ELIGIBILITY: Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units in the Colorado Plateau CESU region & Great Plains CESU region. Note: Must be a non-federal partner in the CESU Units listed above to be qualified to be considered. Project Title: Integrated Training Area Management (ITAM) Support at Fort Polk Responses to this Request for Statements of Interest will be used to identify potential investigators for a project to be funded by Fort Polk, which provides professional and technical support for its Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan (INRMP) in order to facilitate successful implementation of the 16 USC 670c-1 Sikes Act. Approximately $3,863,750.00 is expected to be available (if all tasks are funded) to support this project for the base period. Additional funding may be available for additional tasks and/or follow on work in subsequent fiscal years to the successful Recipient/Awardee. NOTE: Attached to this RSOI document you will find a DRAFT Statement of Work for your reference only. Again, at this time we are only requesting that you demonstrate available qualifications and skills for performing similar or same type of work. A full study proposal and proposed budget are NOT requested at this time. Brief Description of Anticipated Work: This research focuses on the following objectives: 1) Provide Land Rehabilitation and Maintenance (LRAM) support by developing and documenting in the ITAM Plan, land management objectives that address specific landscape conditions and mission requirements; identification of repair, maintenance, and reconfiguration projects and detailing those projects as activities in the ITAM Work plan; developing initial/planning level project designs and specifications and documenting those designs and specifications in the ITAM Work plan; coordinating and conducting project planning fieldwork with ITAM staff, Range Operations Staff, Home Station and JRTC Units, and Department of Public Works (DPW) personnel (Natural and Cultural Resources, Environmental Compliance, and Real Property); preparing and coordinating projects for NEPA, permits and approvals in cooperation with the DPW; and acquiring and maintaining materials, equipment, and supplies. 2) Provide geospatial analysis and cartographic (GIS) support with an emphasis on training scenario development, hunting area status maps, and training area status maps to Range Operations personnel; gather and create geospatial data, perform geospatial analysis, and develop maps depicting landscape conditions (constraints, alternatives analysis, restrictions, operational overlay, safety/regulatory/stewardship, airspace, and critical infrastructure) for Range Modernization; develop and maintain geospatial data, perform geospatial analysis, and create training support cartographic products in support of the Joint Readiness Training Center and unit training; and serve as the site Data Steward for all Sustainable Range Program (SRP) proponent geospatial data layers by coordinating all range-related facility data with the installation real property office to ensure correct real property attributes are included in the geospatial data and real property databases. 3) Provide Range Training Land Assessment (RTLA) support will include Assessment Design, which consists of: 1) Delineation of proposed assessment areas using GPS as appropriate and using GIS software to create maps as needed; 2) Coordination with GIS personnel to ensure assessments are captured and maintained current in the installation GIS database and included in the ITAM Plan; 3) Upload maps depicting assessment areas into the ITAM Work plan as part of the complete Work plan activity package; 4) Develop assessment specifications that include location and extent (area/dimensions) of the management action being applied, materials and equipment required, and the analysis to be performed on collected data; 5) Detail assessment specifications in the ITAM Work plan as part of the complete Work plan activity package; and 6) Maximize the use of available information from all installation land management programs as applicable. Assessments will include Training Lands, Maneuver Trails, Training Clearings, Fort Polk Maneuver Damage Assessment (Rotational Training Unit component and Home Station component), and Extreme Weather. 4) Provide Sustainable Range Awareness (SRA) through training courses and use of materials such as posters, DVDs, logos, maps, field handbooks, and reference cards. Activities will include developing/updating/distributing materials and information for training land users such as soldier cards and safety briefings. 5) Support Training Requirements Integration (TRI) by facilitating installation training mission goals through inclusion of environmental compliance requirements, range facilities requirements, and landscape condition requirements in the development of range and training land management decisions and the coordination of mission needs with garrison facility and environmental plans. TRI also includes providing decision support by obtaining information from appropriate offices regarding the conditions of ranges and training lands, and providing recommendations to the installation Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization, and Security (DPTMS) and ITAM offices on potential impacts and permitting requirements of relevant environmental, natural, and cultural resources for the proposed training. Cooperator is expected to attend training briefings, land management coordination meetings, and other range and training land planning and scheduling meetings; provide written and verbal input, as appropriate, on potential issues; and recommend changes to range and training land schedules. Cooperator is also expected to coordinate the inclusion of the Range Complex Management Plan (RCMP) mission goals and objectives into the installation Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan (INRMP) and subordinate plans, and coordinate mission needs with analysis of the INRMP required by the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) to ensure proposed training land management actions are included in the NEPA approval process. For a detailed description please review the RSOI_SOO related documents attached in this posting. Please send responses or direct questions to: USACE Sandy Justman Contract Specialist CESWF-CT Email:
[email protected] Office: 817-886-1073 Timeline for Review of Statements of Interest: Review of Statements of Interest will begin 11 APRIL 2020.