PWS_Bon_Secour_FY_22_23_ABM_Sablan_-_JS_1-3_8_22.pdf

Performance Work Statement Furnish and Deliver FY22/23 Bon Secour NWR Alabama Beach Mouse Survey

Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge Gulf Shores, Alabama

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

1.1 General: This is a non-personal service contract to conduct a mark/recapture survey on Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge of the Alabama beach mouse, Peromyscus polionotus ammobates (ABM), within the Fort Morgan and Perdue Units of the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). The Government shall not exercise any supervision or control over the contract service providers performing the services herein. Such contract service providers shall be accountable solely to the Contractor who, in turn is responsible to the Government. The Contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, transportation, tools, materials, supervision, and other items and non-personal services necessary to perform work services as defined in this Performance Work Statement except for those items specified as government furnished property and services. The Contractor shall perform to the standards in this contract.

1.2 Introduction: The Contractor will conduct a mark/recapture survey of the ABM within 6 predefined grids for 6 consecutive trap nights for the spring of 2022 season and 6 predefined grids for 6 consecutive trap nights for the spring of 2023 season on the Fort Morgan and Perdue Units of Bon Secour NWR. (This is the preferred option, but alternate options are provided if the preferred option comes in over or under budget in section 5.3.4). The primary species of interest and the majority of the data will be collected for the Alabama beach mouse. However, non-target captures will be recorded on the species level. An excel spreadsheet and/or a Survey 123 application (provided by the Government) containing survey data outlined in the Scope of this Performance Work Statement will be submitted to the Government 30 days after the last day of trapping each season.

1.3 Period of Performance: The period of performance shall be on or about April 1, 2022 through March 31, 2023. This timeframe would account for weather-days within the contract period.

1.4 Place of Performance: The work to be performed under this contract will be within the boundaries of the Bon Secour NWR on the Fort Morgan and Perdue Units (Figure 2). BSNWR headquarters are located at 12295 State Highway 180, Gulf Shores, Alabama (Figure 1).

1.5 Type of Contract: This is a Firm Fixed Price (Best Value) contract/task order.

1.6 Security Requirements: n/a

1.7 Physical Security: The Contractor shall be responsible for safeguarding all government equipment, information, and property provided for Contractor use. At the close of each work period, government facilities, equipment, and materials shall be secured.

1.8 Key Control (if applicable). The Contractor shall establish and implement methods of making sure all keys/key cards issued to the Contractor by the Government are not lost or misplaced and are not used by unauthorized persons. NOTE: All references to keys include key cards. No keys issued to the Contractor by the Government shall be duplicated. The Contractor shall develop procedures covering key control that shall be included in the Quality Control Plan. Such procedures shall include turn-in of any issued keys by personnel who no longer require access to locked areas. The Contractor shall immediately report any occurrences of lost or duplicate keys/key cards to the Contracting Officer.

1.8.1 In the event keys, other than master keys, are lost or duplicated, the Contractor shall, upon direction of the Contracting Officer, re-key or replace the affected lock or locks; however, the Government, at its option, may replace the affected lock or locks or perform re-keying. When the replacement of locks or re-keying is performed by the Government, the total cost of re-keying or the replacement of the lock or locks shall be deducted from the monthly payment due the Contractor. In the event a master key is lost or duplicated, all locks and keys for that system shall be replaced by the Government and the total cost deducted from the monthly payment due the Contractor.

1.8.2 The Contractor shall prohibit the use of Government issued keys/key cards by any persons other than the Contractor’s employees. The Contractor shall prohibit the opening of locked areas by Contractor employees to permit entrance of persons other than Contractor employees engaged in the performance of assigned work in those areas, or personnel authorized entrance by the Contracting Officer.

1.8.3 Lock Combinations (if applicable). The Contractor shall establish and implement methods of ensuring that all lock combinations are not revealed to unauthorized persons. The Contractor shall ensure that lock combinations are changed when personnel having access to the combinations no longer have a need to know such combinations. These procedures shall be included in the Contractor’s Quality Control Plan.

