Statement of Work (GPS collars) sam.gov.docx

STATEMENT OF WORK

Lotek Wireless, Litetrack 20 GPS collars

TITLE OF CONTRACT

Purchase of Litetrack 20 remote download GPS collars from Lotek Wireless.

BACKGROUND

The Rabies Project at the National Wildlife Research Center is collaborating with multiple agencies and stakeholders to perform research on control of mongoose rabies in Puerto Rico. Rabies is a fatal zoonotic disease, and mongooses are a terrestrial wildlife rabies reservoir in Puerto Rico with risks to human health and safety. Scientists from NWRC have partnered and collaborated with the National Rabies Management Program, USDA Wildlife Services AL/PR/USVI, Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources, the US Forest Service, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Non-governmental organizations and private landowners to conduct research on mongoose rabies control in Puerto Rico for over a decade.

The National Wildlife Research Center Rabies Project will be investigating the movements and home ranges of mongooses within urban areas to determine the risks of human and animal exposures to free-ranging mongooses (and rabies) an urban setting, as prior research has suggested mongooses avoid urban areas. This study requires fine scale spatial animal movement data that can only be obtained using GPS technology. The Lotek Litetrack 20 transmitters are the only GPS collar available that meet size and weight constraints (circumference 10-20 cm, weight < 20g) to be deployed on free-ranging mongooses. The units are designed to collect GPS data and allow for remote download of data using VHF telemetry, reducing the need to recover collars for data retrieval and allowing for regular data acquisition. The mortality sensors will be used to retrieve mongoose carcasses for rabies testing, if necessary, and redeployment of collars on new animals when possible.

The objective of this study is to live capture and collar mongooses with Litetrack 20 GPS collars within urban habitats and surrounding green spaces/forested habitat and obtain fine-scale mongoose habitat and resource selection data. Data will be used to assist wildlife disease managers in determining the risks of human and animal exposures to mongoose rabies in urban settings and to identify habitats suitable for baiting mongooses as part of oral rabies vaccination strategies for rabies control.

TYPE OF CONTRACT

Firm Fixed Price Commercial Product FAR 13

REQUIREMENTS

Purchase of 20 Litetrack 20 tracking collars with:

· Weight < 20g

· Circumference 10-20 cm

· GPS

· SWIFT Fix capability

· Remote download capability

· VHF transmitter

· Mortality sensor

Other Requirements -

Installation:

The Contractor shall provide instructions for deploying collars and retrieving data, including online tutorials.

Warranty:

The Contractor shall provide a 2-month warranty from Delivery Date to cover defects in original material or workmanship, by either replacement or repair.

Delivery:

The Contractor shall provide an estimated shipping date within 30 calendar days of this contract. Specific locations will be provided prior to contract finalization. The Contractor shall assist with property book transactions required to establish the initial accountability for each system delivered.

Draft Evaluation Criteria

TECHNICAL -

Minimum specifications:

1. Weight < 20g

2. GPS with SWIFT fix capability

3. VHF beacon in the 164-167 MHz range

4. 60 min mortality signal

5. 2-way communication with collar to download data via VHF

PAST PERFORMANCE –

NWRC personnel have previously used this product in Puerto Rico and Hawaii with excellent results, high quality data and minimal technical issues.

Contracting Specialist:

Julia Lackey Email: julia.lackey@usda.gov

1 082611