Wildlife Capture and Helicopter RFP 2024-05-31.docx

STATE OF NEVADA

DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION

Purchasing Division 515 East Musser Street, Suite 300 │ Carson City, NV 89701 Phone: 775-684-0170 │ Fax: 775-684-0188

Solicitation: 72DOW-S2853 For

AERIAL WILDLIFE CAPTURE AND TRANSPORT SERVICES

Release Date: 06/05/2024 Deadline for Submission and Opening Date and Time: 07/17/2024 @ 2:00 pm

Single point of contact for the solicitation:

Joel Wixon, Purchasing Officer II Phone, 775-531-3313 Email Address, j.wixon@admin.nv.gov

(TTY for Deaf and Hard of Hearing, 800-326-6868 Ask the relay agent to dial, 1-775-684-0197/V.)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

APPLICABLE REGULATIONS GOVERNING PROCUREMENT

All applicable Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) and Nevada Administrative Code (NAC) documentation can be found at: www.leg.state.nv.us/law1.cfm.

SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT. Vendors and/or their representatives shall only contact the single point of contract or use the electronic procurement system regarding this solicitation until after a notice of award (NOA) has been issued. Failure to observe this restriction may result in disqualification of a proposal per NAC 333.155(3).

Prospective vendors are advised to review Nevada’s ethical standards requirements, including but not limited to NRS 281A, NRS 333.800, and NAC 333.155.

AGENCY BACKGROUND

The mission of the Nevada Department of Wildlife is to protect, conserve, manage, and restore wildlife and its habitat for the aesthetic, scientific, educational, recreational, and economic benefits to citizens of Nevada and the United States, and to promote the safety of persons using vessels on the waters of Nevada.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

The Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) is seeking to contract with multiple vendors for aerial wildlife capture and transport services using a helicopter and capture crew to safely, efficiently, and humanely capture (using a net-gun or dart-gun), handle, process, and if needed, transport to basecamp, big game animals in Nevada. The primary objective is the safety and health of animals during and after capture, as well as the safety of the State of Nevada personnel and volunteers involved with the capture events. These services may be requested throughout the calendar year, although work experience indicates most work will occur from October – March.

Potential animals for capture and transport, include but are not limited to bighorn sheep, mule deer, pronghorn antelope, elk, mountain goat, and moose. Selected vendor(s) must demonstrate experience, skill, knowledge, and exceptional performance in scheduling, coordinating, communicating, and conducting aerial capture work.

In the first year of the contract, subsequent to its approval, NDOW has estimated the following capture needs:

20 bighorn sheep for transplant.

20 bighorn sheep.

8 mountain goats.

75 elk.

Up to 200 pronghorns, subject to funding availability.

Up to 50 mule deer.

6 moose.

It is anticipated that during the second year of the contract, and any subsequent extensions, captures will be held during any time of the year depending on species, geographic location, and project objectives.

The resulting contract(s) will be for a four-year period, with an option to renew for an additional two (2) years, upon subject to Board of Examiners’ approval.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Conduct aerial capture of big game animals for the purpose of:

Disease surveillance.

Deploying tracking devices for management needs including describing home range, seasonal habitat and critical use areas, dispersal patterns, movement corridors, survival, and field observations.

Translocating big game animals to unoccupied habitat areas as part of the overall big game restoration program.

Supporting research projects to better understand ecological and biological concepts and constraints that will result in more effective big game management and sustainable big game herds.

Capturing specific animals as necessary to accommodate critical management needs.

Conducting aerial search and detection efforts; animal capture, handling, processing, slinging, transporting, delivery, and helicopter landing in a safe and humane manner to minimize stress and injury to animals and safety of NDOW personnel and volunteers.

SCOPE OF WORK

Scheduling Captures.

In developing a capture schedule, the NDOW capture lead and the vendor lead will coordinate and agree to key issues/components of the scheduled work including but not limited to:

Appropriate helicopter to effectively conduct scheduled captures, air temperatures, and elevations.

