Water Temperature Loggers

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) is executing a sole-source procurement for 200 Onset HOBO TidbiT MX2203 water temperature loggers through a non-competitive contract process. The procurement is specifically designed to support the agency's ongoing stream temperature monitoring program, which is critical for watershed health assessments, regulatory reporting, and long-term climate and habitat research. These Bluetooth-compatible, waterproof temperature loggers are designed for extended freshwater deployment and can store up to 96,000 measurements. The sole-source justification is based on comprehensive market research demonstrating that the Onset MX2203 model is the only logger meeting the agency's comprehensive requirements. The procurement is authorized under Oregon Administrative Rule OAR 125-246-0170(2)(c)(H) and follows sole-source procurement guidelines outlined in OAR 137-047-0275, 279B.050(6)(m), and ORS 279B.075. The contract opportunity was posted on April 15, 2025, with a response deadline of April 22, 2025.

The procurement appears to be unrestricted in terms of vendor type, with no specific set-aside designations or enterprise restrictions mentioned in the documentation. ODFW has already deployed over 400 of these specific loggers since 2021, indicating a clear preference for maintaining consistency in equipment, data collection protocols, and processing workflows. The agency's justification emphasizes the loggers' compatibility with existing data collection systems, seamless integration with HOBOware and HOBOconnect software, and ability to efficiently download data wirelessly in the field. While no specific budget range is explicitly stated, the procurement involves 200 temperature loggers. The sole-source determination highlights that switching to a different logger model would require extensive staff retraining, potential data processing complications, and risk introducing errors into their existing comprehensive dataset. The contract was approved by the ODFW Contract Services Manager on 4/15/25.