1.9 Special Qualifications: Contractor has obtained a required Alabama beach mouse U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered Species Permit for recovery activities prior to the award of the contract and any required State T&E Permits before the first day of trapping on Bon Secour NWR. Likewise, the contractor should have the knowledge base to sex and age endangered beach mouse species as well as the expertise to identify all non-target species caught within the survey period.

1.10 Post Award Conference/Periodic Progress Meetings: The Contractor agrees to attend any post award conference or progress meetings convened by the contracting activity or contract administration office in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation Subpart 42.5. The Contracting Officer, Contracting Officers Representative (COR), Government/Site Representative (GR/SR), and other Government personnel, as appropriate, may meet periodically with the Contractor to review the Contractor's performance and/or status of work. At these meetings, the Contracting Officer will apprise the Contractor of how the government views the Contractor's performance and the Contractor will apprise the Government of problems being experienced, if any. Appropriate action shall be taken to resolve outstanding issues. These meetings shall be at no additional cost to the Government.

1.11 Contracting Officer Representative (COR)/Government/SR Representative (GR/SR): The COR/SR will be identified by either separate letter or other form of notification. The COR/GR monitors all technical aspects of the contract and assists in contract administration. The COR/GR is authorized to perform the following functions: assure that the Contractor performs the technical requirements of the contract; conduct inspections necessary in connection with contract performance; maintain written and oral communications with the Contractor concerning technical aspects of the contract; issue written interpretations of technical requirements, including Government drawings, designs, and specifications; monitor Contractor performance and notify both the Contracting Officer and Contractor of any deficiencies; coordinate availability of government furnished property and provide site entry of Contractor personnel. A letter of designation issued to the COR, a copy of which is sent to the Contractor, states the responsibilities and limitations of the COR, especially with regard to changes in cost or price, estimates or changes in delivery dates. The COR is not authorized to change any of the terms and conditions of the resulting order.

1.12 Key Personnel: The follow personnel are considered key personnel by the government: Contract Manager/Administrator, Project Manager/Supervisor. The Contractor shall provide a contract manager who shall be responsible for the performance of the work. The name of this person and an alternate who shall act for the contractor when the manager is absent shall be designated in writing to the Contracting Officer. The contract manager or alternate shall have full authority to act for the Contractor on all contract matters relating to daily operation of this contract. The contract manager or alternate shall be available between

1.13 Identification of Contractor Employees: All Contract personnel attending meetings, answering Government telephones, and working in other situations where their Contractor status is not obvious to third parties are required to identify themselves as such to avoid creating an impression in the minds of members of the public that they are Government officials. They must also ensure that all documents or reports produced by contractors are suitably marked as contractor products or that contractor participation is appropriately disclosed. The Contractor personnel will be required to obtain and wear badges (or company attire indicating name of company) in performance of this service.

1.14 Data Rights (If applicable): The Government has unlimited rights to all documents/material produced under this contract.

All documents and materials, to include the source codes of any software, produced under this contract shall be Government owned and are the property of the Government with all rights and privileges of ownership/copyright belonging exclusively to the Government. These documents and materials may not be used or sold by the contractor without written permission from the Contracting Officer. All materials supplied to the Government shall be the sole property of the Government and may not be used for any other purpose. This right does not abrogate any other Government rights.

II. BACKGROUND

2.1 The federally endangered Alabama beach mouse, Peromyscus polionotus ammobates (ABM) is one of five subspecies of the Oldfield mouse that inhabit coastal dune communities along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico. It is a nocturnal rodent that burrows in frontal dunes (primary and secondary) and scrub dunes (tertiary and interior scrub), feeding on a variety of frontal dune, scrub plants, and insects.1 Furthermore, a significant portion of the ABM habitat occurs on Bon Secour NWR.