Appropriate and experienced pilot and capture crew for the scheduled captures.

Share the vendor’s schedule before and after Nevada’s captures for logistical and geographic planning and contingency plans for weather or mechanical issues that could postpone the schedule.

Whether or not capture involves restricted air space and meeting those requirements and scheduling limitations.

Capture methods.

How many vendor crew members will be on the captures and limitations/demands that may place on NDOW staff and capture efficiency.

Vendors must comply with all Federal Aviation Administration regulations.

Vendors must possess and submit with the bid proof of valid insurance.

Unless agreed upon by NDOW prior to the beginning of a series of captures, the capture crew will include 4 members, the pilot, a fuel truck driver, and 2 crew members for net-gunning or darting and mugging.

Vendor will provide a helicopter(s), fuel truck, fuel, personnel, equipment (net-gun, dart gun, nets, animal restraint/sling bags, sling cable, blindfolds, hobbles, radios, etc.) and equipment maintenance to perform wildlife captures and transport services.

The restraint/sling bag must be of a design that:

Is mesh nonabsorbent material maximizing air flow.

Is capable of being chemically sanitized.

Allows for the sling weight to be distributed on the rear of the animal and not on the chest.

Allows hobbled legs to hang free outside the bag.

Contains 2 buckle straps across the belly and 1 buckle strap across the chest.

Allows for cooling of animal on the ground without removing the bag.

Regardless of scheduled captures that only identify a particular big game species, there may be other species captured opportunistically, therefore the capture crew must always be equipped when in Nevada with appropriate equipment (e.g., blindfolds, hobbles, sling-bag, net gun, dart gun) to capture and transport animals ranging in size from pronghorn to elk.

NDOW will identify captures that require blood collection or other biological samples by the capture crew.

The capture crew must have at minimum two crew members that are proficient in jugular vein blood collection.

Capture crew members may not collect blood or other biological samples from animals in the field without the consent of the NDOW wildlife veterinarian or their designee.

Other samples that may be taken include but are not limited to fecal, nasal swabs, biopsy punches or ear notches. Staff must be proficient in the taking of these samples.

The capture crew must have the appropriate nut drivers and cutting shears for collar deployment.

The helicopter and capture crew must have the ability to weigh animals in the field and must be equipped with flexible tape measures to take body measurements when requested by NDOW.

NDOW will provide the capture crew a VHF telemetry receiver, coaxial cable and hand-held antenna when asked to search for specific VHF collar frequencies. It is preferred that the capture crew have their own skid mounted antenna(s) to accommodate specific VHF frequency ranges 159 – 161, 216 - 226.

NDOW will provide the capture crew with ear tags and appropriate applicators for each style of ear tag.

The helicopter and capture crew must have the ability to conduct radio communications with NDOW’s preferred FM radio frequencies for hand-held and vehicle radios (NDOW Administrative channel frequency is 151.445). This not only allows helicopter to ground vehicle communication but additionally allows the capture crew to communicate through our local mountain-top repeaters beyond the range of the NDOW Admin channel.

The capture crew and NDOW staff will mutually schedule a day off if more than 6 consecutive days of captures have been conducted to ensure all capture crew members are rested and capable of safely and effectively conducting captures, fuel truck driving, and base camp duties. Down days due to weather or mechanical failures may result as scheduled days off if agreed on, to prevent the need to take additional days.

The selected vendor(s) must furnish a helicopter that is mechanically sound and compliant with all FAA regulations. To verify integrity of aircraft and compliances, NDOW will require:

Copy of companies FAA 135 Certificate.

Maintenance compliance status sheets for components, engines, inspections, bulletins, ads or a current copy of OAS or USFS aircraft approval card.

Copy of pilot’s license with a resume per applicable pilot.

The selected vendor(s) must furnish a helicopter that is properly equipped with the required capture gear and that can effectively perform animal captures and transports throughout the varied terrain and elevations. (Up to 12,000 feet) that exists in the state of Nevada.

