Native fish database services

The Bureau of Reclamation, a civilian agency within the Department of the Interior, has issued a Notice of Intent to Sole Source a contract for Native Fish Database Services. This special notice, posted on February 18, 2026, announces the agency's intention to award a sole-source contract to Marsh & Associates, LLC for the development and maintenance of a Native Fish Database. The contract will be procured under FAR Part 12 (Commercial Items) and FAR 13 (Simplified Acquisition Procedures) as a Firm Fixed Price purchase order. The database is critical to the Lower Colorado Basin's efforts to manage Colorado Squawfish data workflows and integrate them with remote sensing data for annual reporting purposes. The sole-source designation reflects that Marsh & Associates, LLC is identified as the only known manufacturer and sole distributor of the original database system developed under the Lower Colorado River Management and Salinity Control Program.

The primary objective of this procurement is to enable the Bureau of Reclamation to independently manage Native Fish data without ongoing contractor support through comprehensive knowledge transfer, documentation, and automated processing tools. The Native Fish Database comprises two main components: an augmentation database containing initial stocking and tagging information with capture recontacts, and a remote Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) scanning database with remote sensing contacts. All interested contractors must submit capability statements, proposals, or quotations with supporting evidence by February 25, 2026, at 12:00 PM Pacific Time through www.SAM.gov, with an anticipated award date of February 27, 2026, and a performance period from March 16, 2026, through March 15, 2027. The contract falls under NAICS code 541690 (Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services) with a small business size standard of $19 million, meaning both large and small businesses may participate. Questions regarding the solicitation should be directed to Ms. Colleen Samuels at csamuels@usbr.gov.