Therefore, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff at Bon Secour NWR is tasked with monitoring ABM populations and has been looking to achieve more robust population estimates with the assistance from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Inventory and Monitoring Branch.

1 Sneckenberger, S.I. 2001. Factors influencing habitat use by the Alabama beach mouse (Peromyscus polionotus ammobates). Master’s thesis. Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama.

III. SCOPE

3.1 Objective: Conduct a mark/recapture survey of the Alabama beach mouse, Peromyscus polionotus ammobates (ABM) on Bon Secour NWR using non-ventilated Sherman live traps and hand applied metal ear tags.

3.1.1 Methods (Preferred Option): The survey effort will consist of trapping 6 predefined grids for 6 consecutive trap nights for the spring of 2022 season and 6 predefined grids for 6 consecutive trap nights for the spring of 2023 season on the Fort Morgan and Perdue Units of Bon Secour NWR. Therefore, 12 unique grids will be trapped between the spring of 2022 and the spring of 2023 (this is the preferred option, but alternate options are provided if the preferred option comes in over or under budget in section 5.3.4). The months that can be trapped in the spring of 2022 are March, April, May and/or June. The months that can be trapped in the spring of 2023 are February, March, April and/or May. Likewise, the grids will contain 100 stations (two traps per station; 200 traps/grid) on 15-20 meter spacing. Trapping efforts will begin within a 6-day window 3 days before and after the new moon and, weather permitting, must be consecutive. The data collected and recorded will include date, grid ID, trap station and start and end time of grid check, species for non-ABM captures, and for ABM captures will also include sex, weight, age, reproductive capacity, if the animal was a recapture or first capture, tag number and any relevant observations.

Additionally, weather conditions should be recorded each night to include temperature, wind speed and direction, cloud cover, and moon phase. Likewise, stations closed due to flooding or other environmental conditions will be collected. Lastly, if an ABM dies during mark/recapture efforts (i.e., found dead in a trap, or dies during handling), a written report will be submitted within 24 hours to the designated Site Representative at Bon Secour NWR and others as specified in the Contractor’s Endangered Species Permit issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

ABM will be captured in non-ventilated Sherman live traps (5x6.5x16.5 cm), with two traps placed directly adjacent to each other and facing the same direction at each trap station. Traps will be internally baited exclusively using black sunflower seeds due to difficulties with fire ants when using rolled oats. Cotton will be used to insulate the back door of the traps from within and prevent hypothermia during trapping efforts of all BSNWR trapping grids when temperatures are predicted to fall below or approach 60ºF. Traps can be set/opened after 12pm and checked/closed between 11:30pm and a half hour after sunrise. Traps must remain checked and closed from a half hour after sunrise until 12pm.

Upon capture, mark Alabama beach mice individually with one ear-tag, weighed (to the nearest 0.5g), and aged as juveniles, sub-adults, or adults based on weight and reproductive condition. Weight and aging parameters used for aging Alabama beach mice will be provided upon award of this contract. Female reproductive condition should be recorded as lactating, pregnant and lactating, or non-lactating (inactive) depending on weight and condition of teats. Males should be described as either abdominal or scrotal based on the status of their testes. After work-up, mice should be released at the point of capture.

Recaptured mice should be released after recording their ear-tag number and morphological data.

3.1.2 Study Area: The study area is located within the Fort Morgan and Perdue Units of Bon Secour NWR (Figure 2). A detailed map of the 12 grids to be surveyed will be provided upon award of the contract. Although subject to change, for planning purposes, it is estimated 3 grids will occur within the Fort Morgan Unit dune habitat and 9 grids will occur within the Perdue Unit dune habitat. See Figure 2 for general locations of grids to be surveyed. Driving will not occur within any defined Alabama beach mouse habitat, but study sites may be accessed by 4-wheel drive trucks or all-terrain vehicles on refuge beaches, roads and trails.

