1401 Gekeler Lane

La Grande, OR 98850

541-962-6532