N62470-24-R-0065 Marine Species Monitoring Sources Sought Notice.pdf

THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT SYNOPSIS. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION

ANNOUNCEMENT FOR PROPOSAL AND NO CONTRACT WILL BE AWARDED

FROM THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. It is a market research tool being used to determine the availability and adequacy of potential business sources prior to determining the method of acquisition and issuance of a Request for Proposal including the use of any appropriate small business programs.

The intent of this sources sought synopsis is to identify potential qualified 8(a), Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Small Business, Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, Women Owned Small Business (WOSB), and Small Business firms for a marine species monitoring and research, and related environmental planning services contract. The place of performance is throughout the NAVFAC Atlantic and Pacific AOR, primarily in marine areas where U.S. Navy training and testing activities occur in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and Pacific Ocean. Upon review of industry response to this Sources Sought Synopsis, the Government will determine whether a set-aside acquisition in lieu of full and open competition is in the Government’s best interest. This is not a solicitation but Sources Sought only.

CONUS: All marine biological stewardship and management services shall be conducted in compliance with the Sikes Act, the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, Magnuson-Stevens Fishing and Conservation Management Act, Coastal Zone Management Act, the national Marine Sanctuaries Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, Executive Order 12114 (Environmental Effects Abroad of Major Federal Actions), Executive Order 13089 (Coral Reef Protection), Coral Reef Conservation Act, and the Coral Reef Conservation Amendments Act of 2005. Work must also be in compliance with the most current version of the Department of Defense regulations OPNAVINST 3150.27, OPNAVINST 5090.1, and other applicable federal, state and local laws, Navy policies, regulations and guidance documents. Additional client-driven regulations and procedures may also apply.

OCONUS: Services performed outside the United States, or its territories shall be conducted in accordance with International and Host Nation laws and regulations, as well as the Department of Defense Overseas Environmental Baseline Guidance Document (OEGBD), Final Governing Standards (FGS) and any Status of Forces Agreements (SOFA) for the country involved.

After review of the responses submitted, a solicitation announcement will be published in the Federal Business Opportunities if the government intends to continue with the procurement.

The general scope of work is to conduct marine species research and monitoring services and implement components of the U.S. Navy’s Marine Species Monitoring Program within the NAVFAC Atlantic and Pacific areas of responsibility. Data collection and research/monitoring needs vary by region depending on the current level of knowledge and data availability.

Monitoring studies may include aerial, shipboard, and land-based surveys; passive acoustics in the form of moored or autonomous devices and towed arrays; telemetry and other electronic or acoustic tagging; photo identification; biopsy sampling; behavioral studies; ecological analyses.

Monitoring activities may be implemented in coordination with Navy training and testing activities, as stand-alone scientific studies, or as ongoing baseline or ecological data collection.

The contractor must be capable of providing, procuring, or sub-contracting all personnel, permits, equipment, materials, facilities, and management services necessary to support multiple field studies (typically ten or more concurrently across several geographical areas); performing data analysis and reporting of results; and conducting program administration, budget tracking, sub-contractor management, and general program oversight. Successful candidates will possess high levels of experience in both program/project management and technical field skills, as well as have significant experience with and access to a broad pool of subject matter experts, researchers, and necessary equipment to meet the program needs.

The work conducted under this contract may include but not be limited to the following type services:

1. Program Management and Coordination

The primary contractor will be responsible for management, coordination, and oversight of Navy-wide marine species monitoring efforts. In support of this initiative the contractor should be prepared to establish, manage, and coordinate multiple monitoring efforts simultaneously across broad geographic regions of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans where the U.S. Navy conducts training and testing activities. To successfully accomplish the objectives of the Integrated Comprehensive Monitoring Plan (ICMP) and meet requirements of Navy permits and authorizations, the contractor is expected to assemble and/or have access to a large team of researchers and scientists with extensive experience developing and performing complex studies of marine species including bioacoustics, behavior, ecology, density/abundance, and habitat use. Expertise in identifying and working with species from both Atlantic and Pacific oceans will be required and previous experience conducting monitoring and research on Navy ranges is highly desired. The contractor is expected to maintain physical office locations in San Diego, California; Norfolk or Virginia Beach, Virginia; and Honolulu, Hawaii. In addition, the primary contractor must provide a single program manager responsible for oversight and management of this contract and all associated task orders.

