Solicitation_Attachments_SVRA.pdf

140G0326Q0218 Page 4 of 11

STATEMENT OF WORK: Onyx Ranch State Vehicle Recreation Area (SVRA)

Assistance to the Government

1.0 Purpose and Objectives

This project, the Onyx Ranch State Vehicle Recreation Area (hereafter SVRA), is part of land managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and newly acquired ranch land acquired by the State. Currently multiple uses are present, with concerns about the spread of invasive and fire-prone annual grasses and a new invasive forb, Sahara mustard; wildland fire likely to occur from the fire-prone invasives; identification of areas needing restoration; existing cattle and sheep grazing; off-road use by vehicles of many types (motorcycles, 4-wheel, side-by-side, all-terrain vehicles); identification of sites occupied by a candidate species from state and federal listing (western Joshua trees); and the state- and federally-listed desert tortoise. We designed a project to address these concerns, the data were collected, and we need to identify the most important issues and map areas of occurrence. This work will benefit federal and state governments, provide opportunities for reducing the risk of Wildland Fires from Invasives, enhance opportunities for Restoration, and provide baselines for continuing Agriculture (cattle and sheep grazing), and multiple Recreation activities, while also dealing with candidate and threatened species. An essential part of the contract will be to communicate closely with the

USGS scientist responsible for the project to achieve the requirements of the state and federal governments.

2.0 General Background

2.1 Description of the SVRA and the database of 289 randomly-placed hectares for sampling. The SVRA Study Area of > 26,000 acres, occurs in the far western Mojave

Desert and extends west into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada to coniferous forests.

It is bordered on the south by the Bureau of Land Management’s Jawbone Canyon

Open Area and on the north by Dove Springs Open Area. Both Open Areas allow for unrestricted recreation vehicle access and use.

2.2 The database is in a Microsoft Excel Workbook for PC with multiple work sheets (to be provided at contract award). At the bottom of the workbook are tabs from left to right: Plot Summary; Plot Tracking; Topo, Geo, Soils (topography, geology, soils);

Joshua Trees (clusters and details on status and condition 1); Human Disturbances

(location of invasive species, burned areas, cattle [live & scats], all evidence of vehicles disturbed or cleared areas); Veg (all perennial species, non-native grasses and forbs); PSC- Mammals (predator sign concentrations of mammals, burrows, dens, marking sites); PSC-Avian (pellets, nests, roosts); and Avian predators (observations).

There are 289 hectares (300 listed, but 11 removed because they were too steep or difficult to survey.

3.0 Scope and Technical Requirements

3.1 The Contractor shall have the following qualifications and experience: a) A masters degree with statistical training; b) Publications demonstrating statistical skills and

140G0326Q0218 Page 5 of 11 statistical modeling in peer-reviewed journals (within last 15 years, more recent desirable) using small and large datasets with multiple variables to develop and produce models, such as general linear models, general linear mixed effects models;

c) Ability to map data and prepare publication ready maps and figures using GIS.

Examples of other potential statistical requirements: k-selected means, spatial analysis using ArcGIS, multi-variant regression tree analyses, discriminant analysis, nonparametric statistics, Kruskal-Wallis H statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, log transformation for large counts of a variable, ANOVA, Tukey HSD, Fisher exact tests, Wald test to identify the most important variables (see Cade 2015).

Statistical level should be set at P < 0.05. In addition, the Contractor shall have skills at communication essential to working within the guidance of the USGS

Principal Investigator to achieve the requirements of the government in producing draft final results.

3.2 The Contractor shall accomplish the following tasks in the Onyx Ranch SVRA, including, but not limited to statistical analysis and publication-quality figures and maps, with the guidance of the USGS Principal Investigator or Technical Liaison.