Please describe the different types of aircraft you would use for the varied conditions and capture objectives you may encounter in Nevada.

To determine aircraft performance capabilities, please include following information for each aircraft:

Aircraft weight and balance forms Hover out of ground effect charts for aircraft make and model.

Hover in ground effect charts for that aircraft make and model.

Pilots must have a minimum of 1,000 documented hours of aerial capture experience. The level of experience must be submitted with the proposal within the pilots’ résumés or letters of recommendation.

Personnel involved directly in capture and animal handling must have prior experience in helicopter captures.

Vendors shall not subcontract these services without prior written approval of NDOW.

When capture crews are scheduled in Nevada 30 or more days in advance, the Vendor(s) shall:

Notify NDOW of prior commitments, which could conflict with NDOW’s capture operations.

Adhere to the schedule, unless both parties concur with the alteration, with the understanding that unapproved delays may result in the vendor being charged by NDOW for liquidated damages (i.e. per diem, mileage, man-hours, etc.) at State of Nevada rates.

Excused delays could include non-scheduled repairs or weather-related causes.

CAPTURE EVENTS AND PROCESSES

Briefings will be conducted with NDOW representatives and Vendor(s) prior to daily capture operations. NDOW staff will provide an overview of capture activities, potential flight hazards, detail needs and methods for data collection, and other details pertinent to capture activities.

The following are types of capture events and processes successful vendor(s) will be asked to perform:

Helicopter net-gun or dart capture and helicopter transporting of animals back to a basecamp for processing by NDOW staff and volunteers.

Helicopter net-gun or dart capture and process of animals at or near the capture site with no involvement from NDOW other than radio contact.

Helicopter net-gun or dart capture and process of animals at or near the capture site involving ferrying NDOW and/or other project collaborators (i.e., University researchers or adjacent state wildlife agency biologists/veterinarians) to or near the capture site to assist with data collection and processing once animals are captured.

GEAR SANITIZING

Prior to conducting big game captures (regardless of species) in Nevada, the capture crew must ensure all nets, blindfolds, hobbles, and sampling tools/equipment are sanitized with preferred solutions and methods as directed by the NDOW wildlife veterinarian after conducting their last capture in another jurisdiction.

All capture supplies and equipment, including gloves and outerwear, must be disinfected between distinct herds of mountain goats or bighorn sheep unless permission is given by the NDOW wildlife veterinarian to transfer directly without sanitizing. Additionally, sanitizing requirements for other species and locations may be added due to other disease concerns by the NDOW wildlife veterinarian or biologist in charge of the capture.

Appropriate disinfection solutions include:

2% bleach (Only appropriate method between CWD positive and negative areas).

Quaternary Ammonia (i.e., Lysol IC).

Potentiated Hydrogen Peroxide Disinfectants (i.e., Rescue) 50-70% isopropyl alcohol.

Others if approved by NDOW wildlife veterinarian.

Prior to disinfection, all equipment must undergo thorough cleaning to remove organic material, and adherence to the manufacturer's labeling instructions is mandatory.

Clothing should be washed in hot water with detergent.

DATA COLLECTION & SENSITIVITY

The capture crew will be required to collect essential data including:

The capture crew will have an aeronautical GPS unit and transfer cable. NDOW has the capability of loading GPS files saved in common formats such as .gpx, gdb, or mps to help with directed search for animals and avoidance of specific areas. All waypoints of every animal captured and flight path tracklog will be recorded and stored on the GPS unit. The pilot will provide adequate notes for interpreting/connecting animal ID to waypoint number/name. The capture crew will not begin the capture day until the previous day’s waypoints and tracklog have been transferred to the appropriate NDOW staff.

When requested to process animals at capture sites, the capture crew will properly collect biological samples and associated metrics and record all required information and data on data card/form in a manner as directed by NDOW staff.

Different information, data, and metrics may be required to be recorded for each animal captured depending on animal species, time of year, and objectives of each capture event. NDOW staff will brief the capture crew of the specific data to be recorded for each animal prior to the start of each capture effort.

