Oyster Restoration Monitoring in the Chesapeake Bay for the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Program Office

***NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION'S (NOAA), ACQUISITION & GRANTS OFFICE, WESTERN ACQUISITION DIVISION-BOULDER, NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE (NMFS) CHESAPEAKE BAY OFFICE INTENDS TO NEGOTIATE, ON A SOLE SOURCE BASIS, UNDER AUTHORITY OF FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), WITH OYSTER RECOVERY PARTNERSHIP OUT OF ANNAPOLIS, MD TO PROVIDE MARYLAND OYSTER RESTORATION MONITORING.

***THE SOLE SOURCE DETERMINATION IS BASED ON THE NOAA’S REQUIREMENT THAT THE NOAA CHESAPEAKE BAY OFFICE (NCBO) PROVIDES SCIENCE, SERVICE, AND STEWARDSHIP TO PROTECT AND RESTORE THE CHESAPEAKE BAY ECOSYSTEM. NCBO MANAGES PROGRAMS THAT FOCUS ON FISHERIES SCIENCE, OYSTER RESTORATION, OBSERVATIONS, ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY, AND COASTAL PREPAREDNESS. IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH ITS OYSTER RESTORATION GOALS IN TEN CHESAPEAKE BAY TRIBUTARIES BY THE YEAR 2025, THE NCBO WORKS WITH PARTNERS TO CONDUCT STUDIES THAT DETERMINE WHERE NEW OYSTER REEFS SHOULD BE ESTABLISHED. AFTER THE REEFS ARE ESTABLISHED, THEY ARE MONITORED TO DETERMINE OYSTER POPULATION DENSITY, OYSTER BIOMASS, PRESENCE/ ABSENCE OF MULTIPLE OYSTER YEAR CLASSES, AND SHELL VOLUME.

THE OYSTER RECOVERY PARTNERSHIP (ORP) HAS PERFORMED BOTH COMPONENTS OF THIS WORK FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, AND POSSESSES THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF THE WORK, AS WELL AS THE PROCESS BY WHICH THE WORK IS ACCOMPLISHED (UNDERSTANDING OF WORK PRODUCTS, WORK FLOW, AND RESPECTIVE ROLES, INCLUDE NOAA’S ROLE).

IT IS ESSENTIAL TO KEEP THIS WORK WITH ORP TO ENSURE CONTINUITY OF THE TECHNICAL ASPECTS AND THE SPECIFIC GEAR BEING USED FOR DATA COLLECTION. ORP HAS ALREADY DEVELOPED COMPUTER SCRIPTS TO PERFORM THE NECESSARY ANALYSES; RE-USING THESE SCRIPTS BUILDS IN EFFICIENCY AND ENSURES ANNUAL CONTINUITY. CONTINUITY IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT AS THE RESULTS WILL BE COMPARED AGAINST PAST YEARS’ MONITORING RESULTS TO INFORM MANAGEMENT ACTIONS ON OYSTER RESTORATION SITES.

ORP’S ROLE IS CRITICAL IN ENSURING THAT METHODS, DATA FORMATTING, AND STATISTICAL ANALYSES ARE CONSISTENT AND NECESSARY TO ENSURE NOAA’S FINAL OYSTER REEF MONITORING REPORT IS SCIENTIFICALLY VALID AND COHESIVE.

THERE IS NO OTHER ORGANIZATION WITH THE SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED TO CONDUCT THE REQUIRED RESEARCH AND PROVIDE THE REPORTING CONSISTENT WITH THE PREVIOUS YEARS OF RESEARCH AND REPORTING

***THIS NOTICE OF INTENT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS AND NO SOLICITATION PACKAGE IS AVAILABLE. HOWEVER, FIRMS THAT BELIEVE THEY CAN FULLY MEET THE GOVERNMENT'S REQUIREMENTS MAY SUBMIT SUBSTANTIATING DOCUMENTATION IN WRITING TO THE IDENTIFIED POINT OF CONTACT WITHIN 15 DAYS AFTER PUBLICATION OF THIS SYNOPSIS.  SUCH DOCUMENTATION WILL BE EVALUATED SOLELY FOR THE PURPOSE OF DETERMINING WHETHER OR NOT TO CONDUCT THIS PROCUREMENT ON A COMPETITIVE BASIS.  A DETERMINATION BY THE GOVERNMENT NOT TO CONDUCT A COMPETITIVE PROCUREMENT, BASED UPON RESPONSES TO THIS NOTICE, IS SOLELY WITHIN THE DISCRETION OF THE GOVERNMENT.  ORAL COMMUNICATIONS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE IN RESPONSE TO THIS NOTICE.