3.2.1 Desert Tortoise, a state and federally listed threated species. To best accomplish this and remaining tasks, the Contractor shall prepare a figure of existing roads in the SVRA, hopefully drawing on existing layers in government websites and files. The Contractor shall identify all hectares and sites between hectares with live and dead desert tortoises (shell-skeletal remains) and tortoise sign for a figure showing locations of live, dead, and other tortoise sign (burrows, tracks, scats, drinking sites, courtship rings) within the Onyx Ranch SVRA. With respect to the live and dead tortoises and tortoise sign, prepare a publication-quality figure showing the locations with respect to a) the entire Onyx SVRA, 2)

Red Rock Canyon State Park boundaries on the east edge of the SVRA), Highway

14, and northern boundaries of the Jawbone Canyon Open Area and southern boundaries of the Dove Springs Open Area. Both Open Areas are managed for intensive off-highway, off-road vehicle use by the U.S. Bureau of Land

Management. There are: live, dead, and sign in 6 hectares. The Contractor shall address whether these locations are within a band near the eastern boundary of

Red Rock Canyon State Park or scattered about the Onyx Ranch SVRA in a variety of vegetation clusters (see Task 3.2.2).

3.2.2 Veg worksheet. Perennial vegetation. The Contractor shall draw on k-means clustering analysis using ordinal categories of abundance for each hectare plot from none to dominant or ubiquitous (nomenclature of plants, hectares, and ordinal system of abundance are on the Veg excel spreadsheet). The clustering analysis may result in 4 to 6 different cluster associations that make sense biologically, topographically, and by elevation for the region. Final selection of the perennial vegetation clusters shall be made after providing a list of the species in each cluster to the Technical Liaison (Principal Investigator) and discussion of

140G0326Q0218 Page 6 of 11 such topics as elevational range and topography of each cluster and locations

(west and distance from Red Rock Canyon State Park). After a decision is made on the best vegetational clusters to display, the locations and distributions shall be produced in a publication-quality figure. Kriging or similar statistical methods shall be used to produce a smoothing effect for the figure, where appropriate.

Figure may be in accessible colors, colors allowed by peer-reviewed journals.

3.2.3 Veg worksheet: non-native species. Part 3a. Invasive annual grasses and forbs. The Contractor shall identify all hectare locations containing any member of the genera Bromus, Schismus, and Brassica tournefortii. Prepare distribution maps of 1) brome species, 2) Schismus species, and 3) Brassica tournefortii; unless the map is too crowded, also show locations of hectares that were burned. Part 3b. The Contractor shall prepare a figure with all invasive species, including the Genus Sisymbrium.

3.2.4 Veg and Joshua Tree worksheets. Western Joshua trees, a legislatively protected species and candidate for state listing. Joshua trees will show up in the clustering analysis (Task 3.2.2). The Contractor shall prepare a second analysis after identifying hectares with high densities and clustering of numerous stems, where these occur (e.g., in an elevational band or specific areas within the Onyx

Ranch SVRA). To be considered: are hectare plots with high density clusters present throughout the SVRA or in a specific part or elevational band? The

Contractor shall prepare a figure or figures to display the distribution and areas of concentration. Kriging or similar statistics shall be used to create a smoothing effect for distribution, if appropriate. Color accessible to publication in a peer-reviewed journal may be used.

3.2.5 Human activities and disturbances. Obtaining and using a base layer of roads in the study area of critical importance to full understanding of land uses in the SVRA, to such tasks such as tasks 3.2.1, and other subjects in task 3.2.5. In the SVRA, the following variables are of importance for the Contractor to address in maps, figures, and the models: counts and m2 of vehicle tracks, trails, and roads, partially denuded and denuded areas of natural, native shrubs, trees, and other vegetation; counts of cattle scat and sheep scat, partially denuded and denuded areas from cattle and sheep grazing, trails, and pastures; counts of trash;

evidence of shooting (clay pigeons, shotgun shells, etc.); hectares with non-native grasses and Brassica tournefortii; fences; burned vegetation; counts and locations of campsites; mining areas; and much more. Spatial analysis of sites with livestock grazing, partially denuded, and denuded areas; vehicle tracks, trails, and roads, partially denuded and denuded areas; associations of recreation use with any trash and campsites will be of special importance to the government. All final figures will be of publication quality. Preparation of draft and final models and draft and final figures displaying areas of importance for resources and human activities. Final figures will be in jpg and tiff formats and of publication quality.

