Turtle Questions RA Answers - FINAL.pdf

Questions

1. What constitutes a historic egg site?

2. How long does a nesting site need to be present to be considered a "historic site"? What is the specific duration required?

3. Are historic or any other nests designated or marked for easier and more transparent detection or avoidance, depending on the task?

4. Understanding that these egg nests may be located on or near active military bases, will there be operational or training activities that our handlers and canines will need to work alongside simultaneously?

5. Will there be a military liaison or a Fish & Wildlife liaison present during searches to facilitate contact with the appropriate authorities regarding each new find? Or will the handlers on-site be responsible for communication with the points of contact for either of the aforementioned agencies?

6. Additionally, we seek clarification on the contract's start date. The document indicates that training will commence in January 2025.

However, on page 16 under "Delivery Information," it states the period of performance as starting on August 1, 2024.

Could you please elaborate on and specify the exact date our team should anticipate to begin training with our canines?

7. It's not feasible to know that a turtle has deposited eggs until the hatchlings emerge or the nest is excavated. Even if the observer is on the beach all night and sees the female turtle, it's not easy to know if she deposited eggs. In order to know if she laid eggs, the observer would have to be a few feet away, which would require a permit. I mention this because your RFQ states that the contractor must test their dogs on 10 known nests to develop the curve, but I don't think this is feasible. The other option of using confirmed nests won't work either, because if a nest is dug up (which requires a permit too), then the cloacal fluid on the sand would be disturbed and would affect the dogs' detection. So it would be more feasible to collect data on the dogs' alerts on suspected nests, and then confirm them or not after the eggs hatch or the nest is excavated. Survey time (and approx. time passed since nest was created) can still be recorded to determine if the passing of time affects the alerts.

8. When does the contract start after it gets awarded?

9. Will MCBH help to obtain target samples (cloacal fluid) or is it entirely up to the contractor?

10. Does MCBH have an MOA/MOU with other organizations to obtain the target sample?

11. Are there any penalties if the contractor is unable to obtain target? Or, how would the contract be handled if the contractor is unable to obtain the target samples?

12. Is there a specific timeframe for the contract? Obtaining the permit will likely take 4-6 months from the contract start. Then the cloacal fluid would need to be collected after that, which may fall at the beginning or the end of the turtle season. Dog training would come after that, as well as the field trials. So realistically speaking, it would take two turtle nesting seasons in order to complete the RFQ tasks.

Answers

Historic egg sites are all nests from a previous season. For example, 2023 nest sites are historic nests.

See question 1. Historic nests are all nests that were not laid in the current season April-November each year.

Any nest older than the current year.

Historical nests are not marked. Only active nests are marked each season.

There could be training activities taking place on all of these areas. The dogs could be exposed to loud noises but there will be no danger to them or the handlers. If a certain area can not be accessed due to the training conditions that are taking place, the contractor will not be found to be at fault for no nests being detected at that time. Work with environmental to ensure there is no conflict of scheduling.

The MCBH Natural Resources Office will act as the nexus for communication with outside agencies. Contractors will be given contact information for key partners as well as appropiate law enforcement offices.

The Contract will begin on or around 01 AUG 2024. The nesting season and the training of the dogs will happen at later dates, but as there are tasks to complete during these fall and winter months (obtaining permits, working with the dogs ect) the pricing that you include on your proposal should be averaged out so that monthly invoicing can take place with the understanding that the majority of the "on the sand" work will happen during the nesting season.

Contractors would not know they met the minimum ten nests until they are excavated post emergence.

However, because false crawls occur approximately 50% of the time, a healthy sample of 20-25+ should render that minimum of 10 known nests. Also, if the dogs are trained with cloacal fluid and demonstrate alerts, your confidence levels could be even higher.

See question 6 above. The planned effective date for the contract to start is on or around 01 AUG.

Close communication between the contractor and MCBH will be required to ensure success of the project. The MCBH Natural Resources Office will offer guidance but will not be assisting with "on the sand" execution of duties. It is the responsibility of the contractor to obtain all required permits and permissions to use cloacal

No MOA/MOU exists to obtain the target sample. MCBH does have a strong relationship with volunteer orgainization Malama I Na Honu. This small team of volunteers walk the beach 2-3 times a week during the nesting season looking for signs of sea turtle nesting. MCBH Natural Resources Office will ensure close coordination with Malama I Na Honu and the contractors.

While there are not "penalties", if repeated unsuccessful efforts are observed and it is determined that the failures are due to the execution of the work on the part of the contractor then a Letter of Concern could be issued by the Government. The Government reserves the rights prescribed in the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) to cancel a contract if necessary.

See question 6 above. The contract has a year long Period of Performance as we understand that there is work to be done to facilitate the "on the sand" execution of the work. We also understand biology can be unpredictable and encourage contractors to work with the Natural Resources Office to find creative and viable solutions to technical problems. The proposed price should reflect an averaged cost across the 12 months of each year of the contract (Base year + 3 option years) so that invoicing can happen monthly.