ATTACHMENT_02_-_140P8624Q0032_-_SOW_and_SPECIFICATIONS.pdf

REQUEST FOR QUOTATION (RFQ) 140P8624Q0032

SCOPE OF WORK

Santa Monica Mountains NRA (SAMO), Thousand Oaks, CA 91362

Wildlife connectivity in the Conejo Pass Area of the 101 Freeway: Wildlife movement across and adjacent to the freeway and wildlife use of crossing points.

Wildlife Monitoring Goals

We will monitor four current wildlife crossing points along this stretch of 101 with remote cameras to evaluate potential use by wildlife, we will measure wildlife occurrence in the vicinity of these crossing points on both sides of the freeway using remote cameras, we will also monitor wildlife occurrence along the grade where there are no crossing points currently but they are being proposed, and we will obtain detailed movement data for a number of species, specifically mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, gray foxes, and mule deer. The focus of the capture and GPS-tracking activities will be along the Conejo

Grade, particularly in the area from Camarillo Springs Road to the west and the weigh station at the top of the grade to the east, where there is natural habitat on both sides of the road. This monitoring will allow us to

Scope of work for Wildlife Monitoring Project

1. Phase One: Wildlife Study Preparation (Budget and Contracts, Equipment

Acquisition, Animal Capture, Camera Placement)

A. Initial Project Administration - Prepare budget and contract (agreement)

B. Remote cameras and accessories acquisition

C. GPS collar, airtime, trap transmitter acquisition

D. Remote camera placement

E. Capture bobcats, coyotes, mountain lions, gray foxes, and deer for GPS collaring

2. Phase Two: Monitoring of GPS collared animals and remote cameras

A. Wildlife Detection and Highway Crossing Point Monitoring

1) The National Park Service (NPS) will monitor a total of four (4) potential wildlife crossing points along the 101 Freeway between the weigh station at the top of the grade and the Calleguas Creek Underpass. Crossing points include the Conejo Grade Culvert, the Camarillo Springs Road Underpass, the

Conejo Creek Underpass, and the Calleguas Creek Underpass. NPS will monitor crossing points using remotely triggered cameras.

2) Cameras will be used to monitor the crossing points, to determine crossing and detection rates at the crossings themselves, as well as in adjacent natural areas in the vicinity of each crossing, to determine which species are in the general area and measure their detection rates. At the crossing points, cameras will be secured in steel containers mounted to crossing walls or on posts near crossings and pointed in the best direction to capture any animals using the crossing. The number of cameras to be placed at each crossing point will vary depending on its size and complexity. In natural habitat, cameras will be mounted on posts along wildlife trails. Cameras will be checked regularly to download pictures and change batteries and memory cards.

3) Cameras will also be placed in natural areas near the freeway between the

Conejo Grade Culvert and the weigh station at the top of the grade, to determine wildlife use of these areas where potential new crossings are being considered.

4) Cameras will be deployed for (at least) one (1) full year to capture the full range of seasonal changes in animal movements, activity, reproduction, and dispersal.

B. Wildlife Movement Monitoring

1) NPS will intensively monitor the movements and activities of individual animals to characterize movements and habitat use near the highway, determine frequency of road crossing, and identify potential highway crossing points.

2) NPS will make good faith efforts to trap and GPS-collar bobcats, coyotes, mountain lions, gray foxes, and mule deer in the vicinity of 101, specifically in the Conejo Pass Area from the Weigh Station to Camarillo Spring Road. NPS cannot guarantee that it will capture all species, specifically mountain lions, because of their great mobility and low density, but NPS has been successful in catching mountain lions throughout the region in the past. NPS will use remotely downloadable GPS collars for all species, to obtain detailed and highly accurate movement information near the road.

3) GPS location data retrieved from the collars will be used to determine wildlife movement patterns in the vicinity of the road, determine how often animals cross the road to establish a crossing rate for US 101 for different species, map crossing locations, identify important road crossing locations that may not be identified by the road mortality surveys or that fall outside of our monitored crossing points, as well as identify important wildlife habitat adjacent to US 101.

