JOFOC 25-397 updated_Redacted.pdf

This is a Single Source/Brand Name Determination document for a non-exceedingly simplified acquisition threshold, issued by the Department of Commerce, NOAA Fisheries Field Delegates and NMFS Office of Habitat Conservation. The document seeks a firm fixed-price contract with the Zoological Pathology Program at the University of Illinois CVM UI for diagnostic testing and expertise in marine mammal stranding cases. Specifically, the program will provide critical diagnostic services for the Louisiana Marine Mammal Stranding Network, with unique capabilities including validated primers for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing of marine Brucella and extensive marine pathology expertise.

The justification emphasizes that this program is the only laboratory in the country with specific primers for marine Brucella PCR testing, and has a 15-year track record of international marine mammal pathology work. The program has significant experience contributing to investigations like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the 2010-2014 Northern Gulf of Mexico Cetacean Unusual Mortality Event. The document confirms that efforts to locate alternative vendors through veterinary marine medicine industry and scientific publications have been unsuccessful, thus justifying a sole source contract under FAR 6.302-3 to maintain critical research and diagnostic capacity for marine mammal conservation efforts in Louisiana.