The capture crew will have the ability to document chase and processing duration for all captured animals. The crew must adhere to maximum chase times and guidelines for pursing groups of animals, as given by NDOW staff.

Information collected during captures, including, but not limited to species observed, number caught, and geographic area are considered sensitive. The vendor(s) is required to maintain confidentiality of data and may not share information with outside entities without formal consent from NDOW representatives.

NON-COMPLIANCE

Failure to comply with elements outlined in this Scope of Work (4.-4.4.2) may result in the forfeiture of payment for services rendered at the time of non-compliance if the vendor was determined to be at-fault. Examples of non-compliance and outcomes include but are not limited to:

Example 1-Gear was not properly sanitized after conducting captures in another jurisdiction or by request from NDOW wildlife veterinarian. If non-compliance occurs prior to captures, operations will be immediately suspended until gear is sanitized and complies with requirements in section 4.3-4.3.3. If non-compliance occurs after captures occur, payment will be withheld for all captures where non-compliant capture gear was used.

Example 2-Data was improperly collected, including failure to record animal ID, GPS coordinates of capture location, or morphometric measurements. Payment will be withheld for captures where information critical to the project objectives were not collected or included errors. If capture activity is billed per animal, payment will only be withheld for individual animals where data integrity issues were identified. If capture activity is billed hourly, payment will be withheld at a rate of 1.0-hr per individual animal where data integrity issues were identified.

Cost Schedule

Vendors will provide detailed fixed prices for all wildlife captures and related services for evaluation purposes. Clearly specify the nature of all expenses anticipated.

Submit pricing in the following cost structure:

By Type of Aircraft and within each aircraft.

Primary cost rate will be by the hour in conducting search and capture efforts; the goal is to minimize stress on the animals by avoiding chasing the same group more than 2 times and to move on to searching for new group to capture from.

For situations where animals are numerous in many smaller groups, list price per animal by all the following species: mule deer, elk, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, mountain goat, and moose.

Helicopter ferry costs Added costs for:

High elevation Accommodating personnel with field processing Long transport back to a basecamp; identify # of miles where that applies.

Slinging animals in a transport sling crate Set-up fee for fuel truck & crew for each time capture crew visits Nevada for series of captures Daily Base Fee Daily Fuel Truck expense

Vendors may provide an adjustment to their pricing every two years from contract original approval date, subject to a mutually approved amendment, approved in accordance with SAM 0322.

ATTACHMENTS

ATTACHMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE. To be read and not returned.

Terms and Conditions for Services Terms and Conditions for Goods Federal Addendum

ATTACHMENTS FOR REVIEW. To be read and not returned (unless redlining).

Contract Form Insurance Schedule

PROPOSAL ATTACHMENTS. To be completed and returned.

Cost Schedule Proposed Staff Resume Reference Questionnaire Attachments for Signature

Vendor Information Response Vendor Certifications Certification Regarding Lobbying Confidentiality and Certification of Indemnification

TIMELINE

QUESTIONS. All questions regarding this solicitation shall be submitted using the Bid Q&A feature in NevadaEPro.

TIMELINE. The following represents the proposed timeline for this project.

All times stated are Pacific Time (PT).

These dates represent a tentative schedule of events.

The State reserves the right to modify these dates at any time.

EVALUATION

Evaluation and scoring are conducted in accordance with NRS 333.335 and NAC 333.160-333.165.

Proposals shall be kept confidential until a contract is awarded.

In the event the solicitation is withdrawn prior to award, proposals remain confidential.

The evaluation committee is an independent committee established to evaluate and score proposals submitted in response to the solicitation.

Financial stability shall be scored on a pass/fail basis.

Proposals shall be consistently evaluated and scored based upon the following factors and relative weights.

Cost proposals will be evaluated based on the following formula.

Cost Factor Weight x (Lowest Cost Submitted by a Vendor / Proposer Total Cost) = Cost Score

Presentations

Following the evaluation and scoring process specified above, the State may require vendors to make a presentation of their proposal to the evaluation committee or other State staff, as applicable.