4) This monitoring will also occur during the same timeframe as the camera monitoring, although capture activities are limited to a certain time of year particularly for bobcats, but for other species as well (generally October through mid-February, with July-September also possible) and carnivore capture rates, particularly for mountain lions, can be very unpredictable.

3. Phase three: Data Entry and QA/QC, Analysis, and Final Report

A. All photo data will be downloaded and tagged with the species, number of individuals, and direction of travel. It will then be entered into a photo database and reviewed for accuracy.

B. Wildlife location data will be downloaded and entered into a database. The location points will be mapped and compared to standard movement patterns and rates for the species in order to identify and remove any clearly erroneous points.

C. Analysis of Data: Once all data collection has been completed and the data have been reviewed for accuracy, NPS will analyze all of the data for the final report, including monitoring information from all three components (crossing points, vicinity cameras, and animal movements).

D. Final Report: NPS will provide a final report (Contract Close-Out report) to Caltrans about the findings from the work after the conclusion of analysis of collected data.

The final report will follow the outline of a scientific paper and will include a relevant discussion and conclusions regarding the impacts of this section of US101 on wildlife connectivity and recommendations for potential crossing points.

SOLICITED ITEMS for this Project – ( BRAND NAME or EQUAL )

Vertex Plus and UHF Street Tag (Proximity System) Spec Sheet

Highlighted specs are required for this research project.

This system relies on communication between the Vertex Plus collars and the UHF Street

Tags. The Vertex Plus collars come in a variety of sizes and shapes to accommodate different species in different conditions. The collars periodically search for signal from the street tags. They are reliable GPS collar that have been used at this park for at least a decade. They can be configured to take points at different times and frequencies depending on the requirements of a research project. The street tags have a range of approximately 300 meters. When the collars are within range and connect to the street tag, they will start recording location at ever 10 minutes. This street tags will be installed close to a freeway. When the collars are triggered to take more frequent points, we will be able to observe what routes the animals are taking to approach the freeway and where they try to cross.

LINE ITEM # 10:

Adult Mountain Lion VERTEX PLUS-IRIDIUM-with 2D Battery and No Drop-off:

This collar is designed for adult mountain lions that can handle a little more weight. It has a larger, 2D, battery. The collar connects to the Iridium satellite network that allows two-way communication. That means we receive the data that these collars collect but also can send new commands to the collar if required. These collars have a round shape which is what we want for carnivores like mountain lions. These collars are compatible with the UHF street tags.

LINE ITEM # 20:

Sub-adult Mountain Lion VERTEX PLUS-IRIDIUM-with 1D Battery and Drop-off

This collar is basically the same as for the adult collars. However, it has a smaller battery to be used on animals that aren’t quite fully grown. It also has a drop-off mechanism that can be used when an animal can’t be recaptured. In these cases, we would be concerned that the animal will grow too big for the original collar’s shape. We are able to connect via satellite to trigger the drop-off to open. This collar is compatible with the UHF street tags. These collars also have a round collar shape.

LINE ITEM # 30:

Adult Mule Deer VERTEX PLUS-IRIDIUM-with 1D Battery and Drop-off

These collars have the same capabilities as the above collars. However, they have a shape designed to fit on a deer’s neck. They also use a smaller battery to reduce the chance of rubbing on the neck. These collars are also equipped with a drop-off mechanism for remote releases. This is important for times when we deem it would be safer for a collar to be removed from an animal. This collar is compatible with the UHF street tags.

LINE ITEM # 40:

UHF ID Coded Street Tag Lifetime > 6 years

As mentioned above, these tags are helpful in creating a boundary around an area of interest where we require more frequent sampling. In this case, we need a device that has an appropriate range (300 meters). As the collars listen for the street tags every 10 minutes, this range provides time to connect to the collars before the animal crosses the road. Other companies have tags with much smaller ranges (100 meters) or with directional antennas that would require 4 times as many devices being purchased. Those devices would be inappropriate for this project.