3.2 Contractor must comply 100% with the agreed-upon plan of work and has a required Alabama beach mouse U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered Species Permit for recovery activities prior to award of the contract and any required State T&E Permits before the first day of trapping on Bon Secour NWR.

3.3 The Government shall provide all hand applied metal ear tags and 1000 non-folding, non-ventilated Sherman live traps for use during the period of performance. In addition, the Government shall provide detailed maps outlining the extent of each trapping grid, an excel spreadsheet to record collected data, and access to the maintenance compound to store required equipment for completion of this contract.

3.4 The Contractor shall provide all personnel, labor, equipment, supplies (i.e.,non-ventilating Sherman live traps needed beyond government provided traps), transportation, tools, materials, supervision, and other non-personal services necessary to perform the requirements of this contract order and shall plan, schedule, coordinate, and ensure effective performance of required services for the entire duration of contract. Crews must avoid all areas marked as “off limits”; coordinates will be provided to the Project Manager for these locations. Survey efforts shall be performed in such a manner as to protect non-target organisms, the environment, and the public. NOTE: The Contracting Officer reserves the right to require the Contractor to replace any operating personnel, or equipment used in the performance of this Contract if the personnel, or equipment are violating, or have violated, any state or federal laws; or are unsafe; or for any valid reason. In this event, the Contractor shall as soon as reasonably possible, upon written or verbal notice (to be later reduced to writing) from the Contracting Officer, provide replacements satisfactory to the Contracting Officer at no additional cost.

3.5 Work performance shall be defined as completing a Bon Secour NWR mark/recapture survey effort of 6 predefined grids for 6 consecutive trap nights for the spring of 2022 season and 6 predefined grids for 6 consecutive trap nights for the spring of 2023 season on the Fort Morgan and Perdue Units of Bon Secour NWR (or a selected alternative option identified in section 5.3.4). Additionally, an excel spreadsheet and/or a Survey 123 application (provided by the Government upon award) of the data collected and outlined in section 3.1 will be submitted within 30 days of the end of every trapping season. Lastly, all Sherman live traps lent by the government will be returned to Bon Secour NWR cleaned and in working order upon completion of contract requirements.

3.6 The Contractor will provide USFWS with contact information for all ground personnel, vehicles, and equipment, identification information (including make, model, color, name of company, and contact information) at least 48 hours before implementation of the project.

3.7 Public Safety: Refuges are heavily visited by the public and public safety must be ensured when driving to and from survey sites. Posted speed limits must be followed and vehicles must drive no more than 10mph on the beach and as low on the beach as possible.

3.8 The Refuge Wildlife Biologist or Refuge Manager must be notified at least 48 hours prior to study site access.

3.9 No heavy equipment will be allowed to operate within the study sites.

3.10 The Contractor shall avoid any damage to native vegetation and wildlife other than wildlife caught during survey efforts within designated trapping grids. The Contractor shall not collect, harass, harm, or molest native plants or wildlife. The Contractor shall avoid damage to sensitive archaeological sites such as Native American middens and shell mounds. The Contractor shall be responsible for the removal of all trash and survey-related equipment at the completion of each survey season. The Contractor shall be held liable if damage was determined to be the fault of the Contractor (negligence) or the result of improper survey techniques.

3.11 The Contractor is required to follow the “Capture and Handling of Endangered Small Mammals in Florida Required COVID Protocols for USFWS Recovery Permits” put out by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and outlined in Appendix A when handling small mammals on Bon Secour NWR. The “Guidelines for Working with Free-Ranging Wild Mammals in the Era of the COVID-19 Pandemic” put out by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) and outlined in Appendix B is also a good reference when handling small mammals during the COVID-19 Pandemic. If additional guidance is given for wildlife handling by the Center for Disease Control, IUCN or the USFWS to prevent the spread of Covid-19, the guidance will be shared and followed by the Contractor during the period of performance.