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3.2.6 The Contractor shall prepare one or more models with the most important variables, in discussion with the USGS Principal Investigator. These shall be in draft until final decisions are made on what is most important to the government agencies.

4.0 Delivery of Tasks. (Delivery dates are contingent on contract award dates)

4.1 The Contractor shall provide initial drafts of tasks 3.2.1, 3.2.2, 3.2.3, and 3.2.4 are due within 60 days of contract award. The Contractor shall finalize these tasks after a

15-day review period by the Technical Liaison for use, as appropriate, in the modeling process (task 3.2.6). The drafts shall be provided to the Technical Liaison and

Contracting Officer electronically or by flash drive or CD, compatible with a PC and

Microsoft system.

4.2 Initial drafts of models describing the most important (or useful variables in tasks

3.2.1 through 3.2.5 shall be due 90 days after contract award. After a 15-day review period, government comments from the Technical Liaison shall be provided to the

Contractor. The Contractor shall have 30 days to finalize the models after receipt of comments from the government’s Technical Liaison. As part of the requirement for completion, the Contractor shall provide electronic files of all agreed-upon figures with the Technical Liaison Officer and Contracting Officer.

4.3 The Contractor shall provide excel files of all variables used in the models, model importance, and other subjects, as needed for the required government Data Release when the outcome of this and other work are published. The Contractor shall provide these files of summary data from the models, model outputs, and other typical products necessary for a Data Release to the Technical Liaison Officer and Contracting Officer.

5.0 Schedule of Payment

5.1 An invoice shall be submitted showing hourly rate and hours worked only and no other costs.

6.1 Special Contract Requirements

6.1.1 Frequent Conferences: Contractor shall attend pre-work conferences with the

Technical Liaison/PI immediately following the contract award. The purpose of the conference is to facilitate transfer of Government-supplied shell-skeletal remains and to discuss the specific responsibilities of each party. The date and time of the meeting shall be determined by the Technical Liaison/PI and the Contractor in consultation. The first meeting shall probably require ~45 minutes. Discussions relate to contract requirements for Task 1 and specific responsibilities of each party will be covered at this time. Additional conferences during the analysis, and near completion of the analysis may be required. All conferences may be electronically or by telephone, as needed.

6.1.2 Government-Furnished Property: The government shall provide the Contractor

140G0326Q0218 Page 8 of 11 with the excel file for the work specified in Background and Scope, Technical

Requirements, and Description of Services.

6.1.3 Rights in Data: All deliverables required by this contract shall become the property of the Government. The Government may publish, reproduce, and use all deliverables in any manner and for any purpose, without limitation, and may authorize others to do the same. Unless otherwise provided herein, the Contractor agrees that he/she shall not assert any copyright at common law or equity and shall not establish any claim to a statutory copyright on such deliverables. The Contractor shall be acknowledged as appropriate in publications by the USGS (e.g., author, co-author).

6.1.4 Redirection of Effort: Notwithstanding any other provisions of the contract, the

Contracting Officer shall be the only individual authorized to redirect the effort or in any way amend any of the terms of the contract.

