Part 8 - JF27-120 Partner Conservation Ecologist

The Utah Division of Purchasing has published a Notice of Intent to Award a Contract Without Competition for a Partner Conservation Ecologist position (Part 8 - JF27-120), with a proposal due date of October 15, 2026. This is a sole-source or non-competitive procurement under the Utah Procurement Code, meaning the conducting procurement unit has asserted that circumstances exist making standard competitive bidding impractical and contrary to the procurement unit's best interests.

The position is co-hosted by Tracy Aviary and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR). The scope encompasses four primary focus areas: Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) coordination to strengthen volunteer recruitment and data quality; Infrastructure Maintenance & Expansion to service existing Motus wildlife tracking stations and build new stations in priority conservation corridors; Targeted Capture, Banding, and Tagging of Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) and Species of Greatest Information Need (SGIN); and Capacity Building & Training through hands-on workshops in bird capture and transmitter deployment techniques.

The role directly supports Utah's State Wildlife Action Plan by addressing data gaps regarding migratory bird populations, pathways, stopover duration, and seasonal connectivity through the Motus Wildlife Tracking System, an international collaborative network of automated radio telemetry stations. Utah's location at the junction of the Pacific and Central Flyways makes it a critical stopover corridor; the western interior of North America has historically lacked Motus coverage compared to Eastern regions, and this position fills that gap by maintaining operational receiver stations and enabling species tagging. The work leverages the North American Breeding Bird Survey, the longest-running citizen science project since 1966, and utilizes miniaturized digital transmitters to track small-bodied migratory species.

The specific justification for non-competitive award is documented in the attached files and must be reviewed by interested parties. Contract pricing, duration, funding source, and compensation structure are not specified in the notice.