SS_Veg Field Sampling Signed.pdf

SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION

(Simplified Acquisition Procedures under FAR Part 13 Not Exceeding $250K)

1. Agency/Contracting Activity: International Institute of Tropical Forestry (IITF)

2. Description of Action:

Nature: New Requirement Follow-On Requirement

Mod to Existing Purchase Order/Contract Number

Pricing: Firm-Fixed Price Other:

3. Description of Supplies/Services:

A contract for service that includes (i) selecting, in collaboration with NRCS, approximately 32 sites in Puerto Rico for vegetation inventory, (ii) coordinating inventory with plant taxonomic expert(s), (iii) conducting literature review on site potential species composition in preparation for field sampling, (iv) gathering standardized inventory information on tree and herbaceous vegetation species composition and structure, (v) summarizing and reporting on data collected, and vi) documenting and integrating inventory and supporting information in geospatial and other data sets following standards outlined in the National Ecological Site Handbook and in collaboration with ongoing Caribbean Area soil survey with assistance from the State Soil Scientist and Soil Survey Office Leader.

Options to extend up to 3 years for additional data collection and analysis, pending funding availability.

4. Authority:

Action using Simplified Acquisition Procedures

FAR 13.106-1(b) (1): For purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT), contracting officers may solicit from one source if the contracting officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available (e.g.

urgency, exclusive licensing agreements, brand name, or industrial mobilization).

5. Reason for Authority Cited:

The offeror has experience working with the Institute in developing scientific products, i.e. as a co-author of the Puerto Rico Breeding Bird Atlas, and has demonstrated skills in writing, working bilingually in English and Spanish, taxonomic expertise including extensive familiarity with the identification, classification, and description of the flora and fauna of Puerto Rico. The offeror has experience in managing projects and teams efficiently and ability to conduct field sampling in support of scientific goals. The combination of skills and availability make the offeror uniquely suited to this task.

6. Actions to Increase Competition:

As one of the leading research facilities with expertise in tropical vegetation and land cover, we receive many solicited and unsolicited inquiries for providing a variety of services in this arena.

This has given us an understanding of the capacity and expertise available. For this task, and based on that awareness of available capacity, no other source is more practical and available with skills in taxonomy, project management, and scientific writing.

This project will serve as a critical step toward making new information on the state of vegetation in Puerto Rico and the relationships of climate, soil, topography, soils, and disturbance to plant species composition available to the public.

7. Market Research:

No market research was done. The source offered a reasonable proposal at a fair price and has unique qualifications including knowledge the flora, knowledge of analytical techniques, ability to organize and analyze large vegetation data sets, and the ability to write peer reviewed scientific reports.

8. Procurement History:

Previous Purchase Orders(s) or Contract(s): Yes No

Purchase order or contract number:

Was action competed? Yes No If action was not competed, state the cited authority, summarize rationale:

9. Additional information to support the justification:

The offeror has experience working on related projects that integrate information on Puerto Rican species with geographic distributions and variables. The offeror has specialized skills in natural resource inventories, familiarity with the local flora, experience working with species inventory data, experience organizing data, data quality assessment, and in reporting on field and electronic natural resource data. The offeror has bilingual (Spanish/English) communication skills, the ability to manage a small team, and to work in collaboration with others in field sampling. The offeror has a degree in biology from the University of Puerto Rico, graduating cum laude.

The Institute is collaborating with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in conducting Ecological Site inventory and development work across Puerto Rico and the U.S.

Virgin Islands. The Ecological Site survey efforts include collecting soils and vegetation data for several common land uses, including forests, range, pasture, wetlands, beaches, orchard, and field crops, and developing ecological site descriptions that will be included in soil survey publications following standards outlined in the National Ecological Site Handbook.

The development of accurate and relevant ecological site descriptions requires technical knowledge of biology, rangeland ecology and plant dynamics, forest ecology and plant dynamics, soil and plant interactions, plant identification and physiology, and technical writing skills. An Ecological Site key that outlines the ecological concepts as well as provisional Ecological Site Descriptions has been developed for each of the following Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) project areas. Further vegetation and soil inventories are required to complete the site descriptions for the following units:

• MLRA 270, the Humid Mountains and Valleys of Puerto Rico.

• MLRA 271, the Semiarid Mountains and Valleys of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin

Islands.

• MLRA 272, the Humid Coastal Plains of Puerto Rico.

• MLRA 273, the Semiarid Coastal Plains of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The offeror’s experience in biological inventories and surveys, local knowledge of the plant species, and experience writing natural resource inventory reports report writing will be invaluable in this exercise.

10. Technical/Requirements Certification: I certify that the supporting data under my cognizance which is included in this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Submitted By: Dr. William A. Gould Position Title: Research Ecologist Email Address: william.a.gould@usda.gov

Signature: Digitally signed by WILLIAM GOULD Date: 2021.02.03 15:18:47 -04'00'

Date: 3 February 2021

11. Fair and Reasonable Price Determination: As Contracting Officer, I hereby determine that the anticipated cost to the Government for this contract action will be fair and reasonable.

Basis for the determination: price analysis techniques.

12. Contracting Officer’s Approval: I hereby certify that this Justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief. Based on the foregoing, I approve this sole source justification subject to availability of funds, and provided that the services and supplies herein described have otherwise been authorized for acquisition.

Signature:

Typed Name: Amelia Davila Title: Contracting Specialist/Officer Date: 04 Mar 2021

WILLIAM GOULD

mailto:william.a.gould@usda.gov