The State, at its option, may limit participation in vendor presentations to vendors above a natural break in the relative scores from technical and cost scores.

Following the presentations, the combined technical, cost, and presentation scores will become the final score for a proposal.

The State reserves the right to add additional criteria or presentations.

The State reserves the right to forego vendor presentations and select vendor(s) based on the written proposals submitted.

MANDATORY MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

Pursuant to NRS 333.311 a contract cannot be awarded to a proposal that does not comply with the requirements listed in this section. Proposal shall include confirmation of compliance with all mandatory minimum requirements.

NEVADA LAW AND STATE INDEMNITY. Pursuant to NRS 333.339, any contract that is entered into may not: (1) Require the filing of any action or the arbitration of any dispute that arises from the contract to be instituted or heard in another state or nation; or (2) Require the State to indemnify another party against liability for damages.

NO BOYCOTT OF ISRAEL. Pursuant to NRS 333.338, the State of Nevada cannot enter a contract with a company unless that company agrees for the duration of the contract not to engage in a boycott of Israel. By submitting a proposal or bid, vendor agrees that if it is awarded a contract, it will not engage in a boycott of Israel as defined in NRS 333.338(3)(a).

INDEMNIFICATION. Required contract terms on Indemnification: "To the fullest extent permitted by law, Contractor shall indemnify, hold harmless and defend, not excluding the State’s right to participate, the State from and against all liability, claims, actions, damages, losses, and expenses, including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, arising out of any breach of the obligations of Contractor under this contract, or any alleged negligent or willful acts or omissions of Contractor, its officers, employees and agents. Contractor’s obligation to indemnify the State shall apply in all cases except for claims arising solely from the State’s own negligence or willful misconduct. Contractor waives any rights of subrogation against the State. Contractor’s duty to defend begins when the State requests defense of any claim arising from this Contract."

LIMITED LIABILITY. Required contract terms on Limited Liability: "The State will not waive and intends to assert available NRS Chapter 41 liability limitations in all cases. Contract liability of both parties shall not be subject to punitive damages. Damages for any State breach shall never exceed the amount of funds appropriated for payment under this Contract, but not yet paid to Contractor, for the Fiscal Year budget in existence at the time of the breach. Contractor’s tort liability shall not be limited."

CONTRACT RESPONSIBILITY. Awarded vendor shall be the sole point of contract responsibility. The State shall look solely to the awarded vendor for the performance of all contractual obligations which may result from an award based on this solicitation, and the awarded vendor shall not be relieved for the non-performance of any or all subcontractors.

DATA ENCRYPTION. State IT requires that data be encrypted in transit and in rest.

STATESIDE DATA. State IT requires that State data assets must be maintained in the United States and data will not be held offshore.

NEVADA BUSINESS LICENSE. Pursuant to NRS 353.007, prior to contract execution awarded vendor must hold a state business license pursuant to NRS chapter 76 unless exempted by NRS 76.100(7)(b).

DISCLOSURE. Each vendor shall include in its proposal a complete disclosure of any alleged significant prior or ongoing contract failures, contract breaches, any civil or criminal litigation or investigations pending which involves the vendor or in which the vendor has been judged guilty or liable.

CRITICAL ITEMS

In addition to the Scope of Work and Attachments, the items listed in this section are critical to the success of the project. These items will be used in evaluating and scoring the proposal. Vendor proposal should address items in this section in enough detail to provide evaluators an accurate understanding of vendor capabilities. Proposals that fail to sufficiently respond to these items may be considered non-responsive.

CONTRACT FORM. The State strongly prefers vendors agree to the terms of the attached Contract Form as is. Ability to agree to contract terms is a high priority to the State. Vendors who cannot agree to the contract as is must include a redlined Word version of the attached Contract Form with their proposal response. To the extent a vendor has prior contractual dealings with the State, no assumption should be made that terms outside those provided herein have any influence on this project.