Monitoring Coordination and Team of Subject Matter Experts

The scope and magnitude of marine species monitoring tasks under this contract requires significant collaboration among universities, research institutions, and other regional marine scientists, as well as potential leveraging of efforts and resources from a variety of federal and state agencies. The contractor is expected to effectively communicate and work collaboratively with various scientific organizations and individuals and facilitate coordination among these groups to provide required services and products.

Data Management

Large quantities of data (visual observation, passive acoustics, telemetry, behavioral, ecological, and environmental) will be collected and generated through various monitoring efforts. It is essential that data be organized, cataloged, and stored in accordance with established protocols to facilitate analysis and meet reporting requirements. Data from visual and passive acoustic surveys may need to be processed and prepared in specific formats to be submitted to existing databases such as Ocean Biodiversity Information System Spatial Ecological Analysis of Megavertebrate Populations (OBIS-SEAMAP), Animal Telemetry Network (ATN), and the NOAA National Center for Environmental Information (NCEI).

Tracking and movement data from tagging studies must be managed efficiently and contributed to the Animal Telemetry Network, or integrated into other systems developed specifically to manage marine resource and monitoring data. The contractor shall establish protocols to ensure all data and information generated under this contract is efficiently cataloged and managed in order to facilitate analysis and reporting as well as to ensure consistency among individual monitoring efforts. The contractor shall be prepared to supply copies of all data, products, and deliverables (Microsoft (MS) Excel, MS Access, other databases, GIS, etc.) to Navy technical representatives involved with the monitoring program in a timely manner as required.

Analysis and Reporting

Results of monitoring efforts will need to be analyzed appropriately and reported in a format (written reports, tables, figures, maps, databases, etc.) consistent with requirements established through coordination with National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) authorization process. Data analysis may include, but is not limited to, the following: assessment of observation data for trends in species distribution and abundance; evaluation of acoustic, behavioral, and tagging data to examine potential changes in animal behavior; assessments of mitigation and monitoring effectiveness; as well as addressing other questions that may be raised as part of the Navy’s environmental compliance and monitoring program. Periodic short-timeframe reports may include summaries of monitoring effort and preliminary data/results immediately following individual monitoring events such as “quick-look” summary reports. In addition, the contractor may be responsible for preparing the Navy’s annual monitoring program report summarizing progress and results from all current monitoring projects. All reports and deliverables will be prepared in standard MS Office format for both draft review and final version, as well as in Adobe pdf for final distribution. These reports will be prepared for audiences including the Navy and regulatory agencies such as NMFS as well as the general public.

2. Scientific Field Work and Monitoring Activities

The contractor will be responsible for performing and/or coordinating multiple monitoring and research elements designed to support the Navy’s short and long-term marine species monitoring objectives. Specific monitoring activities under this Contract may include, but are not limited to:

Visual Surveys and Marine Species Observers

The primary purpose of visual surveys is to monitor, locate, and report on the occurrence, distribution, and behavior of marine species. Surveys may support active Navy training exercises by providing before, during, and/or after monitoring and may also be conducted for more synoptic purposes such as establishing spatial-temporal distribution, density/abundance, and habitat associations. Surveys may be conducted from vessels, aircraft, UAVs, and land in a number of formats appropriate to the specific purpose including systematic line-transects and focal follows. It shall be the responsibility of the contractor to ensure that all necessary safety regulations are followed and appropriate permits have been obtained.

Monitoring obligations may also require that trained observers be stationed onboard Navy ships during a sampling of training exercises for the purpose of providing detailed data on encounters with marine species including species identification and behavioral observations. Observers shall meet specific minimum qualification standards as established through individual task orders under this contract.

Passive Acoustic Monitoring

Passive acoustic monitoring will be performed either in coordination with other monitoring techniques or as a primary means of monitoring for the presence of marine mammals and anthropogenic sound sources such as sonar and explosives, as well as for assessing acoustic behavior and estimating density/abundance.

