C04f_Attachment 6 Justification and Approval Redacted_12760427Q0010.pdf
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- Attached to
- Kaleidoscope Pro Software
- Solicitation number
- 12760427Q0010
- Issued by
-
Department of Agriculture Forest Service
About this file
This is a Decision to Restrict Competition under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold issued by the United States Department of Agriculture (Identification Number: 12760427Q0010). The document authorizes a single-source procurement from Wildlife Acoustics for Kaleidoscope Pro wildlife acoustic monitoring software.
The requesting activity is the USDA Forest Service Chief Information Office, with the contracting activity being USDA National Procurement Operations, Procurement and Property Services, Information Technology Contracting Branch (Requisition Number: 1176703). The estimated value is for Fiscal Year 2027, though the specific dollar amount is redacted in the document. The USDA justifies restricting competition based on Kaleidoscope Pro's unique capabilities as the exclusive commercially available software providing multi-taxa identification for bats, birds, amphibians, mammals, and insects within a single platform. Alternative software options such as SonoBat, BirdNET, and Merlin ID are limited to specific species groups and lack the multi-taxa functionality required. Additionally, Kaleidoscope Pro holds exclusive continental approval from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for automated endangered bat species identification and is the only software authorized to process both zero-crossing and full-spectrum recording formats for regulatory compliance. Market research conducted in February 2024 and refreshed in August 2026 confirmed that Wildlife Acoustics is the sole developer, manufacturer, and distributor of this proprietary platform, with no authorized third-party resellers or alternative commercial solutions capable of meeting the agency's technical mission requirements and data pipeline compatibility needs.
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United States Department of Agriculture Decision to Restrict Competition under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold
Identification Number: 12760427Q0010
Rev. 3/4/26
Source
The contractor is:
Wildlife Acoustics 3 Mill and Main Place Suite 110 Maynard, MA 01754
UEI: EKXYJAU463C1
(4) Justification for Restricting Competition and the Basis for that Decision.
A. Explain the unique qualifications/characteristics of the proposed contractor or product and why no other contractor or product/service can meet the Government's need.
Kaleidoscope Pro is the exclusive commercially available software that provides multi-taxa identification capabilities within a single platform. In contrast, alternative market solutions are strictly limited to specific wildlife groups. For example, SonoBat is restricted solely to acoustic bat analysis, while platforms like BirdNET or Merlin ID (developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology) are limited exclusively to avian species. None of these alternative software options possess the technical capability to process and identify data across multiple distinct wildlife taxa simultaneously.
Furthermore, Kaleidoscope Pro holds exclusive continental approval from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for agency-wide use in identifying endangered bat species. It is the only software authorized by the agency to perform these regulatory evaluations using both zero-crossing and full-spectrum recording formats.
B. Describe market research conducted and the results or the reason why no market research was conducted.
Market research was conducted in February 2024 and refreshed in August 2026 to identify viable automated acoustic analysis software packages. This evaluation included a review of agency procurement history, thorough queries of mandatory federal sourcing databases including GSA Advantage, NASA SEWP, and SAM.gov, and direct technical consultations with interagency peers and federal working groups specialized in acoustic surveying and wildlife monitoring. While the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) maintains an official roster of approved automated acoustic bat identification software programs for regulatory compliance, Kaleidoscope Pro possesses unique, proprietary capabilities essential to the execution of this program's mission that alternative approved software packages cannot replicate.
Per formal confirmation provided by the manufacturer, Wildlife Acoustics, Inc., on January 1, 2026, Kaleidoscope Pro is a proprietary software platform developed, manufactured, and distributed exclusively by Wildlife Acoustics. No other commercial software integration combines the specific advanced bioacoustic processing algorithms, zero-crossing and full-spectrum data conversion workflows, and integrated metadata management modules required to support the agency's current data pipelines. Furthermore, Wildlife Acoustics has confirmed that it holds exclusive distribution rights, and there are no authorized third-party resellers, agents, or commercial dealers capable of provisioning this software or its licensing within the United States. Consequently, Wildlife Acoustics is the sole
File details come from the government source that posted it. Updated .