IV. APPLICABLE DIRECTIVES

4.1 All Contractor employees performing work directly onsite must adhere to all local regulations, rules, policies relating to the obtainment of proper clearances, building access, site access, and badges. If applicable, must complete background investigation, computer security, and records management training.

4.2 The Contractor must abide by all applicable regulations, publications, manuals, and local policies and procedures.

4.3 OSHA, 29 CFR 1910 (as applicable)

4.4 EPA regulations

4.5 The Contractor is responsible for acquiring and maintaining all federal and local licenses, certifications, and permits as required. This includes the State Collection Permit and the Federal Endangered Species Permit. The Contractor shall be required to submit a copy of the permits to the Contracting Officer prior to the award date.

4.6 Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act

4.7 The Contractor (or their representatives) will not litter. Litter violations will be handled under Federal Code of Regulations 50CFR27.94(a), which carries a fine of $100.00 per incident upon conviction.

V. PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS

5.1 The Contractor will conduct a Bon Secour NWR mark/recapture survey effort of 6 predefined grids for 6 consecutive trap nights for the spring of 2022 season and 6 predefined grids for 6 consecutive trap nights for the spring of 2023 season on the Fort Morgan and Perdue Units of Bon Secour NWR (this is the preferred option, but alternate options are provided if the preferred option comes in over or under budget in section 5.3.4). An excel spreadsheet and/or a Survey 123 application (provided by the Government) containing survey data outlined in the Scope of this Performance Work Statement will be submitted to the Government 30 days after the last day of trapping each season.

5.1.1 Employ protocols for trapping Alabama beach mice as outlined in the contractor’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered Species Permit for recovery activities.

5.1.2 Surveys

5.1.2.1 All personnel handling Alabama beach mice must follow conditions outlined by the Alabama beach mouse U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered Species Permit for recovery activities and any State T&E Permit requirements.

5.1.2.2 An excel spreadsheet and/or a Survey 123 application (provided by the Government) containing survey data outlined in the Scope of this Performance Work Statement will be submitted to the Government 30 days after the last day of trapping each season to ensure Acceptance Criteria is met.

5.2 The Contractor shall complete survey activities during the specified dates as directed by the COR/SR.

5.3 The Contractor shall avoid any damage to native vegetation and wildlife other than wildlife caught during survey efforts within designated trapping grids. The Contractor shall not collect, harass, harm, or molest native plants or wildlife. The Contractor shall avoid damage to sensitive archaeological sites such as Native American middens and shell mounds. The Contractor shall be responsible for the removal of all trash and survey-related equipment at the completion of each survey season. The Contractor shall be held liable if damage was determined to be the fault of the Contractor (negligence) or the result of improper survey techniques.

5.4 Special Conditions

5.4.1 The COR shall inform the Contractor of the time schedule as work progresses. However, the Contracting Officer may halt work at any time upon written notice.

5.4.2 Weather, site conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic may interfere with the work completion schedule negotiated at the award conference. The Contracting Officer may halt work at any time upon written notice for conditions beyond the control of the Contractor. If this results in significant time lost, the completion date for the project can be re-negotiated by the CO/COR/SR and the Contractor. If transmission of COVID-19 to the endangered Alabama beach mouse population becomes a threat that can’t be mitigated by the IUCN “Guidelines for Working with Free-Ranging Wild Mammals in the Era of the COVID-19 Pandemic” or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service “Capture and Handling of Endangered Small Mammals in Florida Required COVID Protocols for USFWS Recovery Permits” in the spring of 2022 or 2023, the Bon Secour NWR Wildlife Biologist will delay and re-negotiate the period of performance with the CO/COR/SR and the Contractor.

5.4.3 A line-item cost estimate for this project should be submitted as outlined in addition to the total cost estimate for completion of the entire project. The preferred option must be provided, and the alternate options are asked for if the preferred option comes in over budget. It is preferred that the spring of 2022 not be swapped with the spring of 2023 within each alternative option. However, swapping the grids trapped in the spring of 2022 with the spring of 2023 within each alternative option will be considered as a last resort during the bid process and must be noted it the Contractor’s bid package.