Acoustic monitoring may be accomplished through a variety of real-time and archival methods including deployment of moored autonomous instrument packages or buoys, towed passive acoustic arrays, free-floating sensors such as sonobuoys, autonomous underwater vehicles and gliders, and instrumented ranges.

Acoustic monitoring may be used as a means of complementing visual observation data by providing real-time monitoring capabilities below the surface and/or during poor sighting conditions (weather and daylight limitations) or provide continuous longer-term monitoring capabilities through post-analysis of recordings at specific fixed locations.

In addition to collecting passive acoustic data, access to individuals with extensive experience in developing analytic protocols, detection, classification, and localization algorithms, and conducting sophisticated, complex analysis of passive acoustic data will also be required. Primary investigators with considerable previous experience reviewing and identifying recorded marine mammal vocalizations, underwater acoustic propagation, digital signal processing, automated detection, programming, and potentially means to work with classified data, are also required.

Marine Species Tagging and Tracking

Marine species tagging and tracking will be performed either in coordination with other monitoring techniques or as a primary means of monitoring movements and behaviors of protected marine species. Tagging data can provide information about, large- and fine-scale movements, habitat utilization, dive profiles, and foraging, as well as other aspects of an individual’s life history and ecology. Experts that have experience in the application of various tagging methods on multiple species will be required, as well as individuals who are trained in the processing and analysis of data streams generated by various tag technologies. Specific expertise using a variety of tag types and associated attachment methodologies is necessary to evaluate the best use of tagging assets.

Photo Identification

Photographic identification of individual animals may be performed in coordination with other monitoring techniques as a means of cataloging the presence of marine mammals and creating a photographic database to analyze population parameters. Undertaking photo-identification studies will require the use of experienced photographers who have worked with wildlife or other fast-moving subjects. Expertise in photo-matching, the use of automated photo-identification software, and photo catalog management may also be required to analyze and report results.

Behavioral Studies

Behavioral studies may be performed in coordination with other monitoring techniques as a means of assessing the effects of training and testing activities and other stressors on the behavior of protected marine species. Observations of behaviors will be made through analysis of visual, tagging, and passive acoustic data. Visual survey methodologies may include focal follows, continuous observations, and other standard surveillance techniques. A variety of platforms may be utilized to observe behavioral patterns such as shore-based, ship-based, and/or aerial observations. Tagging or passive acoustic data can also be used to interpret behavior (e.g., dive time or patterns, habitat utilization, swim speed and direction). Implementation of controlled exposure experiments and analysis of incidental exposures is expected to be a considerable focus of the monitoring program.

3. Technical Analyses and Supporting Services

Event Reconstruction and Data Integration

In order to assess potential behavioral responses to active sonar and underwater detonations, it will be necessary to correlate marine species movements and behaviors with Navy training data including active sonar use and ship tracks. These data will likely be sensitive and may be classified. This analysis will provide a key component of interpreting the monitoring data in an operational context. Methods for this analysis and reconstruction will need to be developed with Navy operators and adapted as data needs require. Analysis will need to be crafted to integrate data from varied sensors used for monitoring including vertical and horizontal movements from tags, passive acoustic detections, behavioral observations from visual observers, and operational data related to the movements and actions of Navy assets. Analyses involving operational data may be restricted to classified environments and will require an appropriate level of clearance for both facilities and personnel involved.

Ecological Analyses

In order to provide an integrated natural resources perspective relative to monitoring and management services, studies to enhance the understanding of ecosystem structure, function, and services may be required. These may include, but are not limited to, tropical coral reef and temperate ecosystem studies related to the following topics.

