C38_J_A_For_Post_Award_SAM_Posting_1.pdf

United States Department of the Interior

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

https://www.blm.gov

JUSTIFICATION AND APPROVAL

FOR ACQUISITIONS UNDER THE SIMPLIFIED ACQUISITION PROCEDURES

This document sets forth the justification and approval as required by 13.106-1(b)(1) & (2).

1. Contracting agency and activity.

Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Utah State Office

2. Nature and/or description of action being approved.

This requirement is for a new five-year sole source contract with the University of Utah, Natural History Museum of Utah (also referred to as the Utah Museum of Natural History (UMNH), located at 201 Presidents Circle, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, UEI LL8GLEVH6MG3.

3. Description of supplies or services.

The work covered by the associated contract includes housing, stabilizing, rehabilitating, preserving, and providing collections management services and access to archaeological materials and associated records (hereafter collections) generated in conjunction with Bureau of Land Management (BLM) activities related to the Operation Cerberus Action case and related activities and in line with the Contractor’s region of focus.

4. Estimated dollar value.

The standardized fees for the curation of artifacts and documents at UMNH was used to develop the cost for the scope of work bid schedule. The quantity was based on the disposition recommendations for objects in the Cerberus Collection and the specifics about artifact boxes that are currently being prepared for curation. The total dollar value for the base year is $41,340.

The cost of all options will be determined based on the actual quantity and size of the artifact boxes being reposited under the option and the fee schedule in place during the calendar year of the reposit. The max dollar value will not exceed $250,000.

5. Statutory authority.

__X__ 41 U.S.C. 1901 – Simplified acquisition procedures (use when the simplified procedures for purchases of property and services for amounts (1) not greater than the simplified acquisition threshold https://www.blm.gov/

____41 U.S.C 1903 – Special emergency procurement authority (applies when in support of a contingency operation as defined in section 101(a) of title 10 or to facilitate the defense against or recovery from nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological attack against the United States).

6. Rationale supporting use of the authority stated in paragraph 5.

Facilities/Repositories performing curation for federal agencies and collections must conform to 36 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 79-Curation of Federally-Owned and Administered Archeological Collections-as stated in 36 CFR 79.6(b) and 36 CFR 79.9.

The Contractor meets the requirements stated above and is an approved repository, as described in Department of the Interior (DOI) policies and directives found at https://www.doi.gov/museum/policy/ (See specifically, Directive 14, Facility Checklist for Spaces Housing DOI Museum Property and Department Manual 411). As required for any facilities/repositories holding federal collections, the Contractor has been approved to hold federal collections via the procedure outlined in the Directive and Manual above.

Furthermore, 36 CFR 79.6(b)(1) states that, "When possible, the collection should be deposited in a repository that...(ii) Stores and maintains other collections from the same site or project location; or (iii) Houses collections from a similar geographic region or cultural area."

Additionally, 36 CFR 79.6(b)(2) recommends that collections "should not be subdivided and stored at more than a single repository unless such subdivision is necessary to meet special storage, conservation, or research needs." Finally, the two components of these collections -material remains and associated records - "should be deposited in the same repository to maintain the integrity and research value of the collection." Except in those instances where non-federally owned material remains are retained and disposed of by the owner [36 CFR 79.6(b)(3)].

The Contractor houses other BLM collections from the region/cultural area that the objects from the Cerberus Collections are from and has multiple well qualified curators and collections managers on staff to care for and manage BLM collections. Additionally, no other repositories in the region/cultural area that meet the qualifications to house federal collections are based in Utah, have an area of focus that includes all of Utah, and are able to accept the quantity of collections BLM Utah will be repositing. BLM Utah and Utah communities prefer to have the collections that originated in Utah curated in Utah. Additionally, collections objects from the Cerberus case that originated in Arizona need to be reposited with the Contractor as no DOI approved repositories in Arizona are accepting reposits of collections at this time and have turned the BLM down when requests have been made to reposit the collections at their repositories. The Contractor houses collections from across the Greater Southwest region, including from Arizona.

Based on all the above, the Contractor is the most appropriate entity to curate the objects from the Cerberus Collection that originate from across Utah and Arizona.

https://www.doi.gov/museum/policy/

7. Other information.

Each object has been reviewed by a BLM team of subject matter experts to determine the most appropriate repository for the long-term management of the objects and access by the public and descendant Tribal Nations. UMNH was determined to be the most appropriate repository for the objects being reposited under this contract. The objects have been prepared for curation to the standards required at UMNH and have been assigned UMNH catalog and accession numbers that have been adhered to the objects in an archival manner as required by the UMNH repository requirements. If the award was made to another source, it would cause unacceptable delays to the government, duplication of preparation work, and incur significant costs.

8. The efforts to identify additional sources including the market research conducted.

BLM Utah works with other repositories in the Greater Southwest and the rates at UMNH are comparable or less than other repositories. Additionally, not all repositories are interested in artifacts from Utah, Arizona, or from the Cerberus Collection as each organization’s Scope of Collections Statements outline specifically what will be accepted for curation based on the focus of the museum.

Market research was conducted at Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum (EOC), one of BLM Utah’s significant curation partners, which has a scope of collections restricted to southeast Utah.

The fees at EOC are $550 for a 1 cubic foot box. The objects being curated under this requirement are outside the scope of collections for Edge of the Cedars so they would not be an appropriate repository for these objects.

Market research was also conducted at the Arizona State Museum as they are at the forefront of charging curation fees that cover the actual cost of caring for collections, are a DOI approved repository, and a repository on par with UMNH. The Arizona State Museum charges at least $3,000 per 1 cubic foot artifact box. The Arizona State Museum is not accepting reposits of collections at this time. The Museum of Northern Arizona was also contacted, but is not accepting reposits of collections at this time.

Market research was also conducted with the BLM’s Canyons of the Ancients Visitor Center and Museum (CANM) in Southwest Colorado where a 1 cubic foot box incurs a box fee of $750. The collections being reposited under this contract are outside the scope of collections for CANM, which focuses only on southwest Colorado, therefore they would not be an appropriate repository for these objects.

9. Future plans to permit competition.

BLM Utah has other contracts with other sources for paying box fees when repositing collections boxes for long-term care and management at repositories. A team of BLM subject matter experts has been working on determining which objects from the Cerberus Collection should be curated at which repositories based on the object’s area of origin and each DOI approved repository’s scope of collections statement, which dictates the focus of the collections held by the repository.

Objects that originate from specific culture areas or regions are considered for curation at a DOI approved repository in that area with an appropriate scope of collections and the ability and willingness to take the quantity of collections needing reposit.

BLM Utah has entered into similar contracts to pay curation box fees at other repositories in Utah and Colorado, has paid box fees in California, has a future need to New Mexico, and requested to reposit collections at multiple repositories in Arizona, but was turned down. Overall, BLM Utah is working with multiple DOI approved repositories holding BLM collections and is paying box fees wherever collections are reposited.

10. Certification.

The ordering activity Contracting Officer’s certification that the justification is accurate and complete to the best of the Contracting Officer’s knowledge and belief and evidence that the supporting data that form a basis for the justification have been certified as complete and accurate by technical/program personnel.

I certify that the facts and representations under my cognizance, which are included in this justification, and which form a basis for this justification, are complete and accurate.

//Signature on File// Diana Barg, Curator and NAGPRA Coordinator Date Contracting Officer’s Representative

I certify that the justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief:

//Signature on File// Temujene H. Makua Date Contracting Officer