Preferred Option 1 Cost Spring 2022 (6 grids) Spring 2023 (6 grids) Total Cost

Alternate Option 3 Cost Spring 2022 (10 grids) Spring 2023 (3 grids) Total Cost

Alternate Option 2 Cost Spring 2022 (8 grids) Spring 2023 (3 grids) Total Cost

Alternate Option 4 Cost Spring 2022 (6 grids) Spring 2023 (9 grids) Total Cost

5.4.4 A pre-award site visit can be scheduled upon request. The location will be 12295 State Highway 180, Gulf Shores, AL.

Please email jacqueline_sablan@fws.gov to obtain the exact date.

VI. WORK TIME/HOURS OF DUTY

6.1 Field Work may be performed on federal holidays. During federal holidays, please contact the site representative with any questions or concerns at jacqueline_sablan@fws.gov.

6.2 Hours of Operation: The Contractor may conduct business 7 days a week and 24 hours a day during the contract defined trapping seasons except when the Government facility is closed due to local or national emergencies. For other than firm fixed price contracts, the Contractor will not be reimbursed when the government facility is closed for the above reasons. The Contractor must at all times maintain an adequate workforce for the uninterrupted performance of all tasks defined within this PWS when the Government facility is not closed for the above reasons. When hiring personnel, the Contractor shall keep in mind that the stability and continuity of the workforce are essential.

VII. SUPPLIES, MATERIALS, EQUIPMENT, AND UTILITIES

NOTE: As a government agency dedicated to “working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people,” the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service strives to incorporate the most ecologically sound and environmentally beneficial technologies, materials, and practices into all aspects of planning and operations. To help achieve this mission and meet Executive Orders (EOs) and Department of the Interior (DOI) planning requirements, the USFWS has implemented strategies to reduce the environmental impacts associated with procurement, lease acquisition, waste prevention and recycling, facility design, construction, operation and management, contracting and permitted commercial visitor services. These strategies have been collectively referred to as the FWS’s Green Procurement and Waste Prevention & Recycling Program (Greening Program) and are a part of the FWS’s overall approach to environmental management.

7.1 Government-Furnished Property and Services. The Government will provide the Contractor with the following items:

7.1.1 Services/Supply: none

7.1.2 Facilities: none

7.1.3 Utilities: none

7.1.4 Equipment: All required metal ear tags, and lending of 1000 non-folding, non- ventilating Sherman live traps. The 1000 Sherman live traps must be returned to Bon Secour NWR upon completion of the project and must be cleaned and in working condition. Any traps that are lost or stolen beyond 10 traps, must be replaced before returned to Bon Secour NWR.

7.1.5 Materials: none

7.2 Supplies, Materials, and Equipment: to be provided by the Contractor

7.2.1 All supplies, equipment, parts, and material(s) required to successfully complete this requirement (unless otherwise provided by the Government as indicated above). All equipment to be used in the performance of work described herein is subject to the approval of the Government Representative (GR).

VIII. SUPERVISION

8.1 In order to ensure performance and accomplishment of the work as outlined herein, the Contractor shall provide adequate and competent supervision at all times for all work to be accomplished by the Contractor’s employees. When contract work is in progress, supervisory personnel shall be available at all times to receive notices, reports, or requests from the GR/COR or his authorized representative. At no time shall Government representatives direct or supervise the activities of the Contractor’s employees.

8.2 On-site Supervision. An on-site supervisor, with the ability to speak and understand English clearly and with the authority to act for the Contractor on a day-to-day basis and to sign inspection reports and all other correspondence on behalf of the Contractor, shall be present at the work site at all times when contract work is in progress, unless a contractor employee can act on the supervisor’s behalf.

8.3. Supervisory Responsibilities. Supervisory responsibilities shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following:

8.3.1 Providing an adequate labor force; this includes the immediate replacement of personnel dismissed for cause or leaving employment of their own volition.

