Limited Source Justification - Green River Smolt Trap Operation_Redacted.pdf
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- Solicitation number
- W912DW26QA081
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This is a Limited Source Justification document for a federal contract awarded under RFO 12.102 authority.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Seattle District, is seeking continued services from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) for operation of a juvenile salmon smolt trap on the Green River at river mile 34.5 and production of supporting written reports. The contract covers monitoring of smolts during outmigration for the 2026 season plus four years of option years through the 2030 season. Specific services include 24/7 trap operation as river flow and debris levels permit, twice-daily sampling at dawn and dusk, sample enumeration by species/age/origin, trap calibration and marking of sub-yearling Chinook for recapture efficiency estimates, biological data collection including length and scales samples, data entry into juvenile trapping databases and Excel spreadsheets, bi-weekly in-season reporting on juvenile salmon outmigration status, and production of an annual written report. The requirement has been ongoing since 2012 under various task orders and cooperative agreements.
WDFW is justified as the only viable source due to critical cost efficiencies achieved through an existing non-federal tripartite cost-sharing agreement with King County and the City of Tacoma that significantly reduces annual government burden, specialized equipment ownership and operation of the floating fish trap, and established regulatory permits required for Endangered Species Act compliance. The justification notes that alternative contractors would necessitate dissolution of cost-sharing agreements, duplication of federally owned equipment, delays in federal permitting, and compromise of a 26-year historical dataset. A Sources Sought notice was posted to SAM.gov on June 8, 2026, with four commercial contractors responding; however, none can reasonably satisfy the agency's minimum requirements without triggering unacceptable cost increases, equipment duplication, schedule delays, and scientific integrity concerns.
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• In-season reporting. Provide a summary of the status of the juvenile salmon outmigration immediately prior to each of the bi-weekly Howard Hanson refill coordination conference calls. This will be in the form of spreadsheet that will be e-mailed to each participant involved in the conference call. It will contain information on the number and species that have been collected to date and the immediate last couple of days catch and any observable trend in migration timing and magnitude.
4. AUTHORITY CITED:
10 U.S. C. § 3204(a)(1), when services needed are available from a limited number of responsible sources and no other type of property or services will satisfy the needs of the agency;
RFO 12.102(a) For acquisitions valued at or below the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT), document the decision that only one source is available and the basis for the decision.
5. REASON FOR AUTHORITY CITED: Pursuant to 10 U.S.C. § 3204(a)(1) and RFO 12.102, document decisions to restrict competition, including the use of brand-name descriptions without allowing for “equal” products, as follows: (a) For acquisitions valued at or below the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT), document the decision that only one source is available and the basis for the decision.
The Government and the State of Washington have similar interests to work in a collaborative manner on the Green River with respect to recently listed species of fish under the Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. § 1536, et seq, including the operation and maintenance of a fish trap and collection of monitoring data in the Green River.
The Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 77.04.012, formerly RCW 75.08.012, grants the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) authority to manage Washington State’s fish, shellfish, and wildlife. The department is mandated to preserve, protect, perpetuate, and manage the wildlife and food fish, game fish, and shellfish in state waters and offshore waters.
Due to its interest in collecting anadromous freshwater production data on the Green River and its interest to fund such action pursuant for monitoring salmon recovery as directed by the Washington State legislature, in 2000, WDFW purchased a floating fish trap (screw trap) for use on the Green River at RM 34.5. Data collected at the trap is used by USACE to analyze the success of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Redd Scour Reduction requirement to avoid jeopardizing the species, Reasonable and Prudent Alternative (RPA) 2 of the Biological Opinion on Howard Hanson Dam Operations and Maintenance (February 2019). RPA 2 requires an evaluation of egg to migrant survival rates estimated from the juvenile smolt trap operation and submission of that evaluation to NMFS annually.
USACE does not have equipment for conducting their own similar monitoring. Through this arrangement USACE obtains the necessary data while sharing the cost among multiple agencies including WDFW, King County (WRIA 9), and Tacoma Water. WDFW is the only viable source for this requirement due to critical cost efficiencies, specialized equipment ownership, and established regulatory permits. WDFW currently operates the smolt trap under a collaborative
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