NOTICE SOLE SOURCE 2027 USFWS National Recreation Survey Buy-In

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is announcing an approved sole-source procurement for participation in the 2027 USFWS National Survey of Hunting, Fishing, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation Buy-In, with a protest deadline of August 10, 2026. This is a notice of sole-source approval under ORS 279B.075, not a competitive solicitation.

ODFW will contract with the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA), which engages the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) as subcontractor to conduct state-level survey data collection in Oregon. NORC will administer supplemental interviews to gather representative Oregon resident participation and expenditure data on hunting, fishing, and wildlife-watching activities. The scope includes approximately 900 interviews at no cost to the state, additional probability and nonprobability interviews, licensee interviews, a final weighted dataset, a non-technical report, an accompanying slide deck, and analytic support from NORC and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service researchers.

The estimated contract value is $124,000. Deliverables are due no later than October 31, 2028, with analytic support available through December 31, 2028. The contract term aligns with the five-year national survey cycle, which has operated since 1955.

ODFW determined that sole-source procurement through AFWA is necessary because ODFW's initial direct-contracting approach with NORC would have required additional Oregon Department of Justice review and approval, introducing significant delays and costs. No alternative vendor provides state-level, nationally comparable data on hunting, fishing, and wildlife-associated participation, demographics, and expenditures; competing vendors such as Southwick Associates offer only regional-level data insufficient for Oregon's policy and program planning needs.

Any affected person may file a written protest within seven calendar days of the notice date. Protests must be submitted to april.d.brenden-locke@odfw.oregon.gov, luca.x.wittenberg@odfw.oregon.gov, and odfw.contractsinbox@odfw.oregon.gov.