8.3.2 Ensuring that Contractor personnel are properly trained to perform their assigned work in a proper, safe, and efficient manner, and ensuring that the proper supplies, materials, and equipment are on hand.

8.3.3 Taking action to prevent general carelessness by employees and/or abuse of facilities or equipment.

8.3.4 Establishing an effective and comprehensive safety program.

8.3.5 Indoctrinating employees to report fire, hazardous conditions, maintenance deficiencies, and graffiti.

8.3.6 Continually ensuring that the conduct of the Contractor’s employees reflect favorably upon the Contractor’s and FWS organization(s). If applicable, supervisory personnel are responsible for ensuring that employees fully support and participate in the energy-conservation program within the facilities. Use lights or other energy-consuming equipment only in areas where and when work is actually being performed. Secure lights and other equipment when not in use or needed.

IX. CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL QUALIFICATIONS

9.1 Supervisory Personnel. All supervisory employees engaged in directing the work to be accomplished under this contract shall possess, at least with-in the last four years, of recent experience in directing the subject service-type operations in a supervisory capacity for small mammal survey work of similar sampling design as this contract.

X. DELIVERABLES

10.1 Frequent reporting/accounting of overall progress and (to-date) expenditures (i.e. 25%, 50%, 90%) or as determined by the Government/Site Representative.

10.2 Work performance shall be defined as completing the ABM Bon Secour NWR mark/recapture survey effort of 6 predefined grids for 6 consecutive trap nights for the spring of 2022 season and 6 predefined grids for 6 consecutive trap nights for the spring of 2023 season on the Fort Morgan and Perdue Units of Bon Secour NWR (this is the preferred option, but alternate options are provided if the preferred option comes in over or under budget in section 5.3.4). Likewise, an excel spreadsheet and/or a Survey 123 application (provided by the Government upon award) of the data collected will be submitted within 30 days of the end of every season to the FWS Site Manager or his/her designee. The data collected will include date, grid id, trap station and start and end time of grid check, species for non-ABM captures, and for ABM captures will include sex, weight, age, reproductive capacity, if the animal was a recapture or a first capture, tag number and any relevant observations. Additionally, weather conditions should be recorded each night to include temperature, wind speed and direction, cloud cover, and moon phase. Likewise, stations closed due to flooding or other environmental conditions will be recorded. Lastly, if an ABM dies during mark/recapture efforts (i.e., found dead in a trap, or dies during handling), a written report will be submitted within 24 hours to the designated Site Representative at Bon Secour NWR and others as specified in the Contractor’s Endangered Species Permit issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

10.3 Coordination and application meetings.

10.4 Work plan to include a schedule.

10.5 Safety plan.

10.6 A government representative will inspect survey efforts periodically during the contract period.

10.8 Copies of all task order invoices (signed by the Contractor Crew Supervisor/Site Manager) shall be submitted to the FWS Site Manager as agreed upon by the Government and the Contractor. Invoices shall be submitted no more frequently than on a monthly basis.

DELIVERABLES SCHEDULE

(This technical exhibit lists any reports or documentation that is required as a deliverable and includes the frequency, # of copies, medium/format and who/where it is to be submitted. A deliverable is anything that can be physically delivered but may include non-physical things such as meeting minutes.)

Deliverable Frequency # of Copies Medium/Format Submit To Routine reporting/accounting of progress and (to-date) expenditures

25%, 50%, 90%

1 Hard/soft copy in MS Word or Excel format

COR/SR/Manager

Spreadsheet of data collected during ABM survey

Submitted withing 30 days of the end of each season. i.e., spring

1 Hard/soft copy in Excel or Survey 123 format

Government Representative/Manager

Coordination, and application meetings

As directed by the

COR/SR

n/a Meeting Government Representative/Manager

Quality Assurance Plan

1.1 The Contractor shall institute a complete quality-control program to ensure that the requirements of this contract are provided, as specified. The overall goal of the program should be to identify and correct any problems that may exist before they are identified by or reported to the Government Representative (GR)/Site Representative (SR). This will aid in ensuring the contractor meets time schedules, adheres to standard commercial practices, and complies with Performance Work Statement/contract in an efficient, ethical, and productive manner. As a minimum, the program shall include:

1.1.1 An inspection system covering all the services required under Section V (Performance Requirements) with a comprehensive checklist to be used to inspect contract performance during scheduled and unscheduled inspections, and the name(s) of the individuals who will be performing the inspections.

