Deer census for NER parks

The Department of the Interior National Park Service Midwest Region is seeking a contractor to conduct comprehensive white-tailed deer census services for eight Northeast Region parks, including Flight 93 National Memorial, Fort Necessity National Battlefield, and six other historical sites. The solicitation (140PS125Q0002) requires a contractor to perform single-night winter deer censuses in 2025, with three parks requiring a second census using different methodological approaches to measure detection variability. Evaluation will be based on past performance information, technical capability documentation, key personnel qualifications, and responses to a technical questionnaire that assesses project execution plans, company experience, and proposed methodological approaches. Potential offerors must submit 3-5 past performance references, maintain specific liability insurance requirements, and comply with subcontracting limitations. Key deadlines include January 20, 2025, for submitting questions and January 27, 2025, at 12:00 PM ET for quote submissions, with an anticipated award date before February 1, 2025.

The solicitation is a 100% small business set-aside under NAICS code 541620 (Environmental Consulting Services) with a size standard of $19 million. The contract will be awarded as a firm-fixed price agreement with a base year and four potential option years, not to exceed a total of 5 years. While no incumbent contractor is specified, the contract allows for optional census years from 2026-2029 for 0-8 parks, contingent on funding availability. The work will be performed across multiple National Park Service locations in the Northeast Region, with contractors required to provide all necessary personnel, equipment, and services to complete comprehensive deer population assessments. Specific methodological requirements include processing census data by land cover types, delivering summary reports with detailed methodology and analysis, and submitting raw and processed data with FGDC-compliant metadata within 30 workdays of fieldwork completion. The census data will support critical deer management and forest restoration planning efforts in these parks.