INSURANCE SCHEDULE

The State strongly prefers vendors agree to the terms of the attached Insurance Schedule as is. Vendors who cannot agree must explain which areas are causing non-compliance and attach a red line if necessary.

Awarded vendor shall maintain, for the duration of the contract, insurance coverages as set forth in the fully executed contract.

Work on the contract shall not begin until after the awarded vendor has submitted acceptable evidence of the required insurance coverages.

Failure to maintain any required insurance coverage or acceptable alternative method of insurance shall be deemed a breach of contract.

VENDOR BACKGROUND

Company background/history and why vendor is qualified to provide the services described in this solicitation.

Provide a brief description of the length of time vendor has been providing services described in this solicitation to the public and/or private sector.

VENDOR STAFF RESUMES

A resume shall be included for each proposed key personnel, see Proposed Staff Resume.

A resume shall also be included for any proposed key subcontractor personnel.

SUBCONTRACTORS

Subcontractors are defined as a third party, not directly employed by the contractor, who shall provide services identified in this solicitation. This does not include third parties who provide support or incidental services to the contractor.

Proposal should include a completed Vendor Information Response form for each subcontractor.

Vendor shall not allow any subcontractor to commence work until all insurance required of the subcontractor is provided to the vendor.

Vendor proposal shall identify specific requirements of the project for which each subcontractor shall perform services.

How the work of any subcontractor(s) shall be supervised How channels of communication shall be maintained How compliance with contracts terms and conditions will be assured Previous experience with subcontractor(s)

VENDOR FINANCIAL INFORMATION

The information requested in this section is designated as confidential business information by the Administrator pursuant to NRS 333.020(5)(b) and is not public information pursuant to NRS 333.333.

This information should be submitted as a separate attachment, flagged as confidential in NevadaEPro.

Proposing vendor shall provide the following financial information and documentation:

Dun and Bradstreet Number Federal Tax Identification Number The last two (2) full years and current year interim:

1. Profit and Loss Statements

2. Balance Statements

BUSINESS REFERENCES

The information requested in this section is designated as confidential business information by the Administrator pursuant to NRS 333.020(5)(b) and is not public information pursuant to NRS 333.333.

Vendors shall provide a minimum of three (3) business references from similar projects performed for private and/or public sector clients within the last five (5) years, see Reference Questionnaire.

The purpose of these references is to document relevant experience and aid in the evaluation process.

Business references should return Reference Questionnaire directly to Single Point of Contact via email.

Business references will not be accepted directly from proposing vendor.

Business references shall not be requested from the soliciting agency.

The State will not disclose submitted references, but will confirm if a reference has been received.

The State reserves the right to contact references during evaluation.

SUBMISSION CHECKLIST

This section identifies documents that shall be submitted to be considered responsive. Vendors are encouraged to review all requirements to ensure all requested information is included in their response.

Proposals must be submitted as a Quote through NevadaEPro, https://NevadaEPro.com.

Vendors are encouraged to submit a single file attachment per proposal section if possible.

Technical proposal information and Cost proposal information shall not be included in the same attachment.

Cost proposal attachment shall not be flagged as confidential in NevadaEPro.

Additional attachments may be included, but are discouraged and should be kept to a minimum.

TECHNICAL PROPOSAL

Title Page Table of Contents Response to Mandatory Minimum Requirements Response to Critical Items Response to Scope of Work Proposed Staff Resumes Other Informational Material

PROPRIETARY INFORMATION. If necessary. Attachment should be flagged confidential in NevadaEPro.

Title Page Table of Contents Trade Secret information, cross referenced to the technical proposal

COST PROPOSAL

VENDOR FINANCIAL INFORMATION. Attachment should be flagged confidential in NevadaEPro.

SIGNED ATTACHMENTS

Vendor Information Response Vendor Certifications Confidentiality and Certification of Indemnification Certification Regarding Lobbying

OTHER ATTACHMENTS. If necessary, not recommended.

REFERENCE QUESTIONNAIRES. Not submitted directly by vendor.

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