Sole Source Special Notice 8.9.24.pdf

***NOAA'S ACQUISITION & GRANTS OFFICE, WESTERN ACQUISITION DIVISION-

BOULDER, NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE (NMFS) CHESAPEAKE BAY OFFICE

INTENDS TO NEGOTIATE, ON A SOLE SOURCE BASIS, UNDER AUTHORITY OF FAR

13.106-1(B)(1), WITH OYSTER RECOVERY PARTNERSHIP OUT OF ANNAPOLIS, MD TO

PROVIDE MARYLAND OYSTER RESTORATION MONITORING.

***THE SOLE SOURCE DETERMINATION IS BASED ON THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND

ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION'S (NOAA) REQUIREMENT THAT THE NOAA

CHESAPEAKE BAY OFFICE (NCBO) PROVIDES SCIENCE, SERVICE, AND STEWARDSHIP

TO PROTECT AND RESTORE THE CHESAPEAKE BAY ECOSYSTEM. NCBO MANAGES

PROGRAMS THAT FOCUS ON FISHERIES SCIENCE, OYSTER RESTORATION,

OBSERVATIONS, ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY, AND COASTAL PREPAREDNESS. IN

ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH ITS OYSTER RESTORATION GOALS IN TEN CHESAPEAKE BAY

TRIBUTARIES BY THE YEAR 2025, THE NCBO WORKS WITH PARTNERS TO CONDUCT

STUDIES THAT DETERMINE WHERE NEW OYSTER REEFS SHOULD BE ESTABLISHED.

AFTER THE REEFS ARE ESTABLISHED, THEY ARE MONITORED TO DETERMINE OYSTER

POPULATION DENSITY, OYSTER BIOMASS, PRESENCE/ ABSENCE OF MULTIPLE OYSTER

YEAR CLASSES, AND SHELL VOLUME.

THE OYSTER RECOVERY PARTNERSHIP (ORP) HAS PERFORMED BOTH COMPONENTS OF

THIS WORK FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS AND MORE RECENTLY, PARTNERED

CLOSELY WITH NCBO TO IMPLEMENT A NEW METHOD FOR EVALUATING THE HEALTH

OF THE OYSTER REEF HABITAT, ONE THAT HAS TAKEN SEVERAL YEARS TO PROPERLY

DEPLOY. THE ORP POSSESSES UNIQUE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TECHNICAL DETAILS

INVOLVED WITH THIS NOVEL DEPLOYMENT, HAS EXPEDITED THE WORKFLOW OF OUR

ASSESSMENTS OVER TIME AND HEAVILY INVESTED THEIR TIME TO BRIDGE THE MOST

CHALLENGING WORKING RELATIONSHIPS ACROSS THE COMMUNITY TO SUCCESSFULLY

ACCOMPLISH ALL ASPECTS OF THE WORK.

THIS CONTRACTOR HAS DEVELOPED UNIQUE COMPUTER SCRIPTS CAPABLE OF

CONVERTING RAW DATA FROM FIELD SAMPLES INTO CATEGORIES OF SUCCESS OR

FAILURE, AS DEFINED BY NOAA. THIS IS ESSENTIAL IN ORDER TO PERFORM THE

NECESSARY ANALYSES; RE-USING THESE SCRIPTS BUILDS IN EFFICIENCY AND ENSURES

ANNUAL CONTINUITY. IT IS ESSENTIAL TO KEEP THIS CONTRACTOR TO ENSURE THE

CONTINUITY OF THE TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF THE SPECIFIC GEAR BEING USED FOR

DATA COLLECTION AS WELL AS MAINTAIN THE EFFICIENCY OF DATA COLLECTION

THROUGH THE LESSONS LEARNED FROM CHALLENGES FACED OVER TIME. CONTINUITY

IS CRUCIAL AS THE RESULTS WILL BE COMPARED AGAINST PAST YEARS’ MONITORING

RESULTS TO INFORM MANAGEMENT ACTIONS ON OYSTER RESTORATION SITES.

ORP SERVES IN THE ROLE OF GENERAL CONTRACTOR, COORDINATING WORK BETWEEN

SUB-CONTRACTORS WHO PERFORM SPECIFIC ELEMENTS OF THE SCOPE OF WORK. ORP’S

ROLE IS CRITICAL IN ENSURING THAT METHODS, DATA FORMATTING, AND

STATISTICAL ANALYSES ARE COMPARABLE AND/OR CONSISTENT AMONG MULTIPLE

SUB- CONTRACTORS. THIS IS NECESSARY TO ENSURE NOAA’S FINAL OYSTER REEF

MONITORING REPORT IS SCIENTIFICALLY VALID AND COHESIVE, GIVEN THAT

MULTIPLE ENTITIES COLLECT AND ANALYZE THE DATA.

ORP’S ROLE IS CRITICAL IN ENSURING THAT METHODS, DATA FORMATTING, AND

STATISTICAL ANALYSES ARE CONSISTENT AND NECESSARY TO ENSURE NOAA’S

FINAL OYSTER REEF MONITORING REPORT IS SCIENTIFICALLY VALID AND COHESIVE.

THERE IS NO OTHER ORGANIZATION WITH THE SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED TO

CONDUCT THE REQUIRED RESEARCH AND PROVIDE THE REPORTING CONSISTENT

WITH THE PREVIOUS YEARS OF RESEARCH AND REPORTING

***THIS NOTICE OF INTENT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS AND

NO SOLICITATION PACKAGE IS AVAILABLE. HOWEVER, FIRMS THAT BELIEVE THEY

CAN FULLY MEET THE GOVERNMENT'S REQUIREMENTS MAY SUBMIT

SUBSTANTIATING DOCUMENTATION IN WRITING TO THE IDENTIFIED POINT OF

CONTACT WITHIN 15 DAYS AFTER PUBLICATION OF THIS SYNOPSIS. SUCH

DOCUMENTATION WILL BE EVALUATED SOLELY FOR THE PURPOSE OF DETERMINING

WHETHER OR NOT TO CONDUCT THIS PROCUREMENT ON A COMPETITIVE BASIS. A

DETERMINATION BY THE GOVERNMENT NOT TO CONDUCT A COMPETITIVE

PROCUREMENT, BASED UPON RESPONSES TO THIS NOTICE, IS SOLELY WITHIN THE

DISCRETION OF THE GOVERNMENT. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE

IN RESPONSE TO THIS NOTICE.