LINE ITEM # 50:

Spare Unit 1D battery for Mountain Lion Collar

This item is used to switch out the battery when a collar is recovered. When collars are recovered, they often are in good conditions. However, they cannot be redeployed without a new battery. The new battery will allow us to collect spatial data from a collar for at least another year.

LINE ITEM # 60:

Remote + Timer controlled Drop-off

This item is also to replace a drop-of mechanism from a retrieved collar. This allows us to reduce time and expense in sending a collar back to the manufacturer to be refurbished. The item itself is used to ensure a collar will fall off an animal once the collar is no longer collecting data. We don’t want to burden an animal with a GPS collar when we are no longer acquiring information.

This is considered best practice for ethical researchers.

LINE ITEM # 70:

Shipping and Handling

SHIP TO ADDRESS:

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

Santa Monica Mountains NRA (SAMO)

1 Baxter Way, Suite 180

Thousand Oaks, CA 91362

ATTN: JEFFREY BROWN

SPECS for Vertex Collars:

1D battery Collars using Iridium Network sending 12 positions per message per day 323—568 days battery life.

Iridium bi-directional Satellite Communication

Weight with drop-off mechanism – 600 grams

Drop-off mechanism capable of both timed and remote release to improve safety.

2D battery using Iridium network send 12 GPS positions per message per day 680-1193 days battery life.

Weight with drop-off mechanism 700 grams

3 axes activity sensor

Field-replaceable battery

Access data anywhere with INVENTA mobile app

Different collar materials and shapes for different species (ex. oval for deer and round for carnivores)

Collars compatible with UHF Steet Tags

Collars capable of changing fix schedule temporarily to one point per 10 minutes when within range of the UHF street tags.

GPS Receiver records UTC data and Time, GPS Coordinates, and Dilution of Precisions (DOP).

GPS Collar capabilities with UHF street tag (proximity)

GPS collar is completely waterproof (withstands total immersion).

GPS collar intervals when the collar listens for a signal are programmable.

Proximity Receiver Listen Duration: The collar listens for e.g., 1500ms (1.5s) every 10 min

(listen interval). Start/End time: Shows at which times of the day the sensor listens for a signal.

Shows the sensitivity of the proximity receiver in dbm. ID Blacklist: Shows which ID Tags will be ignored if a signal is received. ID Whitelist: Shows which ID Tag contact will create a reaction immediately. (Change of GPS schedule) Active Duration: Shows the activity time of the schedule once the collars (ID Tags) are separated again. Skip Count: How many proximity GPS fixes actually will be sent (Skip Count 3: Every third fix will be sent). Sample Count: Shows how many Proximity data are stored.

Mortality functionality- If no activity is recorded (activity sensor) during the set time span the animal is assumed to be dead and a mortality event is triggered. The default value is 24h which has been Collar successfully used in many studies.

Specs for Street Tags:

UHF Steet tag 6-year battery life

Weather proof

UHF Street tag 300 meter radius range

Omnidirectional

**UHF Street tags compatible with current collars deployed on mountain lions or recovered from previously collared mountain lions.

UHF Street tags less than $300 per tag to allow to deploy multiple tags to account for rugged terrain.

** Extremely important due to the fact we already have GPS collars deployed on mountain lions that are compatible with these street tags. We shouldn’t consider just the cost of the collars we already possess but the time and resources required to place these collars on mountain lions.

Furthermore, it would not be ethical to recapture and animal to install a GPS collar that would be compatible with a different system.

DELIVERY LOCATION:

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

Santa Monica Mountains NRA (SAMO)

1 Baxter Way, Suite 180, Thousand Oaks, CA 91362

POC: JEFFREY BROWN

Phone: 805-370-2335

Email: jeffrey_brown@nps.gov

POC: SETH RILEY

Phone: 805-370-2358

Email: seth_riley@nps.gov mailto:jeffrey_brown@nps.gov mailto:seth_riley@nps.gov