1) Habitat structure and mapping: Substrate type, water depth and current speed, and spatial and temporal complexity of physical habitat;

2) Water quality: Temperature, sedimentation, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, salinity, organic and inorganic chemicals, total suspended solids, and nutrients;

3) Flow regime: Water direction, volume, and flow timing;

4) Food (energy): Type, amount, and size of organic source particles entering the ecosystem; seasonal pattern of energy availability; and light intensity;

5) Reproduction: Fecundity, settlement, recruitment, and persistence over time;

6) Biotic interactions: Changes in competition and predation stimulated by fishing, disease, parasitism, mutualism, and introduction of alien taxa;

7) Biological assessments: Surveys of the distribution, diversity and abundance of organisms; assessments of community and assemblage structure, demographics, taxonomic identification and composition, individual condition, and biological processes;

8) Biochemical and genetic analysis: species identification, ecotype or biotype identification, detection of stress indicators, and eDNA analysis.

Public Outreach Support

In order to make the public and other stakeholders aware of the broad range of activities which the Navy engages in on behalf of marine resource monitoring and management, presentations and graphic displays (brochures, pamphlets, posters, etc.) for various audiences may need to be prepared. The contractor may be required to prepare items such as, but not limited to, brochures, guides, slides, overheads, and computer presentations to support reporting requirements or facilitate dissemination of information and data. The contractor will also be expected to support maintenance of the monitoring program’s online web portal. This will include expertise with web design and programming, content management, social media management, and interactive data presentation that supports dissemination of data, information, reports, and other documents to the general public as well as regulators and specific stakeholders.

Your SOC shall include the following:

1. Full name and address of the firm

2. Year firm was established

3. Name of two principals (including titles, telephone and fax numbers)

4. Small Business Designation (include all socioeconomic categories)

5. Indication of System for Award Management (SAM) registration include Unique

Entity ID Number (UIEN) and CAGE Code;

6. Provide information that illustrates your qualifications for this proposed contract. It is requested that interested firms submit a brief SOC to demonstrate the ability to meet and execute the requirements as set forth below. The SOC must be complete and sufficiently detailed to allow for a determination the firm’s qualifications to perform the defined work. The SOC must be on 8 by 11-inch standard paper, single spaced, Times New Roman, 12-point font minimum and is limited to twenty (20) single-sided pages (including all attachments). The Government will evaluate sources’ capabilities based on the following:

List up to five projects performed within the last five years that demonstrate this experience.

Provide information on experience of key personnel showing experience in providing listed services. Provide the following information for each project listed:

a. Contract number and project title

b. Name of Contracting Activity

c. Administrative Contracting Officer’s name, current telephone number

d. Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative or primary point of contact name and current telephone number

e. Contract type (e.g. cost plus, requirements, firm fixed-price, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity, or combination)

f. Period of performance (start and completion date)

g. Basic contract award amount and final contract value

h. Summary of contract work that demonstrates your firms capability in the areas identified in this sources sought

i. If award fee or award term incentivized, average performance rating received

7. Professional qualifications and capabilities of the staff to be assigned to the resulting contract; include experience within the past five years in the types of work addressed above. Firms will be evaluated in terms of their staff’s active professional registration, role expected to play in this contract, and roles played in the projects addressed in item 1 above.

8. Provide a brief description on the management plan for this contract; in particular, illustrate management’s approach/plan for managing multiple concurrent task orders for this contract and personnel roles in the organization.

9. If you are considering entering into a teaming arrangement, provide the name of all teaming partners and the anticipated type of teaming arrangements, address the specific services each member will provide, include applicable professional qualifications and experience for each member and to what extent your firm has worked with proposed subcontractors in the past.

10. Statement as to your ability to perform the work within the Continental United States (CONUS), outside the Continental United States (OCONUS) or both CONUS and

OCONUS.

It is requested that interested firms submit a brief SOC to demonstrate the ability to meet and execute the requirements as set forth above. The SOC must be complete and sufficiently detailed to allow for a determination the firm’s qualifications to perform the defined work.

Responses are due on Wednesday, May 22, by 2:00 PM EST.

The package shall be sent electronically to nicole.smith100.civ@us.navy.mil. Questions or comments regarding this notice may be addressed to Nicole Smith either by e-mail nicole.smith100.civ@us.navy.mil or by telephone (757) 322-4649.

The Government will not provide a debriefing on the results of this notice. All information submitted will be held in confidential manner and will only be used for the purpose intended.