answers to questions received for rfa l11as00033.doc

Answers to questions received for RFA L11AS00033

1. Does the proposal allow for negotiation prior to agreement award? Yes, negotiations will take place prior to award. The negotiation process may be minimal or may involve negotiating all aspects of the proposed award with the applicant. It may involve explaining to the applicant that the budget must be changed to comply with regulations. Or it may involve a comprehensive give-and-take negotiation of all aspects of the award, including the scope of work, the budget and the terms and conditions. The Grants Management Officer represents the government in all negotiations with applicants. The Program Officer will provide information and/or participate in negotiations, in coordination with the Grants Management Officer.

2. What are the ages of horses for an eco-sanctuary versus horses for adoptions? An ecosanctuary without an adoption component will receive horses that have been passed over for adoption three times regardless of age or are greater than 10 years old. The majority of the horses delivered to ecosanctuaries with adoption components will be 5 years-old or younger, however horses of any age may be adopted.

3. What vaccinations are required? Most horses that would be sent for adoption and training will have to be vaccinated per the schedule below as well as be up to date on vaccinations prior to leaving the facilities.

Table 1: De-worming Schedule for Wild Horses and Burros at Short-Term Ecosanctuaries

Table 2: Vaccination Schedule for Wild Horses and Burros at Short-Term Ecosanctuaries

After that every 180 days.

After that every 180 days.

After that every 180 days.

Eastern & Western

Encephalomyelitis

After that once a year.

After that once a year.

After that once a year.

After that once a year.

4. Will it be required to gather horses yearly for vaccinations? Horses that stay on the ecosanctuary facility will not be gathered to update vaccinations. Only those horses that are in an ecosanctuary with adoption and training components will be required to be vaccinated.

5. In an ecosanctuary for long term horses, as the horses die would they be replaced? Provided cause of death was of natural causes horses would be replaced in previously agreed number of horses per trailerload. Normal size of a trailerload is approximately 30 horses. This number of horses to be replaced would be determined annually.

6. Does the BLM retain the entire adoption fee or does a portion underwrite the applicant’s program costs? All adoption fees collected by the recipient will be retained to offset program costs and will be reported as program income. The terms for utilizing this program income will be decided during the negotiation process prior to award.

7. Regarding facilities, if we intend to build a facility are we required to put out bids because it will be used for a government purpose? Yes, the recipient would need to follow the procedures applicable to their type of organization. States and local governments and Indian Tribes follow the procedures in 43 CFR 12.76, Procurement. Non-Profit and all other organizations follow the procedures in 43 CFR 12.940 – 948, Procurement Standards.

8. Regarding facilities, if we intend to build a facility would those bidders then be required to buy all American materials? Yes, the recipient would follow the procedures in 43 CFR Subpart E – Buy American Requirements for Assistance Programs.

9. Regarding facilities, if we intend to build a facility would those bidders be required to pay wages according to the Davis-Bacon act? Davis-Bacon Act does not apply because the legislative authority does not require it.

10. Does a 501(c)3 organization qualify to submit an application for Wild Horse Partnerships for Ecosanctuaries on Private lands? Yes, so long as the organization meets the requirement of being the landowner or have control by other legal means.

11. If I don’t already own the land, can the cost of the land be covered under the award? Facilities, including land, are an allowable cost under certain conditions – please refer to the following OMB Circulars for clarification: For States, local governments and Indian Tribes: A-87 Cost Principles; For Educational Institutions (even if part of a State or local government); A-21Cost Principles Non-profit Organizations: A-122 Cost Principles, and for-profit organizations and small business refer to 48 CFR 31.2. Bear in mind, that if you don’t already own the land it may impact your ability to be competitive.

12. Why did the BLM have two separate announcements for proposals? Having separate announcements helps keep the process organized because the two types of funding opportunities carry different levels of evaluation. Proposed ecosanctuaries that involve private lands exclusively may be the least complex to evaluate. These ecosanctuaries were invited under

Request for Applications (RFA) issued on March 15, 2011. Proposed ecosanctuaries on a combination of public lands and private lands would increase the need to evaluate proposals against public land laws, regulations and policies that apply to the public lands portion of the proposal. These ecosanctuaries were invited under the RFA issued on March 24, 2011. In this open and competitive process, it will be easier and fairer to evaluate proposals for ecosanctuaries on private lands only against similar private land proposals; and to evaluate combination proposals against similar combination proposals.

13. When would the first ecosanctuary be able to receive horses? It is expected that any successful proposed ecosanctuary on private lands may be selected earlier than proposals using combination public and private lands. Horses would be provided under signed Assistance

Agreements (AA) following completion of environmental compliance documents. Combination proposals would also need to complete any needed Resource Management Plan (RMP) amendments. There is a potential that a private land ecosanctuary could be ready, under signed agreement, by late fall 2011. Our expectation is that any approved combination public and private land ecosanctuary may be delayed until 2012 or even 2013, due to the requirements of law, regulation and policy on public lands.

14. Why does it take so long to create an ecosanctuary on public lands? Public lands are managed under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), and other public land laws that require consideration of multiple uses, as well as public participation, in management decisions. A change in existing land use or forage allocations on public lands may require the

BLM, under FLPMA, to amend the governing RMP. The RMP amendment process could take two or more years to complete the analysis and required public participation components.