1.1.2 A system for identifying and correcting deficiencies and/or a pattern of deficiencies in the quality or quantity of services provided before the level of performance becomes unacceptable and/or Government inspectors point out the deficiencies.

1.1.3 A file of all inspections conducted by the Contractor and corrective actions taken (at Contractor’s expense). This should include follow-up inspections to ensure that corrective action was appropriate, complete, and timely. This documentation shall be organized in a logical manner, kept current, and made available to the GR and the Contracting Officer (CO) during the term of the contract.

1.1.4 When notified of a deficiency, items designated as unsatisfactory or below standard shall be re-performed by Contactor at no additional cost to the Government. All corrective action must be completed by the next working day of notification of the deficiency. If not, a deduction may be made (as determined from the applicable month’s invoice). Failure of the Government to notify the Contractor of a deficiency does not relieve the Contractor of the obligation to perform services nor does it relieve the Contractor of the responsibility to ensure that quality control measures are adhered to for contract compliance.

1.2 Performance Indicators and Acceptable Quality Levels

1.2.1 Comply with work production/work schedule(s) except for Excusable Delays. 100% compliance

1.2.2 Comply with all work requirements and standards as indicated within the Work Statement. 100% compliance

1.2.3 Comply with all contract terms and conditions. 100% compliance

1.2.4 Must not damage government resources, fish, wildlife, and/or property. 100% compliance

1.2.5 Maintain safety of workers and work environment at all times. 100% compliance with no deviations

1.2.6 Maintain a Quality Control Plan and immediately disclose/report any problems. 100% compliance

1.2.7 Ensure all equipment is in good working order during the entire period of performance. 100% compliance

1.3 Surveillance Methods

1.3.1 Regularly scheduled inspection/review of work

1.3.2 Inspection of materials and equipment. The CO/COR/SR, reserves the right to inspect, at any time upon notice to the Contractor, the Contractor’s procedures, and other ancillary equipment, and operating personnel. Inspection, however, shall not relieve the Contractor of any obligations or responsibilities, nor shall it transfer any liability to the Refuge.

1.3.3 Contractor logs

1.3.4 Final payment shall be held until all excel or Survey 123 spreadsheets of the data collected during ABM surveys and outlined under the scope (3.1) for all seasons is submitted to the FWS Site Manager or his/her designee. Prior to submission of the final excel data or Survey 123 spreadsheet, 50% of the awarded contract can be invoiced by the Contractor for payment after the spring of 2022 spreadsheets have been submitted. The remaining 50% of the awarded contract cannot be invoiced until all excel or Survey 123 data spreadsheets are submitted, and the 1000 traps provided by the government and unused ear-tags are returned in good working order at the end of the spring of 2023. If an alternative option is awarded, the percentage paid in the Spring of 2022 and Spring of 2023 will be proportional to the number of grids trapped after the excel or Survey 123 spreadsheet has been submitted for that season.

1.4 Incentives

1.4.1 Non-compliance with Performance Work Statement will result in negative performance evaluation/rating.

1.4.2 A positive performance rating will be given for overall satisfactory work and compliance related to the contract.

Figure 1. Bon Secour NWR Location Map

Figure 2. Bon Secour NWR Mark/Recapture Survey Sites. (Fort Morgan Unit Top Map, Perdue Unit Bottom Map)

Appendix A

Appendix B