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COMMERCIAL CLAUSES AND PROVISIONS

52.252-1 Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference (Feb 1998)

This solicitation incorporates one or more solicitation provisions by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. The offeror is cautioned that the listed provisions may include blocks that must be completed by the offeror and submitted with its quotation or offer. In lieu of submitting the full text of those provisions, the offeror may identify the provision by paragraph identifier and provide the appropriate information with its quotation or offer. Also, the full text of a solicitation provision may be accessed electronically at this/these address(es): https://www.acquisition.gov/far-overhaul/far-part-deviation-guide

52.203-18 - Prohibition on Contracting with Entities that Require Certain Internal Confidentiality Agreements or

Statements-Representation (Jan 2017)

52.204-7 – System for Award Management (Nov 2024) [Deviation Mar 2026]

52.209-2 Prohibition on Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations-Representation (Nov 2015)(Deviation

May 2026)

52.212-1 – Instructions to Offerors – Commercial Items (Sep 2023)

52.219-1 - Small Business Program Representations (Feb 2024) [Deviation Mar 2026]

52.219-4 - Notice of Price Evaluation Preference for HUBZone Small Business Concerns (Oct 2022) [Deviation Jan

2026]

52.222-18 - Certification Regarding Knowledge of Child Labor for Listed End Products (Feb 2021) [Deviation May

2026]

52.240-90 - Security Prohibitions and Exclusions Representations and Certifications (Deviation Mar 2026)

52.212-2 Evaluation – Commercial Items (November 2021) [Deviation Mar 2026]

(a) The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers: trade-off. The contract award will be based upon the following non-price or cost-related evaluation factors: Technical Capability, Experience, Past Performance, and Price, with experience, past performance and technical capability being SIGNIFICANTLY MORE important than price.

(1) Technical Capability – In order to be technically acceptable, offerors must submit sufficient documentation, demonstrating their ability to meet or exceed all requirements and qualifications (Section 3.1) outlined in the

Statement of Work. The Government reserves the right to award without discussion. In evaluating capability, we will review your work plan and consider such things as availability of equipment and personnel, availability to work and to meet the overall project timeline, contingency planning, etc.

(2) Recent and relevant experience will be evaluated with preference given to work with federal agencies. Examples are resumes, published works, etc.

(3) Past Performance – relevance and recent. Offerors shall provide at least two (2) references for prior similar services performed by the offeror in the past four (4) years, including contract number (if applicable), name of contact, phone number and/or email address. A description of the prior service must be provided and shall be in sufficient detail as to demonstrate the offeror’s experience in this type of work.

It is the prospective contractor’s responsibility to submit sufficient information to allow a meaningful evaluation in each of these areas. Failure to do so will negatively impact our evaluation of your quotation.

We will select for award the prospective contractor whose quotation conforming to this solicitation will be most advantageous to the USGS.

52.252-2 Clauses Incorporated by Reference (February 1998)

This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may https://www.acquisition.gov/far-overhaul/far-part-deviation-guide https://www.acquisition.gov/far-overhaul/far-part-deviation-guide

140G0326Q0218 Page 10 of 11 be accessed electronically at this/these address(es): "https://www.acquisition.gov/far-overhaul/far-part-deviation-guide

52.204-13 – System for Award Management-Maintenance (Nov 2021) [Deviation Mar 2026]

52.204-19 Incorporation by Reference of Representations and Certifications (Dec 2014) [Deviation Mar 2026]

52.209-10 Prohibition on Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations (Nov 2015) [Deviation May 2026]

52.212-4 - Contract Terms and Conditions – Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Nov 2023) [Deviation

Mar 2026]

52.219-28 - Postaward Small Business Program Rerepresentation (Mar 2025) [Deviation Jan 2026]

52.222-3 - Convict Labor (Jun 2003) [Deviation May 2026]

52.222-36 - Equal Opportunity for Workers with Disabilities (Jun 2020) [Deviation May 2026]

52.222-50 - Combating Trafficking in Persons (Oct 2025) [Deviation May 2026]

52.222-90 Addressing DEI Discrimination by Federal Contractors (Deviation May 2026)

52.223-2 - Reporting of Biobased Products Under Service and Construction Contracts (May 2024) [Deviation May

2026]

52.223-23 Sustainable Products (May 2024) [Deviation May 2026]

52.226-8 - Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging While Driving (May 2024) [Deviation Mar

2026]

