Sources Sought Notice

The U.S. Geological Survey Office of Acquisitions and Grants intends to solicit macroinvertebrate sample analysis services set aside for total small business (including HUBZone, 8(a), and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned firms), with a sources sought notice due by September 11, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. Mountain Time. This is market research to identify SBA-certified small businesses capable of performing benthic macroinvertebrate analysis under NAICS 541990.

Work involves processing 14 samples collected from streams near Colorado Springs and Pueblo, Colorado. The contractor must provide all labor, equipment, materials, and travel. Personnel must possess expertise in entomology and extensive knowledge of benthic taxa in the Southern Rockies and Southwestern Tablelands Level III ecoregions, as well as benthic communities influenced by urbanization. Scope encompasses five primary tasks: processing samples per Barbour and others (1999) standards with a minimum 300-organism subsample using gridded or standard picking trays; searching the entire remaining sample for large or rare taxa; retaining all sample portions during sorting; placing closely related taxa into labeled vials with identification numbers and dates; and preserving all midges and oligochaetes through microscope slide mounting for identification, with new taxa permanently mounted for voucher collection.

Interested firms must submit name, address, phone number, and UEI number to jennifer_rollin@ios.doi.gov with subject line "140G0226Q0177 - Macroinvertebrate Analysis." Firms must maintain an active UEI and current SAM registration. No solicitation timeline, award value, or period of performance is specified in this sources sought notice.