WildlifeResearchMesoCollar_SoleSourceDoc~1.pdf

SOLE-SOURCE DETERMINATION & JUSTIFICATION

FOR SUPPLIES AND SERVICES

To: Contract Services

From: Brent Wolf, Western Wildlife Research Program__ Date: 02 August 2021_

Sole Source Determination pursuant to Oregon Revised Statute (ORS) 279B.075 and Oregon Administrative Rule (OAR) 125-247-0275 for:

Description of Goods or Services:

The western wildlife research team would like to establish a sole-source procurement with Telemetry Solutions for a variety of GPS collars / pods for multiple ongoing projects in southwestern Oregon. We are seeking rechargeable, refurbishable, store-on-board collars/pods that will be compatible with the collars we currently have deployed. These collars must be able to be remote downloaded from over 15 km away and the base station that collects these points must be able to download points without an operator present, as it is likely that fixed wing flights or drone flights will need to be employed during winter months to download GPS locations from the collars. It is critical that the collars/pods be able to be programmed before going out and after deployment and be able to have different schedules for different seasons. Additionally, mortality and accelerometer data must be able to be downloaded by the collar while it is deployed. These collars/pods are going to be deployed on small meso-carnivores and deer fawns; as such, they must be extremely light in weight, yet have the battery power to take precise points for a significant period of time. Additionally, the collars being deployed on the meso-carnivores must maintain strength in the collar band without adding additional weight, so that these collars can stand up to the abuse of small carnivores. The fawn pods must be able to be mounted onto other VHF collars being deployed on the fawns. The collars that meet these specifications are we the micro and small GPS collars, and fawn pods from Telemetry Solutions. All three of these models use the same GPS technology, the same download system, and the same software as each other and as the current collars/pods we have deployed. The exact quantity that will be deployed is unknown because we do not know how well (or not well) the trapping efforts will go, or the duration that we will trap and collar for. We will need the manufacturer to be very dynamic in both the number of units ordered at a time and the turn-around time on production.

Reason for Need:

The western wildlife research team is currently engaged in multiple projects concerning both game species and non-game conservation strategy species. The ability to monitor survival, density, occupancy, habitat selection, and interactions of species is cornerstone to ODFW’s ability to protect and enhance Oregon’s fish and wildlife and their habitats for use and enjoyment by present and future generations.

Columbian black-tailed deer (CBTD) are a premiere big game species and accurate and precise population models are paramount to the proper management of this species. Survival estimates of fawns, ability to look at the cause of death of deceased fawns, and ability to relate survival to habitat selection of the fawn and doe will greatly benefit population models for the species. Similarly, Columbian white-tailed deer (CWTD) population monitoring will benefit from the fawn survival study. In the case of the CWTD, accurate reporting is necessary on an annual basis since their removal from the Endangered Species Act list in 2006. Being able to project species numbers, fawn recruitment, and identify potential areas of habitat improvement for the species will be necessary for the population to maintain a recovered status.

American marten have become an increasingly hot-topic issue throughout Oregon. Recently, trapping along the coast was stopped because of the potential to trap coastal marten, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service is currently reviewing whether or not coastal marten should be added to the Endangered Species Act list. Our project seeks to gather baseline information on Cascade marten before any potential issues arise with this population. An on-going camera study is focusing on both marten and Sierra Nevada red fox along the Cascade crest north of Crater Lake National Park. The camera study alone will provide occupancy data on forest carnivores; however, the collaring effort of martens in the area will allow for more data specifically on this species. While trapping success will ultimately dictate what analyses can be done, home range analysis, natality estimates, recruitment, dispersal, resource selection, and predation are all areas of interest that could be achieved with collaring martens.

Much like the Cascade marten population, little is known about ringtails. As a strategy species, research into ringtail ecology is of great importance to ODFW. Currently, only two studies have been conducted on ringtails in Oregon… ever. Both focused on diet and lacked the technology to extrapolate precise measures of ringtail ecology to space use and reproduction. The research team is planning on collaring as many ringtail as possible throughout the Applegate in order to look at occupancy, resource selection, predation, mortality, natality, movement, den-site selection, foraging activities, home range size and exclusiveness, density, and daily activity patterns. One of the primary sympatric carnivores in the area is the gray fox. At this point it is unknown to what level ringtail and gray fox interact. A collaring effort on gray foxes would help to shed light on their role as a potential predator of ringtail, or, if not a primary predator, if they are avoided by ringtail.

The collar requirements for these small meso-carnivores and fawns is unique, and compatibility with existing deployed collars is required for consistency and compatibility with existing data collection techniques and goods utilized for the projects. Only GPS data from attached collars or pods can produce all this data with minimal personnel time associated with gathering it. Additionally, the fawn GPS data can be paired with doe GPS data from collars that the research team has already received.

Single of Multiple Purchases:

The research team is requesting multiple purchases to be conducted throughout the next year. This is important because we do not know how successful the trapping efforts of meso-carnivores will be.