52.232-33 - Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-System for Award Management (Oct 2018)

52.232-40 - Providing Accelerated Payments to Small Business Subcontractors (Mar 2023)

52.233-1 – Dispute (May 2014)

52.233-3 - Protest after Award (Aug 1996)

52.233-4 - Applicable Law for Breach of Contract Claim (Oct 2004)

52.240-91 - Security Prohibitions and Exclusions (Deviation Mar 2026)

52.240-93 - Basic Safeguarding of Covered Contractor Information Systems (Deviation Mar 2026)

Electronic Invoice and Payment Instructions – Invoice Processing Platform (IPP) (Feb 2021)

Payment requests must be submitted electronically through the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Invoice

Processing Platform System (IPP).

"Payment request" means any request for contract financing payment or invoice payment by the Contractor. To constitute a proper invoice, the payment request must comply with the requirements identified in the applicable

Prompt Payment clause included in the contract, or the clause 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions-

Commercial Items included in commercial item contracts. The IPP website address is: https://www.ipp.gov.

Under this contract, the following documents are required to be submitted as an attachment to the

IPP invoice: None.

The Contractor must use the IPP website to register, access and use IPP for submitting requests for payment. The

Contractor Government Business Point of Contact (as listed in SAM) will receive enrollment instructions via email from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston (FRBB) within 3 - 5 business days of the contract award date. Contractor assistance with enrollment can be obtained by contacting the IPP Production Helpdesk via email

IPPCustomerSupport@fiscal.treasury.gov or phone (866) 973-3131.

If the Contractor is unable to comply with the requirement to use IPP for submitting invoices for payment, the

Contractor must submit a waiver request in writing to the Contracting Officer with its proposal or quotation.

GS0231 Technical liaison – Technical Clarification (Dec 2024)

a) The performance required herein shall be subject to the technical clarification of the Technical Liaison (TL) as identified below. As used herein, "technical clarification" is defined as communication to help the contractor fully understand the requirements.

(b) The Technical Liaison is not delegated any Contracting Officer’s Representative responsibilities.

(c) The Technical Liaison may not modify the requirements in any way. All modifications must be authorized by the

Contracting Officer.

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(d) The contractor shall immediately notify the Contracting Officer, in writing, if they believe the Technical Liaison is directing work outside the requirements of this contract. The contractor may not be reimbursed for any work outside the requirements of this contract.

(e) The Technical Liaison assigned for this contract is: TBD.

US Geological Survey, Western Ecological Science Center, Reno Field Station

1340 Financial Blvd, Suite 161

Reno NV, 89502

(f) Only the Contracting Officer may designate a new Technical Liaison.

GS0199 Prevention Malicious Code (Jun 2018)

(a) Definitions Malicious code is a computer code developed for the purpose of causing some form of intentional damage to computer systems or networks. Malicious code may be a complete program or code imbedded in software programs that appear to provide useful functions. The term includes computer viruses and other destructive programs, such as "Trojan Horses" and network "worms."

(b) The contractor must have in place an anti-virus procedure to ensure that media supplied is uncontaminated by malicious code.

(c) The contractor is required to scan all delivered software to insure it is free of malicious code prior to its installation or operation on USGS-owned computers or contractor-owned computers connected to USGS computer systems or networks. Contractors using diagnostics software disks or connecting to a non-USGS computer while performing repairs or upgrades to a USGS computer will scan the serviced computer's drive(s) to insure they are free of malicious code upon completion of the service call, or prior to return of serviced equipment, if servicing is performed off-site.

GS 1131 Unilateral Deobligation (May 2013)

The contractor shall submit all invoices under this award no later than ninety (90) calendar days after the period of performance has expired, unless a request for extension has been submitted to, and granted by, the Contracting

Officer. After 120 calendar days have passed after the expiration of the period of performance, the Contracting

Officer reserves the right to issue a unilateral modification deobligating any unexpended funds, and to initiate closeout procedures.