15. Where will eco sanctuaries be located? An ecosanctuary may be proposed either solely on private, Tribal, state or other lands or in combination with public lands. Public lands managed by the BLM are largely located in the western United States, and combination proposals would likely occur in the West. Ecosanctuary proposals on private, Tribal or state land would not be limited to the western U.S.

16. How much money is the BLM going to pay per horse? Ecosanctuary proposals will be evaluated based on a potential cost savings to the Federal government over other long-term pasture contracts. Other evaluation factors are listed in the RFAs. The method of reimbursement will be determined in the proposal and budget submitted.

17. Where is the money going to come from? The Federal budget, allocated by Congress, is used to fund government programs, including management of wild horses and burros, both on the range and in long-term pastures, or any potential ecosanctuary. The American taxpayer provides the dollars that Congress distributes. The BLM hopes to find savings for the taxpayer by working with ecosanctuary applicants to host wild horses in long-term pastures, with the added benefit of public visitation to the horses and possibly an increased number of training and adoption facilities.

18. Why are ecosanctuaries only allowed to have non-reproducing herds? Horse herds increase at the rate of about 20 percent each year, so that means horse numbers may double in any four year period. Horses to be placed in an ecosanctuary have been determined to be excess horses, above the Appropriate Management Level (AML) allowable in Herd Management Areas (HMAs) on the public rangelands. Since the U.S. taxpayer funds long-term pastures and/or future ecosanctuaries where excess horses have been placed, we do not wish the number of excess horses located outside of active HMAs, and associated costs for care, to increase over time.

19. Why is there a difference in the BLM’s fence requirements for public and private proposals? The terms of private land long-term pasture contracts and private land ecosanctuary proposals require fencing to specific standards in order to contain excess wild horses. Public lands are managed by the BLM for multiple uses, including wildlife habitat, so that fencing requirements for combined public and private land proposals may be different, depending on the considerations of both containing excess wild horses and allowing appropriate wildlife passage.

Actual specifications would be determined by the local BLM office.

20. Will the horses have other identification markings in addition to the freezemark? All long-term Holding horses have 3-inch or 4-inch hip brands that correspond with the four last numbers of their freezemark and would be the same for ecosanctuary horses to be held in long-term pastures. Sale eligible wild horses that are sold would receive an additional freezemark of a letter U on the left side of their neck.

21. Are there statistics available regarding the age range of horses that ecosanctuaries would receive? Typically, the BLM would want to place horses with the highest potential for adoption in ecosanctuaries that also provide an adoption outlet. The specific age range of adoptable horses at ecosanctuaries would be determined by a number of factors, depending on the availability at short-term holding facilities, other expired long-term holding contracts, and if there is an adoption component at the ecosanctuary.

22. Who is responsible for vetting any adoption applications? The BLM has the responsibility to review and approve adoption and sale applications, complete adoption and sale paperwork, and collect adoption and sale fees. The ecosanctuary partners would have the interested adopter or purchaser complete the adoption or sales application and then send it to the appropriate BLM office for approval.

23. Is an applicant required to own land? The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act (WFRHBA) allows the BLM to enter into cooperative agreements with landowners. A landowner may propose agreements that include a third-party organization to manage horses, and with the BLM to provide horses. This should be indicated in the proposal.

24. What are the BLM’s intentions and/or restrictions regarding funding for capital improvements, such as establishing accommodations for visitors through a visitor center?

While public visitation should be a part of the opportunity provided by ecosanctuaries, there is no specific objective in the ecosanctuary program for the government to fund or construct visitor centers. If an applicant includes a visitor center, or visitor facilities in the ecosanctuary proposal, those costs would be defined in the proposal, and the contributions of each party proposed, so that the overall cost to the government can be evaluated. In looking for ecosanctuary partnerships, the primary goal is that the overall cost to government should decrease when compared with long-term pasture costs; however, the potential added costs to provide adequate public facilities may also be considered.

25. How will public access be provided at ecosanctuaries? A primary goal of ecosanctuaries is that some level of public visitation would be provided in a safe and non-disruptive manner.

Public access across and onto private lands should be defined in the ecosanctuary proposal.

26. Would ecosanctuary partners be able to attend gathers? Successful partners with ecosanctuaries would be primarily responsible for long-term pasturing of excess wild horses.

Members of the public may attend gathers, when it is safe and non-disruptive to do so. The BLM will improve accessibility of the public to the operations, and in particular, will continue to work with partners to increase understanding of all wild horse program operations.

27. Can ecosanctuary proposals include lands within HMAs? Proposals may include lands within existing HMAs. Applicants should be aware, however, that before accepting such a proposal, the BLM would have to consider and analyze a decision to adjust the boundaries of affected HMAs through the Land Use Planning process. Such decisions would likely cause the affected HMAs to be reduced in size or totally eliminated. This is required for a number of reasons, among which is that excess horses that have been removed from the range and held in ecosanctuaries must be separated from wild herds to allow for separate management and to prevent reproduction.