Therefore, we would like to order only a few collars at a time to make sure we do not end up spending money on collars that are never deployed. We anticipate the need for this sole source to end September 30th, 2022.

Estimated Cost:

The total cost is unknown at this time, as we do not know how many collars can be deployed. The cost per unit of a GPS fawn pod is $529. GPS collars for meso-carnivores (martens, ringtails, and gray foxes) are $2195. In a perfect world, we would be able to deploy 10 GPS collars on martens, 30 GPS collars on ringtails, 15 GPS collars on gray foxes, 30 GPS pods on CWTD, and 50 GPS pods on CBTD. However, these numbers are not realistic given the time and personnel constraints as well as weight limitations of the animals. Collar purchases made for these projects and through this sole source procurement will not exceed $70,000.

Research Leading to Determination:

There are very few collar companies, making it relatively easy to accomplish a search for what does exist. Aside from Telemetry Solutions the major companies that manufacture GPS collars for wildlife are ATS (Advanced Telemetry Systems), Lotek (SirTrack is part of Lotek), Telonics, Vectronics, and EcoTone.

Websites for each:

Telemetry Solutions: https://www.telemetrysolutions.com/ https://www.telemetrysolutions.com/

ATS: https://atstrack.com/ Lotek: https://www.lotek.com/ Telonics: https://www.telonics.com/ Vectronics: https://www.vectronic-aerospace.com/ EcoTone: http://www.ecotone-telemetry.com/

ATS, Telonics, and Vectronics do not make GPS collars small enough to fit on martens and ringtails, to the point that it would be unethical to attempt to fit either of these species with the smallest collar size that any of these three companies are able to provide. None of the companies outside of Telemetry Solutions offer GPS pods, let alone, pods small enough to be affixed to a fawn VHF collar. These companies make quality products that we utilize on other projects, but the collars provided by these companies do not meet the specifications needed for the size of animal we are collaring, and their GPS collars (even if small enough) are not compatible with existing equipment and collars deployed.

EcoTone does produce collars in the size range the research team requires. However, these collars will not work with the already deployed collar software or proximity sensors, would require new and additional software and supporting hardware, and most importantly requires cell service for location transmission. These work very well for migrating birds that are in and out of cell service but will not work well for many of our small carnivores that never enter an area with cell service.

Lotek makes a wide range of GPS collars to accommodate most sizes of animals, but products would not be compatible with existing collars and equipment deployed in the research product. The Lotek collars do not interface with the collars we have deployed in this study, and are also not compatible with the software the research team is utilizing. The Lotek collars are also not rechargeable, which is a requirement for the collars we are seeking. In addition, field testing of Lotek GPS collars showed that the accuracy of their products would not work well for a small carnivore study- animals that don’t have an expansive home range. Accuracy of GPS collars for these study needs to be within 10 or so meters to produce useable results. Field testing of Lotek GPS collars in our possession showed accuracy to be in the range of 30-50 meters in terrains where these collars will be deployed. ODFW has used Lotek collars on Sierra Nevada red foxes, and though the sample size was small, the Lotek collars all failed prematurely. It is imperative that the collars deployed last the length of time they are set for in order to collect a useable amount of data for the study.

Another issue that EcoTone and Lotek pose is that they are not based in the United States. As such, delivery of collars and refurbishment of collars can take quite a bit longer because of increased shipping time. Normally this would not be an issue but given the nature of our study we will be ordering collars “as needed” and therefore will require a quick processing and delivery time.

Analysis of Research / Findings of Fact:

Pursuant to OAR 125-247-0275(2)(a): Compatibility.

The only GPS collars that are compatible with existing goods utilized for the research project are from Telemetry Solutions. Moving to a different vendor would require purchase of additional hardware and software and would also result in a change in research methodology, impacting data integrity and useability.

Pursuant to ORS 279B.075 (2)(b): Exchange of Software or Data.

Pursuant to ORS 279B.075 (2)(c): Pilot or Experimental Project.

https://atstrack.com/ https://www.lotek.com/ https://www.telonics.com/ https://www.vectronic-aerospace.com/ http://www.ecotone-telemetry.com/

Pursuant to ORS 279B.075 (2)(d): Other findings that support the conclusion that Supplies and Services are available from only one source may include but are not limited to considerations of:

unique design, availability, geographic location, exclusive authorized representative, cost of conversion, and warranty services.

As stated herein, the small collars that Telemetry Solutions provides are unique in design to fit small carnivores and small fawns. In addition, there location within the United States best meets the needs for this specific meso-carnivore research project. The cost of converting existing goods/hardware would be cost prohibitive, therefore, with all factors considered Telemetry Solutions is the sole vendor capable of providing the collars needed for this project.

APPROVED BY:

Ken Loffink, DPO, ODFW Administrative Services Division Deputy Administrator Date

9/2/2021